Miss Gay Brazil 2011

Great night last night. Luiz and I went to the Miss Gay Brazil pageant hosted at the Unidos da Tijuca samba school quadra. LOADS of queer guys.

I felt like the paparazzi, catching all the grrlz in their finest. But they LOVE the camera!  Hahaha

The show was great. I especially loved the intermission (between the regional costume portion and the evening gown portion of the pageant) that drummed the hell out of the place and featured super cute near naked boyz dancing and gesticulating all up in our face.  You go boyz! (I was too entranced to remember to take photos.)

Here’s a little look-see into the event from the photos I took..

Oh – and somehow we didn’t leave until nearly 5:00 a.m.  Plus the bus taking us home was PACKED and we had to stand. At nearly 5:00 in the morning!  Brazilians love their parties.

Oh - and I should mention that Miss Santa Catarina took home the honor.

Gay Pride week in Rio

Note the text in the flag.

This Sunday is the Gay Pride event in Niterói. Luiz has invited a bunch of friends over for a lunchtime party, then we will join the street party in progress, just a few blocks away.

Gay Day in Rio is set for Sunday, October 9th in Copacabana. Mark your calendar. Here is the official program:

Official Program and Events| Rio de Janeiro Gay Pride 2011

Date: October 9, 2011.
Meeting Point : at 1 PM (13:00 hs.)
Posto 6 - Forte de Copacabana / Sofitel Hotel

This year, October is the month of LGBT Pride. Though the march is the most important event, a full week of activities is promoted by the Arco-Iris, the nonprofit organization that organizes the parade.

All dates are yet to be confirmed by Arco-Iris.

The official program of the 16th LGBT Pride Parade in Rio de Janeiro is yet to be released.
Considering last year's calendar, the events for 2011 are most likely to be as follows:

Date: October 4, at 7 PM
Venue: Teatro Carlos Gomes - Centro
Opening show of the 16th. LGBT Pride Parade-Rio 2011

Date: October 4 to 9
Location: Galeria do Centro Cultural Sergio Porto - Humaitá
Exhibition in 2009: "Our history, our strength, our voice: 15 years of LGBT Pride Parade-Rio"

Date: October 7 and 8, 2 PM - 10 PM
Location: Castelinho Flamengo
Movies Shows Metaphors of Diversity

Date: October 8, from 11:30 PM
Local: Cine Ideal - Downtown Rio
Ideal National Pride

Date: October 11 to 4 - 7 PM
Venue: Teatro Gláucio Gil - Copacabana
Self-Portraits - shows Resgate da Cultura Transformista do Rio

Date: October 1 4, 3 PM to 10 PM
Location: Castelinho Flamengo and other sites to confirm

Cycle Arco-Iris Thinking LGBT Citizenship and
State Seminar on AIDS and LGBT Health

Date: October 5 and 6 - 7 PM
Location: Sala Baden Powell - Copacabana
Voices of Diversity - musical show with LGBT singers

Date: October 7 - 9 PM
Local: Cine Ideal - Center
Official Opening Celebration and Party - 15th LGBT Pride Parade Rio - 2011

Date: October 7 - 8 PM
Venue: Teatro João Caetano - Downtown
8th Arco-Iris Awards for Human Rights

Date: October 8, from 10 AM to 10 PM
Location: Terreirão Samba and Centro de Artes Calouste Gulbenkian - Downtown (to be confirmed)
Culture Fair Arco-iris LGBT
Lesbifest - Festival of Culture and Diversity among lesbians and bisexual women

Date: October 8, at 10 PM
Location: Night Club 1140 - Praça Seca - Jacarepaguá
Pre-Parade Party

Date: October 9, 9 AM to 6 PM
Location: Copacabana, Posto 6
Action Pride, Citizenship and Human Rights (stalls and information services for the general population)

Date: October 9, at 1 PM
Location: Copacabana, Posto 6
16th LGBT Pride Parade-Rio 2011

Date: October 9, at 10 PM
Location: Le Boy - Copacabana
Closing Party of the 16th LGBT Pride Parade - Rio 2011

Keep checking here for final details.

Dyke March in Rio - Mark your calendar

Mark your calendars – this year’s Dyke March in Rio is scheduled for Sunday, August 28th, in Copacabana.

The annual LGBT Pride March is set for Saturday, September 10th, also in Copacabana.

This video has lesbian and bi women speaking to the newly elected female president insisting on equality.

Come join the action to raise visibility for Lesbians.

Be there or be square.

