Right next to Paulo's place, there's a HUGE CARREFOUR ! I feel I'm in France (Carrefour is a group of large supermarkets in France). So I just thought I'd check it out and see whether I could buy some stuff to cook Paulo and Carol some nice meals :)

Well I was in for a surprise. I haven't been to a large supermarket in Brazil before (or I don't recall) so this was brand new for me. What I didn't know then is that this supermarket's target is really lower class (there are two favelas facing each other really close by) to lower middle class and therefore it was really awkward for me as to what to buy !

I wanted to get stuff like Mozzarella di Bufala, organic tomatoes (I did find those !), smoked salmon, lentils (I did find those but only by the kilo... and in dry form, which is cool) and special salads or stuff. You know, stuff ! Stuff like I could find in San Diego at Trader Joe's or in France at Monoprix ! 

I know I really sound like a moron now, right now because it might sound like I've never traveled, ever. But honestly, I was really not impressed by the quality of goods. I guess I was expecting the supermarket to be a little bit more... French, it being a bloody Carrefour ?!! :) Oh well.

So, here are my first first impressions of a supermarket in Brazil :

- there is a full alley selling only... rice on the right and feijão (beans which are black, red, yellow, beige, brown, green, you name it...) on the left.
- there is a full alley of yogurts (which to me is quite natural... as a Frenchie !). The only problem is... there are about 4 kinds of yogurts there :) And of course, there's Danone, Nestlé and a local brand.
- the onion booth is HUGE. And the best part is : the garlic booth is the same size. There's about three times the amount of onions and garlic as there is for tomatoes, salad, and other veggies :) 
Paulo told me later that these two ingredients are the base of every dish in Brazil...
- you would not believe the quantity of beer there is... I thought we were quite competitive in France, but now this is a joke. Two full alleys of beer that is.
- there is a little space with tables and chairs to eat some "salgadinhos" (deep fried stuff, "rissois"), made to order, for people to enjoy in the supermarket itself.
- even though the supermarket is huge, there is simply a lot of the same product every time you look for something and not that many products in the end... I guess that's what characterizes a "lower class" supermarket : "Hey we have plenty here ! Not much choice but plenty of quantity !"

I got home a bit confused and worried as to how I was going to be able to cook properly in this country... Fortunately Paulo reassured me quickly :) and told me about this other supermarket chain called "Pão de Azucar" (which is the name of the big hill/mountain in Rio de Janeiro), which is much more "upper class" or "upper middle class"... Luckily, there is one that is walking distance from his place, in a small shopping center, about a 15 minute walk away... to which I went the next day.

Now there, everything changed. I felt like I was at a small Monoprix (for the French) or at a small Vons (for the Americans)... or.. well I have no other example !

Fruits are well presented, there is a variety of stuff, plenty of veggies, nuts, fruits... There are of course all those fruits considered as "exotic" back in Europe : papaya, goyava, passion fruit... Yummy. They have different varieties of those too, including several varieties of pineapples and I'm going to taste them all ! This is a shop where you can find ovomaltine, nutella (mmhhhhh), but also mustard, spices... well, basically a supermarket where I can shop, that has a good selection of organic and natural products too. There's kitchenware which I can relate to, flowers, stuff that makes me feel less of a foreigner, on a nutshell ! What a relief ! I even found smoked salmon ! (frozen but still !).

Something I must get used to (that probably exists in Portugal too...) is the dried "bacalhau" area. The smell is... how to say... strong ! Thank god I know what it tastes like when cooked (awesome !).

I reached the wine area and had a shock. Do you know how much a bottle of Veuve Clicquot champagne costs in Brazil ?? 100 USD !!! Now you DO know what to buy at the airport's duty free shop when you come and visit me... Wine prices are just as crazy : 35 euros for a bottle of Corbières ??!!! I think I'm going to become a Latin American wine expert :)

Did you know that... Brazilians eat avocado as... a dessert or breakfast, in a sweet way (with sugar !) and my friends were very surprised to hear that we, the Frenchies, eat it with lemon and salt or even better, with a mustard vinaigrette as a starter !


That's it for now !