Dave, the dirty old man
For our first few nights in Rio, we rented an apartment in Copacabana. The apartment was the perfect size, but came with a small price, a creepy landlord named Dave. Upon our groggy arrival (no sleep the night before our 5am departure) Dave, a slightly overweight balding ex-pat hailing from upstate New York, excitedly mentioned where we could find the best strip clubs in Rio. One night, finding all the boys in our group sans us girls in the elevator, Dave told them where to find the most beautiful prostitutes in Brazil. Zach smiled awkwardly and said, “oh, cool….”
Dave’s style and influence could be found in every room. The apartment was adorned with bright paintings of naked women and each room had mirrors, mirrors and more mirrors. And oh were there treasures to be found in drawers and closets! Behind door number one, a pair of dirty briefs. What about door number two? An empty economy size box of Trojans and stuffed inside, an empty KY jelly box.
Dave’s apartment, which doubled as his office, was directly above our apartment. It was up there while using the telephone, that one victim of our party discovered the perfect finale for this little saga. Hanging directly across from his bed, Dave had a nearly life size portrait of himself with not one, no, not two but FIVE naked women. He really classed this one up when he opted for a soft sepia tone rather than the bright colors of the paintings in our apartment. This is the dream world that Dave sees every night before falling asleep and each morning when he wakes. He sees a world where five naked women are ecstatic to be in the company of his utter and complete hotness. Ladies and Gentleman, welcome to Rio!
Taken by Zach, while Gabi and Emma distracted his fleet of women workers… although this photo does does not do justice, two of Dave’s ladies are cut off… also.. although he appears to have a 6 pack in this photo… there was none such to be found on the real thing.
by, guest blogger Gabi and emma (a little)
our ascension to cristo
</One of our first activities on the agenda upon arriving in Rio was to see the statue of Christ. Basically the symbol of Rio de Janeiro, the Cristo divides the zona norte (poorer) from the zona sul (richer- think Copacabana and Ipanema), extends one hand out to each side, and is visible on its hilltop from all angles of the city.
We decided that we would avoid the tourist trap tram up to the top and attempt a hike. We took an hour of public transport to get to the base, passed the tram spot, and after receiving some directions, headed up the hill. As we passed a certain point, we noticed 3 young Brazilian men lounging on motorcycles. They informed us that up ahead a little bit was a favela (shanytown) and that it was unsafe to continue on foot (not to mention a 2+ hour trek to the top up a very steep hill). They said they would take us to the top for 5 Reals (about 3 dollars), and luckily, there were 6 bikes and drivers. We decided that we were ready for an adventure, so we all hopped aboard the bikes and took off up the hill.
And the ride was incredible. Although the favela’s danger appeared to be overexaggerated, traveling up the hill in the open air, with the ability to enjoy the vistas that might pass too quickly in a car (but avoiding the calf- and feet-aching pain that we would have felt had we walked) we arrived just below the summit of the hill and ended with a 25 minute walk to the top.
While the view’s from the peak were incredible, and the statue of Christ impressionable, I think that we will all remember the site for the ride up rather than the ultimate destination.
Back From Brazil
Sorry we have been on a bit of a hiatus here at CandE central. We touched down in BA last night and have been getting back into the grind today… photos and stories from Rio, Carnaval, and everything in between to come shortly!
Depression at the Zoo
at least they had eachother
A few days after Russ’ arrival, we decided to check out the Zoo in Buenos Aires, which is conveniently located less than a mile from our house. The last time I had been to the Zoo was in the fourth grade, so I was excited to see some “wild” animals at such close range. What I didn’t expect is the expression of defeat and depression that each animal carried on their face. The thought of Zoo’s always kinda depressed me anyhow, all these animals locked up. I am aware thought, that it is more of a learning tool, to teach people about animals that they would never get to see otherwise…but, then again, there is the animal channel for a reason. The most depressing was the grizzly bear who looked absolutely INSANE. He was isolated in a small exhibit, and kept walking in circles shaking his head… stomping round and round, with a crazy glossy look on his face. I had to walk away. He was already lost. Unlike the Rhino who presumably was in an earlier stage of insanity, he (or she) looked as if he had completely given up on life, plopped down in the dirt, sad and alone. The most physically shocking of the animals was the camel… it looked as if it had some type of STD all over its body, chunks of hair just gone, scabby, really nasty.
Now… on a lighter note, some of the animals didn’t look like they completely gave up on life; there were nutrias who were able to roam freely, that was pretty uplifting. Some of the animals had many friends with them, and although enclosed in cement surroundings, (no effort was put into making their cages resemble the wild) at least they were all in it together.