Gay Pride in São Paulo

June 26^th is Gay Day in San Francisco.  750,000 or so people will pack Market Street and the Civic Center to celebrate all things LGBTQQI. It is the highlight of the year and is the second largest public event in California, after the Rose Bowl parade.  Oh the memories.

Luiz and I lived within a quick, downhill walk of the Civic Center so each year we would host a Gay Day Brunch where friends would gather, fuel up on a good breakfast buffet (and cocktails), put the finishing touches on their special apparel (you can never over-accessorize on Gay Day) and strategic makeup, and then spill out onto the street to take in a full, long day of joyfulness.

This year, June 26^th is also the 15th annual Gay Day parade in São Paulo. While we won’t be attending, we love following the festivities online.  The event in São Paulo is the largest LGBT party on the planet.  This year they could well host 3 million participants. THAT’S a PARTY!

The theme of the event this year is “Love each other, end homophobia.”

For fun, the organizers have come up with the idea of getting everyone on the street dancing with each other, a sort of debutante ball. The organizers are preparing a waltz in the center of the city. They have provided a remix version of the Blue Danube waltz to each of the 17 tri-electricos that will be keeping the crowd in high gear. Whenever the Blue Danube waltz is played, everyone is encouraged to dance with whoever is next to them.  FUN!

Gay people are so clever.

Thanks to the Inside São Paulo team for posting about this on their terrific blog about all things São Paulo.  Check them out.

Time for a Blogger Meet-Up in Rio

On the very exciting occasion of Danielle and Alexandre visiting Rio/Niterói, I’m proposing another Blogger Meet-Up.  Mark your calendar: Saturday, July 16^th. Time and location tbd, leave a comment if you have a fun suggestion.

The first time we got together, well over a year ago, several of us met at a kiosk on Ipanema beach.  Cold beer, small plates of bar food, and lots of English conversation.  Nice!

The next time we met was on Itaipú beach in Niterói. Sun, sunscreen, beer and food – and lots of English conversation. Sweet!

For our next meet-up should we venture into an interesting neighborhood in Rio?  The historic district just north of Praça XV is visually stunning, rich in historic buildings, churches and museums and has LOTS of barzinhos and restaurants.  People could arrive early and walk around, then we could meet at a particular watering hole.  Or we could wander the area together.

Or how about Jardim Botânico?  It’s a very peaceful place to walk and take in the smell of green (and Danielle could point out the interesting birds). There’s not really an interesting place to sit and enjoy a drink and lunch. The snack bar in the park is pretty lame, food-wise.  But there are appropriate places in the adjoining neighborhood.  That could be fun.

I suppose a return to the beach is never a mistake, especially for folks like Danielle, who will be in town on a rare visit.

So what do you think?  Again – mark your calendar. Plan on joining us. We’ll work out the details in the coming weeks.  And wherever we decide, it will be accessible by bus or Metro.

Oh, and light a candle in an appeal to the weather spirits that things WARM UP!

UPDATE: Luiz reminded me that he is prepared to provide a walking tour of the historic Praça XV area (where Rio began) and describe the history, archetecture, etc.  Very chic... It would be a couple hours, including a lunch stop. Totally flexible. Something to consider.

Some things ARE the same in Brazil and the US

Not my cake.  Photo from the scrumptious food blog "Cinnamon Spice & Everything Nice"
http://www.cinnamonspiceandeverythingnice.com/2010/05/carrot-cake-with-cream-cheese-frosting.html

You know how you think: “I’ll make the cake for our birthday party.  It will save us some money.  Bakery cakes can be so expensive.” At least, that’s what I think (unless there is a COSTCO nearby).

Well, I just ran the numbers.  I’m making a regular 9”x 13” pan cake that I will flip over and slice in two across the middle to make two layers, and then frost.  Carrot cake with cream cheese frosting. Check this out.

Flour:                               R$2.00

Butter:                                 5.60
Carrots:                                3.00
Eggs:                                       .80
Pineapple:                           3.50
Brown sugar:                      1.50
Milk:                                       .60
Cream Cheese:                20.00
Yogurt:                                1.20
Confectioners' sugar:        4.00
Etc.:                                      1.00

That comes to R$43.20, give or take, plus my time (and love for my guests).  So I guess the thought still applies here in Niterói – even if the cream cheese is R$20.

Stay tuned for the recipe and some pics.

