Sunday morning was a delicious repeat of the previous morning - swimming and breakfast buffet. Irad and I expanded the routine with a walk on the beach.
The group reconvened in the afternoon to travel to Sugarloaf mountain and take the cable car up to the top. I don't have much to say about that because I opted out—I am uncomfortable being suspended at extreme heights in a flimsy swaying car hanging from a wire. Call me crazy.
Instead I sat on a beach (there is always a beach in Rio) and did a little vacation reading. I hadn't brought my iPad with its preloaded books, so Yuval leant me his Kindle Paperwhite, ideal for beach reading, and I picked Slaughterhouse Five by Kurt Vonnegut to read. (It was either that or one of 25 business books!) What a great book to rediscover!
Next stop was the Hippie Fair, an artist and crafts fair that convenes every Sunday in Ipamena. We didn't have a lot of time there, but Irad and I managed to buy a wonderful canvas by local artist Joao Cruz, a colorful and schematic large scale painting of the favela.
One of the things I enjoy about traveling with Irad's company is the camaraderie of being in a group. And when we are with clients and customers there is always the opportunity to get to know new people. This trip was especially enhanced by the new people I met. It is a great model for travel—to be with others for the touring and the dinners, and also have private time earlier in the day.
That night concluded with a company event in a great Italian restaurant in Ipamena. The next night was also a company dinner, at Porcao, a churrascaria where you sit at large tables and waiters circulate with large hunks of meat on sticks, which they shave off with huge knives. Each diner has special forceps to guide the meat onto their plate. For us vegans and vegetarians there was a salad bar. And enough caiparinas to hide the slaughter in a mellow haze.
For the remainder of my time in Rio I enjoyed the company of one of the other spouses while our significant O's went to work. This meant lots of beach time, shopping in Ipamena for gifts for our kids, and a lovely final lunch in the hotel's gorgeous formal restaurant, Hotel Cipriani Restaurant. We had time for the kind of leisurely and wide-ranging conversations that daily life doesn't often afford. This is what vacationing is about!
Note: when I got home and looked through that day's New York Times, I found this Review of Copacabana Palace
The group reconvened in the afternoon to travel to Sugarloaf mountain and take the cable car up to the top. I don't have much to say about that because I opted out—I am uncomfortable being suspended at extreme heights in a flimsy swaying car hanging from a wire. Call me crazy.
waiting on the beach with the group in the cable car en route to sugar loaf in upper left of photo
my beach to the right - mountains everywhere!
Instead I sat on a beach (there is always a beach in Rio) and did a little vacation reading. I hadn't brought my iPad with its preloaded books, so Yuval leant me his Kindle Paperwhite, ideal for beach reading, and I picked Slaughterhouse Five by Kurt Vonnegut to read. (It was either that or one of 25 business books!) What a great book to rediscover!
Next stop was the Hippie Fair, an artist and crafts fair that convenes every Sunday in Ipamena. We didn't have a lot of time there, but Irad and I managed to buy a wonderful canvas by local artist Joao Cruz, a colorful and schematic large scale painting of the favela.
example of Joao's work
Note to fellow tourists: think about how you will get large rolled canvas through an airport and on to an airplane before buying.One of the things I enjoy about traveling with Irad's company is the camaraderie of being in a group. And when we are with clients and customers there is always the opportunity to get to know new people. This trip was especially enhanced by the new people I met. It is a great model for travel—to be with others for the touring and the dinners, and also have private time earlier in the day.
That night concluded with a company event in a great Italian restaurant in Ipamena. The next night was also a company dinner, at Porcao, a churrascaria where you sit at large tables and waiters circulate with large hunks of meat on sticks, which they shave off with huge knives. Each diner has special forceps to guide the meat onto their plate. For us vegans and vegetarians there was a salad bar. And enough caiparinas to hide the slaughter in a mellow haze.
For the remainder of my time in Rio I enjoyed the company of one of the other spouses while our significant O's went to work. This meant lots of beach time, shopping in Ipamena for gifts for our kids, and a lovely final lunch in the hotel's gorgeous formal restaurant, Hotel Cipriani Restaurant. We had time for the kind of leisurely and wide-ranging conversations that daily life doesn't often afford. This is what vacationing is about!
Note: when I got home and looked through that day's New York Times, I found this Review of Copacabana Palace
Brazil's national cocktail. Bottoms up!
Sounds great! You look fabulous, Beck, and I can't wait to see your new artwork hanging in your house. Thanks for sharing! Cynth
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