One of the best parts about the zoo was watching the children light up with excitement at seeing these animals for the first time. Russ kept getting mad at me because I wanted to take pictures of them… I got one before he took his camera away. This little boy was the most excited to have his picture taken with a regular house pet. There was a cat walking around the zoo freely, flaunting his freedom, and this boy requested that his mother take a picture of him with the cat, seeing an opportunity, I snapped one as well. I liked his simplicity.
The Peakes pass the test (plus Eli and Nico)
We returned once again… to the jenga restaurant. We are still not so sure what the name is or where it is located… but we somehow always seem to find it. As soon as we sat down, the new participants wanted to start playing, but they were not aware that jenga only comes after the meal, so they pushed their competitive desires aside for some hearty, homey food. Jody was pleasantly surprised by the ambiance of the restaurant, while Cameron and I blushed with pride. We had waited all week to bring them here and test their skills, and finally on their last night, the Peakes were up to the challenge.
I found the perfect move, after much contemplation
After dinner and a few bottles of wine, we retrieved not one but two sets of Jenga. As there were now more people than we had ever had at the jenga restaurant (8!) we needed two whole sets. One game consisted of George, Nico, Cameron and Preston, while the other was me, Jody, Addy and Eli. I know I am a bit biased… but our team was much more impressive, building the tower much higher than the other…hehe.
EDITORS NOTE- I (Cam) have to disagree on principle, although I don’t recall ever looking across the table to see the hight of their tower- I think they were just not satisfied with their own game. (Burn. JK). On second thought, ours probably fell more because both my dad and I take an “offensive” jenga stance- we push bricks half out to make it more difficult. yeah.
Eli and Addy
Everyone tried their best, and were good losers (everyone lost at least once). This time though (as there were parents participating) the losers didn’t have to take shots… good thing too, because we all know how George gets, he probably would have gotten us kicked out (hehe, jk George).
After Jenga, we decided to go to Notorious, (where we had previously seen Franco Sinatra), and again were sorely disappointed by the cheesiness of the performance. Luckily we had a few more drinks, so it was tolerable. I think the worst was when the performer decided to finish the set by singing “My funny” as in “My Funny Valentine”. Although terrible, our whole table got a good laugh out of the situation. I think we will have to go back, just because they have the worst, most terrible renditions of old classics. Once you realize that yes, this is actually happening, and they are actually singing that song… in a terrible American accent, it really is quite pleasant.
Ode to George and Jody….I want to say that I was truly AMAZED by both George and Jody. While in Buenos Aires they were up for everything. They stayed up late with us… often till around 4 in the morning and were the first ones awake the next day, rearing to explore the city. They had way more energy than any of us “kids”. When we would stumble over to the apt each morning (actually around 1 or 2 in the afternoon), hungry and tired they would feed us (chili con qillies, as Elyse would say… plus many other amazing dishes). I often felt like I was in that movie the little princess, where she and her monkey friend receive a whole table of her favorite foods… but this was every day, and it was real!
My favorite picture of the two youngsters
Nico mentioned multiple times how impressed he was, and that he has never meet parents so cool in all his life. I must agree!
The quest to get to Brazil
We are off to Brazil in 2 weeks! It is so close we can almost taste it… but we still have a final hurdle to jump- getting the Brazilian visa. It is notoriously hard, especially with current Brazilian attitudes towards Americans (at least bureaucratic and gubernatorial attitudes) and the officials have been known to deny visas to tourists, seemingly on a whim. Zach and Preston finally decided to join us on our adventure, so it will be a group of 6 of us leaving for Rio on the 25th- Cam and Em, Zach and Preston, and finally, Russ (Emma’s boyfriend) and Gabi (a friend from middle school).
The four portenos went on Thursday to the Brazilian consulate to secure the visas. Not only do they need the requisite plane tickets and passport, but they need 3 months bank statements, a contact in Brazil, and complete lodging information. Oh, and 425 pesos (do the math but it is depressing). Emma and Zach zoomed through the visa process, but cam did not have her name printed out on her bank statement and was forced to return on friday. Preston was also getting hassled because he did not have proof he was a student.
Cam returned on friday and zipped through, but then realized that the woman at the counter had not asked for her passport-sized photos. She got a call yesterday from the office and has to return AGAIN on monday… hopefully it will not delay the process.
Fingers crossed!!