Surviving a hangover

Ever have one of those parties that picks you up all night, but then slams you down the next morning?  All night raucous parties are pretty routine here.  It seems every weekend its someone’s birthday or anniversary or reunion with out of town family, or it’s just a night to party with friends.

Among our circle of friends the parties run past 2:00 am pretty regularly, and well on to 4:00 am on occasion.  When the beer runs out someone passes the hat and either calls for a delivery of another few cases, or hops in a car and makes a beer run to the neighborhood barzinho.

Eventually we call it quits, often sleeping at the house where the party was.

The next morning a few people light up the stove and start cooking off eggs while someone else makes a bakery run for some fresh bread. And of course, someone walks around offering ENGOV and a glass of water to those with a hangover.

Have you tried this stuff?  People swear by it.  It’s an anti-hangover pill sold in every pharmacy.  You are supposed to take one pill before you start to party, then another one when you wake up the next morning (although many of my friends will pop a pill before going to bed – for good measure, I suppose).

According to one of those “Ask me anything” websites, ENGOVE contains mostly asprin for your headache, with some antacid to calm your stomach, some antihistamine to reduce nausea and vomiting, and caffeine to combat lethargy.

So ENGOV is designed to fight the symptoms of a hangover, but it does not actually prevent a hangover.  But it clearly seems to work.

Brazilian BBQ birthday - but different

We just spent the afternoon and evening at Luiz’s cousin’s birthday party; BBQ, more like it. It was a classic Brazilian family gathering, except in this case Gernaldo did not invite any family, except his mother and Luiz and I.

There were probably 60 people there eating, drinking, dancing, showing off newborns, and otherwise having a great time. But siblings? – nope. It kinda reminded me of my own birthday parties over time. I have traditionally invited my “chosen” family to these events.

But this struck me as odd for a Brazilian gathering. No family? It was weird.

What wasn’t weird was how the young children ran wild and occupied themselves in all corners of the space; how the youngest in the crowd were being carried around by the beaming oldest in the crowd; how the teenagers were finding their space to drink and kiss; and how the food was endless, salty, sweet and otherwise freshly picked.

Brazilian family (or chosen family) celebrations please everyone, coach the young regarding how to move into their role at a later date, absolutely focus on the tiny babies, and provide for the alcoholic indulgences of most everyone who wishes to go there. At the best parties (IMHO) the folks hired to help (the guy working the BBQ, the woman washing the glasses and or frying appetizers, the waiters passing the food and keeping the tables clean, the DJ keeping everyone on the dance floor…) they are given multiple chances to enjoy the party/food/drink – as was the case today.

But today was a bit different. Where were the siblings and their families? I can’t say for sure. I am not a fofoqueiro and I do not lean over to listen to gossipy conversations. But it was plain to see that the people present were members of the Macumbeira community where the birthday guy and his wife celebrate meaningful rituals. His siblings are rather ardent Christians. Herein could be the rub. But – none of my business.

It was a great party with fun people, terrific food, non-stop music (this middle-aged crowd of Brazilians really lit up to a little Donna Summer!) visions of future generations, and no drama from contrarian siblings.

We had a great time and were invited back for a celebration of São Jorge’s feast day.

Making the perfect caipirinha

Somehow I have gone for three years without talking about my role as chief caipirinha maker in our group of friends.  Invariably, at every party, I wind up in the kitchen making caipirinhas.

My guess is that no one else wants to go through all the trouble of making the cocktails so they smile at the gringo, flatter me with praise about my being the best caipirinha maker, and then hand me a bag of ingredients and escort me to the kitchen.

As for me, in the beginning, since I had next to zero language abilities, it was more fun to make caipirinhas and receive praise in the form of smiles and raised glasses than it was to sit in a chair and watch the world go by.

So at this point I have made hundreds of these things and have, indeed, become a bit of an aficionado.

After screening about a dozen YouTube videos looking for a demonstration I could stand behind I found this one.  But – it still falls short.  I have a number of comments/corrections to add, but I liked the sound track.  Take a look, and then check out my critique below.

First, you probably noticed the lime ingredient is referred to as a lemon.  That’s because the common name of this fruit in Portuguese is “limão” and there really are no true yellow lemons here, except in the imported fruit section of better grocery stores (so there is little reference for Brazilians to make a distinction).  Actually, my fancy dictionary says that in Portuguese a lime is “lima” and a lemon is “limão” but everyone I’ve ever heard calls a lime a limão.  Luiz still gets these two fruits mixed up.  Anyway…

Next, that bottle of cachaça wrapped in that distinctive cane webbing is undoubtedly Ypióca brand.  Personally, I would not use it for caipirinhas, especially the dark variety.  I prefer the darker (aged in wood, thus the color) cachaças for sipping and use exclusively clear cachaças for caipirinhas. (Unless there is no choice…)

The video suggests that the darker cachaças are generally sweeter than the clear.  I’m not so sure about that.  They definitely are more flavorful, but not necessarily sweeter.  It is this flavor (however refined or not) that makes them ill-matched for a caipirinha.  Stick with the clear fire water stuff.

