On Wednesday 2/8 ....

In Texas you need to have your car inspected before it can be registered. When we got here, Josh's car passed inspection just fine but mine did not. Not too bad seeing as my "new" car is a 1995 Pontiac Grand Prix we bought from our neighbors in Iowa about a month before we left town.

At least you have 15 days to make needed repairs and can get the car reinspected free. So off I went Wednesday before lunch to have my car rechecked. I drove down to Youniversal Auto Care in East Austin and they poked my car and took parts off and put other parts on. It was going to be a few hours wait so I walked down the block to a Brazilian restaurant.

I tried Rio's Brazilian, and sat inside since it was breezy out. Their courtyard was really cute and bright. The inside was cozy and bright too.

I can't recall ever eating Brazilian food before so I picked a combo. First came out some cheese breads, or Pão de Queijo Trio. There were signs on the tables how you could get their cheese breads at Whole Foods to bake at home so I figured it'd be something a ton of people like. The red one had roasted red pepper, the green is basil, and the white is plain but they all have parmesan cheese inside and sprinkled on. I liked them even though they were chewier and stretchier than I thought they'd be.

Then I had a Salgadinho called Risoli de Camarão. A Salgadinho was a savory pastry like a crispy empanada with panko breading on it. Very tasty with shrimp and garlic and a spicy tomato sauce for dipping. I would definitely get this again and also try other versions!

And because I still had an hour to wait for my car, I had dessert. The waiter recommended the Pastel de Banana, a banana empanada pastry with lots of cinnamon, which they also serve for breakfast. I don't think it comes with ice-cream with it for breakfast (though that is an excellent idea....)

Walking back to get my car, I heard delightful chirping and looked up. It's a Quaker Parrot nest! There are wild adorable green parrots living in groups around the area! The day before I was inside PetSmart getting some pet supplies and Josh was waiting in his car. He was really surprised to see parrots foraging around on the ground for food! When we left I saw some breeding pairs fly high overhead. I was excited to see this nest just as I was walking along the street the very next day! There were about 6 or 7 parrots flitting around adding more twigs to their nest and squawking at the smaller finches that were trying to sit on their nest.