Addy is living the life (and we are along for the ride)
Addy (Cam’s sister) is now in Buenos Aires with us (she is going to start a study abroad program in February), and not only have we had the privilege of hanging out with her (and her boyfriend Eli), but they rented an apartment for 2 weeks and we have been able to take full advantage of their pool and air conditioning in the hot weather. The building (located on the border of Palermo Hollywood) was at first seen as a negative by Ad and Eli. Apparently (Em and Cam did not see it) the set up of the studio was horrible and they were unfamiliar with the neighborhood. However, when we arrived on their doorstop the next day (dripping with sweat and begging for an air conditioned establishment) the apartment- with incredibly high ceilings and located in a former factory- was really cute. Beyond that, 10 steps away is a pool and rooftop lawn that we had no idea even existed in Buenos Aires.
We are now taking full advantage of the pool (well, full aside from trying to get our visas) before we leave for Brazil in 2 weeks.
our failed quest for gauchos
Argentina is known for its beef, the tango, and, of course, the gaucho. We ticked the first two off our list with a first dinner at La Cabrera, and with a snippet of tango music on the streets and a mini show in La Boca. However, the gaucho proved to be elusive to the Peakes, although we definitely tried to see one.
We first attempted to take everyone to San Antonio de Areco. After failing to rent a van, then two cars, we went to the bus terminal but missed the micro that had just left, meaning the next one, leaving in 2 hours, would give us just under 4 hours in San Antonio. Instead, we went to Tigre, and put the gauchos in the back of our minds.
George and Jody’s flight did not leave until midnight on Sunday, so during the day we attempted to go to the Feria de Mataderos, a fair that sells goods from the interior provinces and has traditional gaucho dance and music. After taking a hot, sweaty and crowded colectivo (public bus) for an hour, we arrived at the fair to find an empty stage and vacant streets. We finally asked why there was no fair, and we were informed that it had closed the week before Christmas due to the heat, and would only be resuming after Easter. (Our Time Out Buenos Aires had only explained that it happened every Sunday, rather than following a season. Damn bi-annual publications). So, we sat down to eat more beef at a parilla and took the trek back. Gaucho-less.
new years: the paella tradition continues, drunken australians enter
yummmm
To ring in the new year, we continued with our three year old tradition of paella, gazpacho, and sangria- however, this year, the weather fit the cuisine a bit better than in years past. Cam’s mom Jody cooked up a storm and we had to go to Carrefour (for those familiar, that large French grocery store has possibly hundreds of outlets here) at least 3 times. But it was definitely worth it- the meal was delicious, and we celebrated with a fusion of our two families- all the Peakes on one side (plus Addy’s boyfriend Eli) as well as Preston, Zach and Paige.
Zach is so excited to join in the tradition!
We were also well equipped for a big night- we had 6 bottles of champagne. So, at midnight (when an antique clock that cam’s dad George had bought at the San Telmo antique fair abruptly sounded) we popped the bottles and headed outside. Fireworks were going off left and right and Emma rightly commented that it felt as if we were in the Civil War.
A few hours later, we decided (everyone except Paige) to head to a bar. Although everyone is warned to avoid trying to find taxis on New Years, we managed (after a mini-hike) to secure two, and we headed to a rooftop bar in Palermo. George got there, and, possibly even before ordering a drink, sat up on the railing of the bar and knocked a beer bottle onto the street. Two bouncers immediately ran up and starting yelling at him, saying there was a policeman that the bottle had nearly hit. George was arguing back in English that there shouldn’t be bottles there, but luckily they couldn’t understand his protests. Cam remedied the situation by telling the bouncers that he was sorry, but hadn’t been to a bar in a while, which seemed to appease them (although George then got angry and said he would have rather been kicked out than have me tell such lies).
evidence of George being drunk… hehehehe
If George hadn’t knocked over the bottle, someone else surely would have- we were surrounded by drunk Australians. One that Cam and Preston were talking to (with a neatly coiffed mustache that somehow stood out from his knarly, bushy beard) was particularly drunk/ entertaining- arriving just a day before, he informed us that if we did one thing in BA, we had to eat out. Thanks.
The night ended with people leaving at separate times, but overall, for everyone- it was probably one of the latest New Years’ ever. What a way to start 2008.
Odd woman out
The Peakes have arrived! They have been here now for about three days. Although I have received many wonderful presents and stocking stuffers for Christmas, nothing compares to their timely arrival. It has been fun watching them explore the city and actually know where we are.
Although it has been great having them here… I am the odd woman out. Addy’s boyfriend Eli arrived yesterday. This means there are 3 couples… and little old lonely me. As we all walk down the street two by two, I am forced to awkwardly make Cameron and Preston share their sidewalk and hold my hand too.
Russ hurry up and get here! That’s all.
EDITORS NOTE: Emma is not the odd woman out. Sitting next to her is the most desired seat at the table. And I held her hand first.