A plião is basically a muddler.  Be sure to keep your food and beverage muddlers separate.  You do not want to use your garlic crushing or spice grinding pestle to smash up sugar and limes for a cocktail.

As is done in the video, I like to cut the lime into pretty small pieces (don’t forget to give them a good washing before you use them), this makes for more surface area involved when you muddle, releasing more juice from the fruit and oil from the peel.  Some people prefer the aesthetic of larger wedges.

Sugar quantity is a personal taste thing.  I err on the less-sweet side.  If you want a sweet drink, make a kiwi or maracujá “caipifruta.”  In a caipirinha I think you should use enough sugar to balance out the bitter and tart flavors of the lime, but not try to go for a sweet drink.  The example in the video has too much sugar, IMHO, as evidenced by the layer of undissolved sugar mud at the bottom of the glass in his finished product.  When perfect flavor is not an issue, some folks prefer to use artificial sweetener to save on all the calories.

Like the video, I fill the glass with (filtered water) ice and top it off with the cachaça.  But unlike the video, I then plop it all into a cocktail shaker (or suitable substitute) and shake the heck out of it for a good long time.  This both gets it nicely chilled, as well as facilitates dissolving the sugar.  Then I pour it all back into the glass.

Again, use clear cachaça.  That nasty brownish cocktail at the end of the video turns me off.

One other thing: while most people turn their noses up at Cachaça 51 brand cachaça as being rot gut cheap stuff, I think it actually is perfect for a standard caipirinha.  But that’s just me.

Remember, don’t drink and drive.

To REALLY get an eye full of all things cachaça, take a look at the Cachaçagora blog.

Carnaval weekend

Carnaval is one of those long weekends we spend a lot of time planning for.  We don’t go anywhere, just across the bay to Rio.  Luiz has a lifetime of experience working every last bit of excitement out of the event and he still insists on a full tilt weekend.

We’re not the twenty-something party guys we once were.  Actually, we’ve held our own into our fifty-something years, but it is worth noting that things have changed.  Now we take pain relief medication and sore muscle cream in our overnight bags.

Anyway – I thought rather than a trip tick log of our weekend I would share some thoughts and impressions we had along the way, in no particular order.

-          Old haunts like Elite (a gay club open only during Carnaval) hosting a 15 person band playing classic samba tunes can still draw an over-flowing crowd.  Might I add that the crowd has aged with the club – so we felt right at home.  Luiz danced nonstop until 4 in the morning.

-          Tip: best to buy your subway ticket WAY in advance.  The line during Carnaval can take 30 minutes! (Luiz gets a free pass, including me, due to his chronic health situation.)

-          Packing your own food and drink saves a bundle.  We entered the Sambadromo with two thermal bags filled with beer/ice along with a plastic bag with our sandwiches.  Carnaval night cost us only R$8 for ice.

-          The Rio Carnaval street party scene (blocos) seems to have exploded in recent years.  Everywhere we went in Rio – if there was a public square, there was a bloco.  Everywhere.

-          Angels do exist.  Rachel and Daniel generously offered us their apartment, while they were away, to crash between all-night marathons from Saturday through Wednesday.  Mil beijos!

-          Contrary to established lore, Banda de Ipanema is no longer a gay bloco. There was a time (for many, many years) when the gays and the meticulously adorned, larger than life drag performers would crowd the Banda de Ipanema bloco.  Trust me – those days are gone.

-          This year the city government of Rio rolled out a strategy to calm the frenzied street vendors selling beer and other beverages along every curb throughout Carnaval.  Vendors had to get a license or their goods would be confiscated. (The price was minimal.)  It worked!  Things were calmer, while there were still a gazillion vendors on the street.  The city also promoted a campaign to discourage peeing on the streets (UUUURRGGHHH!!!!). It included a hundred times more chemical porta-toilets.  This also seemed to have an impact.  This was definitely a case of Rio getting caught being good.  Hurray!

