Eat Rio Blog - Page 33 of 106

I pooed and walked…

08/11/2013/16 Comments/in Language

If I were feeling particularly ~~pretentious~~ creative, I might choose to describe learning Portuguese as being like an epic journey with no end. At the start there is the excitement of heading off into the unknown, when every step is accompanied by some new and exciting discovery (think Bilbo as he sets off from the Shire).

I’m off on an adventure! A language adventure!

Later on you realise how far you have to go, you hit frustrating obstacles and exhausting uphill sections. Staying with the metaphor (apologies), there are also those great moments when you can look back and enjoy the view, realising how far you’ve come and how much you’ve achieved.

And (still with the metaphor) then there are the times you stumble across something truly odd, half-hidden on the side of the track. You pick it up and turn it over in your hand. ‘What is this?’ you ask your befuddled self. Well I discovered one such linguistic oddity just a few weeks ago.

A stroll in Saúde with Rolé Carioca

05/11/2013/13 Comments/in Art and culture, Things to do

Last Sunday, a friend and I got up super early (well, 8am, but this was a Sunday remember) and headed to central Rio. Centro is a weird place on the weekend – most of the huge, wide streets, so busy and chaotic on weekdays, are almost completely deserted.

It’s a shame because Centro has some beautiful buildings and excellent bars and restaurants but almost everything shuts down on weekend – you half expect to see tumbleweeds rolling down Avenida Rio Branco. There are some oases, such as the Saturday samba on Rua do Ouvidor, but the vast majority of the city centre is completely fechado.

There are some reasons to be hopeful – I’m hoping that regeneration schemes such as Porto Maravilha will help improve the situation. While we wait for that though, there is another option but it means giving up your Sunday morning lie-in.

The people at Rolé Carioca organise walks through the more interesting, historical areas of the city.

Photo Post: Yep, that’s where I’d park too…

01/11/2013/8 Comments/in Art and culture

You’ve got the entire car-park to yourself, in front of this monster-sized piece by Toz (the largest mural in Rio). Where are you going to park?

[click it for larger view]

Nice placement…

Brazil’s Great Addiction

30/10/2013/13 Comments/in Food and drink

There is a substance that is incredibly popular in South America and especially in Brazil. For some people it seems to take over their life – when they talk about it their eyes light up with pleasure. “It’s amazing”, they tell you, “there’s nothing like it”. I hadn’t tried it in its pure form before I got to Brazil, but decided I had to try this white stuff that elicits such enthusiasm.

“Is this any good?” I asked the tough looking teenager as I handed over my cash. “Oh yeah”, he replied with an appreciative grin, “this is the good stuff. You’re going to love it!”. I stuffed it into my backpack and hurried home to find out if he was right. I’ll just dip my finger in and have a little taste, I told myself, just a little taste…

I expect you’ve already guessed what I’m talking about:

A Very Foodish Boy

25/10/2013/23 Comments/in Food and drink

One of the perks of having a blog is that you have all kinds of interesting encounters with people who share similar interests. I get a steady trickle of correspondence from people asking for advice on moving to Brazil or wanting a particular recommendation for their trip, but once in a while I hear from someone doing something completely different.

For instance, a few months ago I was contacted by Stacy, who lives in the US. Stacy has a pet capivara (capybara) and was visiting Southeast Brazil on a mission to see a wild capybara in its native habitat. Thus ensued a long and hilarious correspondence regarding the best places to spot the world’s largest rodent.

More recently I met someone doing something that made me green with envy. People who follow the Eat Rio Facebook page will have seen that last weekend I had a very late night and this was due to my latest fascinating encounter: a very Foodish Boy.

That’s not a typo – though I’m sure Alex himself would admit that he’s not beyond a little foolishness from time to time! Read on…