Lagoa

PRESS PLAY Cidade Maravilhosa - Caetano Veloso

I'm a carioca da gema (born and raised in Rio, daughter of cariocas) and I can't stop being amazed by this city's views. They still make me breathless, after 32 years! :))

This is Lagoa, right by my house, seen from Clube Piraque. I used to go there a lot when I was a kid, but I haven't been there in years. It was like a time travel for me; I could almost see my mom by the lake, helping me feed the little fish that jump for bread crumbs...

Portuguese has a word with no translation for any other language - it's saudade. I guess it was not only the view that got me breathless that day... :')

I keep roller skating

PRESS PLAY Cheek to cheek - Ella Fitzgerald & Louis Armstrong

This weekend the weather finally gave me a break, and I got a perfect day to go skate - cloudy and not raining! I went to the Lagoa skating rink with Valentina and Billy.

It didn't take long until I was skating like I used to 20 years ago :)) Billy loved going with us for a ride, felling the wind on his face... he is too cute! What about his glows-in-the-dark ghost t-shirt? :D And I LOVE the view of the place, with the Christ and everything! Yes, skating like this, I'm in heaven...

mall parking lot

Where else in the world you have a view like that on a mall parking lot?

Although it's cloudy I think you can see the Christ on the mountain on the left... and right at the bottom there is Lagoa. Really breathtaking. If you ever go to Shopping Leblon in Rio, park on the roof. If you don't have a car, go there anyways ;)

I was born in a rainy day

...and it has been like that ever since.

It's ok, I like rainny days :) They make me think. Sunny days make me want to go out and do something. I guess birthdays are days I'm supposed to think about what I'm doing, like a New Year's balance, but for me only.

I had breakfast at Confeitaria Colombo, a very traditional tea house in Rio. The original one is downtown, but I chose the one on Forte de Copacabana. Next to my feet is Sugarloaf again, from the opposite side of Niterói.

Astonishing view, even in a cloudy day... I LOVE it!

Rio Niterói

Rio-Niterói Bridge

They say the best thing about Niterói is the view... but that's mean, it is such a pretty place... It's a nice outlook though, great angle of the Sugarloaf and the Christ. This is Camboinhas, a very pleasant beach where you can eat fresh fish in kiosks in the sand.

Mercado de Peixe São Pedro (Saint Peter Fish Market) in Niterói is where you can find the best fish in Rio. Chefs go there at 5 a.m. to buy the most fresh ones. I went there, obviously much later than that (I guess I'm not such a great chef... hehe) to get shrimp for my very famous grandma's recipe of Bobó, a traditional dish from Bahia. This will be my birthday dinner menu :)