-          While I have long maintained that the best kept secret among travel agents around the world is that Carnaval in Rio happens during the rainy season (and it almost ALWAYS rains during Carnaval) this year we were fortunate to view Sunday’s Parade with only a tiny bit of rain.  Monday had a downpour during Grande Rio’s performance, but otherwise was dry.  It was an unusually dry year.

-          Our friends Lilian, Zanza, Paulo and Liani ran the marathon this year.  They paraded with the “Access” group, Cubango, on Saturday, sat with us in the stands all night on Sunday to watch half of the “Special” schools parade, then returned Monday night to parade with Beija Flor, stepping off at 5:00 a.m., for the second half of the Special groups.  Can you say exhausted!?

-          Time is turned topsy turvey during Carnaval.  Day becomes night and night becomes day.  Then it takes a few days to get back on your feet.

Any Carnaval experiences/thoughts you wish to share?

Attending Rio's samba schools' rehearsals

This final month before Carnaval is packed with Samba Schools meeting to rehearse in their own quadra (huge community building), in the streets, or even in the Sambadromo.  These rehearsals are a blast.  The energy is electric and the pounding percussion music along with the singing of the School’s samba works its way into your bones until there is no resisting the urge to dance.

When people ask me about planning their trip to Rio for Carnaval I always suggest they come a couple of weeks prior to carnival so they can take advantage of these high energy nighttime parties.

Last night Luiz went to Beija-Flor’s rehearsal with some friends.  At about 4:00 a.m. I heard him getting home, showering and then coming to bed.  These rehearsals are not for the faint of heart.

I’ve listed here the Schools, their address, rehearsal night(s), what their School colors are, what the entrance fee is to get in to the rehearsal (if I could find it), as well as their website for more information.

If you go, be sure to wear clothing that features the School’s colors.  Google Maps where you are going and understand your transportation approach.  Many of the schools list bus lines that access their quadras on their websites.  In many cases you do not want to be a gringo wandering the streets in a strange neighborhood at 3:00 in the morning.

Check out a few different Schools.  The energy varies and the samba is certainly different.  My favorite part is often the street party out front of the quadra, which will continue until the sun comes up.

Note: if the School lists two nights of rehearsals and one is Saturday, keep in mind that the Saturday rehearsal may very well be more of a fundraising and energy boosting party than a technical rehearsal.  Some people prefer the party night, others the rehearsal night.

HAVE FUN!

BEIJA-FLOR

Pracinha Wallace Paes Leme 1025 - Nilópolis
Rehearsal night: Thursdays 21:00
Colors: blue and white

Entrance fee: R$10

http://beija-flor.com.br/___2011_novo/index.html

GRANDE RIO

Colégio São José, Av. Presidente Kennedy - Duque de Caxias
Rehearsal night: Fridays 22:00
Colors: red, green and white

Entrance fee:

http://www.academicosdogranderio.com.br/

IMPERATRIZ LEOPOLDINENSE

Rua Professor Lacê 235 – Ramos
Rehearsal night: Sundays 20:00
Colors: green, white and gold

Entrance fee:

http://www.imperatrizleopoldinense.com.br/

MANGUEIRA

Rua Visconde de Niterói 1072 - Mangueira
Rehearsal night: Saturdays 22:00
Colors: green and pink

Entrance fee:

http://www.mangueira.com.br/

MOCIDADE

Rua Coronel Tamarindo 38 - Padre Miguel
Rehearsal night: Saturdays 22:00
Colors: green and white

Entrance fee:

http://www.gresmocidade.com.br/

PORTELA

Rua Clara Nunes 81 – Madureira
Wednesdays 20:00
Rehearsal night: Fridays 22:00
Colors: blue and white

Entrance fee:

http://www.gresportela.com.br/

PORTO DA PEDRA

Rua Lúcio Tomé Feteira 290, Vila Lage - São Gonçalo
Samba nights: Wednesdays 20:00
Colors: red and white

Entrance fee:

http://www.unidosdoportodapedra.com.br/index.php

SALGUEIRO

Rua Silva Teles 104 - Tijuca
Rehearsal night: Saturdays 22:00
Colors: red and white

Entrance fee: R$50

http://www.salgueiro.com.br/

SAO CLEMENTE

Av. Presidente Vargas, 3102 - Centro
Rehearsal nights: Tuesdays 20:00, Saturdays 22:00
Colors: yellow and black

