World Cup encounters and a tough gig for Lonely Planet

The Maze – a wonderland of tiles, art and curry.

Happy Friday readers! Having set myself the task of writing every Friday, I woke up this morning in a bit of a panic. Spare time is in short supply at the moment – in case you haven’t heard, there’s a World Cup on, and that means schedules are being squeezed and pushed around in order to fit in with the crucial fixtures. This is the third World Cup I’ve experienced since I’ve been in Brazil and it’s no exaggeration to say that normal life here gets put on hold when Brazil are playing. The cartórios (notary’s offices) just come right out and say “we’re not opening on game day” and the supermarkets close 30 minutes before Brazil games and re-open 15 minutes after. And let’s just say that most people who are (ostensibly at least) working don’t exactly have their minds on the job.

Football is the constant topic of conversation right now, whether you’re waiting in line at the supermarket or chatting with friends, waiters or taxi drivers. At the time of writing, we still have the possibility of a Brazil vs England final – an unlikely dream to which I cling with a kind of logic-defying hope. Recently I had to swallow a hard truth though. While taking a taxi home before England’s last game (vs Colombia – we won 4-3 on penalties), my taxi driver cheerfully informed me that he would be supporting England. I felt pretty happy about this, but was surprised as I had expected a little more South American solidarity between my Brazilian driver and South America’s most northerly country. When I asked him why he was supporting England over Colombia, he happily informed me that England would be a “far easier” opponent than Colombia. Excuse me? Colombia? Sometimes the hardest truths are delivered, with a smile, when you’re least expecting them…

In any case, for now my dream of a Brazil-England final persists, though this could come to an end today (when Brazil play Belgium) or, more likely I have to admit, tomorrow (when England play Sweden). All this football is playing havoc with my time management as I have several looming deadlines for writing and photography jobs. Freelance work can be stressful (always looking for the next job), though there are times when I feel that I really can’t complain.

Yoo2 Rio – a hotel in Botafogo with a seriously impressive rooftop bar.

Right now I’m finishing a photography project for Lonely Planet which involves visiting and photographing bars and restaurants with spectacular views (I’ve included some of the rejected snaps here in the post). Rio has so many amazing vistas that the difficulty with this job was deciding which places to leave out. And so for the last few weeks I’ve periodically found myself enjoying a drink or two, or some tasty morsel, while basking in some of the best scenery Rio has to offer. And I get to call this ‘work’? I guess the freelance stress is worth it…

Flor do Céu, located in the Chácara do Céu favela near Leblon, was a revelation. This one is definitely worth tracking down people!

Speaking of Lonely Planet, my latest article was recently published on their website. It’s a review of the region to the north of Rio which includes the cities of Petrópolis and Teresópolis, and the beautiful Serra dos Órgãos National Park. Have a lovely weekend – schedule allowing, there’ll be another post next Friday.