Day Eight – Rio

Today the sun came out and renewed our faith that winter in the tropics was not all doom & gloom. We got up, showered and then made our way to Ipanema, stopping at the Padaría Eldorado – one of Ipanema’s oldest and best bakeries. As we walked past the stores of Ipanema, the kids started noticing how some of them took random English words and gave them new life as the name of these boutiques, such as a bathing suit store named "Potty," a luggage store called “Big Bag,” a clothing boutique called “Enjoy,” and a shoe store named “Mr. Cat.” We even had a lingerie store in our neighborhood called "Lascivia!"

The Feira Hippy and Rollercoaster Rides
After breakfast, we made our way back to the “Feira Hippy”, picking up all sorts of gifts, souvenirs and momentos. My favorite has to be the Cuícas we bought, which are little instruments whose high-pitched tones are a very distinctive part of Brazilian music. We were able to fit in a visit with an old friend, Márcia Coelho, and we ended up seeing Pablo Matania, the creator of two paintings we have hanging in our house that we bought at the Feira Hippy in the early 1990s. (see picture above).

We left Djanira at the Feira Hippy and caught the bus to Gávea, where Gisele lives. By this point, Alex was growing fond of the buses since they were driven in such a way that you felt like you are on a roller coaster. I’ve long been aware of how the drivers take sharp turns at full speed, stop on a dime and take off from red lights like a drag racer, but I never made the connection to a roller coaster. Good times! Wheeeeeeeeee!

Lunch with Gisele
Gisele is the daughter of one of my mom’s childhood friends, Azamor, who herself also has a daughter named Dóra. Gisele and Dóra live in Gávea, a leafy neighborhood in the foothills of the forested mountains that form the backdrop for Rio’s vistas, which is also the home of PUC. When I studied there, I took a political science class that met at night, so I got into the habit of dropping by Gisele’s house to visit after class. Since she is a night owl, she usually was getting home herself at that hour from her dance class and we’d hang out and visit. She is facinating to talk to because she is well read, travels extensively and works as a supervising editor of publications at Brazil’s national archives. As a result, she is very articulate, and I credit her with having helped me develop a strong vocabulary in Portuguese.

After lunch, we went for a stroll through Gávea and into the neighboring Jardim Botânico. The old architecture, courtyards and gardens harkened back to another era and made for a pleasant stroll as we tried to walk off over-indulging at Gisele's table.

On the way back to the apartment, we got off before our stop and visited a handcrafts fair on Copacabana’s Avenida Atlântica. Lilly believes in her own personal version of an economic stimulus program based on gift shops and handcrafts fairs, so we had to do our part to help the economy...