Entrance fee:

http://www.saoclemente.com.br/joomla/

UNIAO DA ILHA

Estrada do Galeão,322 - Ilha do Governador
Samba nights: Tuesdays 20:00, Saturdays 22:00
Colors: blue, red and white

Entrance fee:

http://www.gresuniaodailha.com.br/index.html

UNIDOS DA TIJUCA

Clube dos Portuários, Av. Francisco Bicalho 47 – São Cristóvão
Rehearsal nights: Fridays and Saturdays 20:00
Colors: yellow and blue

Entrance fee: R$30

http://unidosdatijuca.com.br/

VILA ISABEL

Av. 28 de Setembro 382 - Vila Isabel
Rehearsal nights: Tuesdays 20:00, Saturdays 22:00
Colors: blue and white

Entrance fee: R$10

http://www.gresunidosdevilaisabel.com.br/

Rio Carnaval tickets for sale

Thanks to the forever unexplainable ongoing good luck that is my husband (he wins everything) we were able to purchase more tickets to Rio’s Carnaval parade than we need.  In fact, within our circle of friends we had a good year and many people were able to buy tickets, so our extras are not needed among our group, which goes to the event almost every year.  Having extra tickets is not an easy feat.  Tickets sold out (for both nights) in less than 10 minutes.  Look here for more about our phone-frenzy morning the day they went on sale.

We have six tickets for sale for Sunday, March 6^th in Sector 3, the night we will be attending. They are available for R$275 each (that’s reais, not dollars).  (The trusted website many folks turn to for tickets sells the same ticket for R$375 – but they are already sold out.)

Our group of friends is a bit crazy about Carnaval.  We go to many, many pre-Carnaval samba school rehearsals.  Most everyone knows all the words to all the Schools’ sambas before the parade.  And this year four of our friends will be parading with Beja Flor on Monday night (well, actually at 4:30 a.m. on Tuesday morning, but hey…)

Sector 3 is the second section up on the left, the first is Sector 1

Sector 3 is right near the beginning of the parade.  The seats are up in the bleachers with a great “looking down from above” view of everything.  As is true for most Sectors, there are not assigned seats.  You have to arrive early and camp out to get a good spot.  We always bring sandwiches, salgadinhos, fruit and treats – along with beer and water to last us through the night.  You just can’t bring in glass containers. 

The insiders among us will tell you that Sunday has a “better” lineup than Monday.  That is, the more popular or accomplished Schools will be parading Sunday, with some exceptions.  The champion from last year, Unidos da Tijuca, will be parading then.  And the night includes Mangueira, the oldest and some would say the most popular and traditional of all the schools.  For the full schedule, look here. It promises to be one heck of a show.  Plan to spend all night.  The competition begins at 9:00 p.m. and continues until the sun rises.

Overall safety is not an issue within the Sambadromo.  Everyone brings their camera.  Food and beverages are sold by vendors throughout the night. It’s a good idea to bring a little stadium cushion to sit on!

Anyway, I will write more about how a night watching the Carnaval parade in Rio works as we get closer.  WAY too much info for one post!

Let me know if you have any questions or if you are interested in the tickets.  Bom Carnaval!

UPDATE: Two tickets have been sold. (That took 4.5 hours...)  Just four left. (Selling only in pairs.)

Staying cool in hot Brazil

Here we are, summer in Rio de Janeiro. That means two things: punishingly hot days and sporadic (nearly daily) summer downpours. When it is hot, it is HOT. And when it rains, it RAINS!

But it’s pretty much predictable. The mornings will be hot and sunny and the afternoons will be overcast, then rainy (but still hot).

It’s not rocket science. In fact it is predictable meteorologically. While your travel agent will never tell you that Rio in the summer is rainy, it definitely affects how you spend your day.

Take it from a local: get to the beach by 10:00 a.m. It will already be jumpin’ with activity. It will be sunny and HOT. Stake out your place and enjoy the water. Do not forget to re-apply your sunscreen. You may think the early hours of sunshine are less consequential, but no…

Then by 1:00 or 2:00 p.m. – GET OUT OF THE SUN. Even if you are under an umbrella – the sun is scorching you. Trust me. Go back to your apartment or hotel and take a shower. Take a nap. There will be more fun to participate in when you wake up.

Now you can return to the beach after the worst of the heat has past. Go have a beer at a beach-side kiosk. Go join a gathering crowd around a group of musicians celebrating summer in song. Go find your place to munch on appetizers before you move on to your night time activity.

Celebrating summer in Rio is about enjoying the beach without a sunburn, escaping the worst of the heat and then showering, reconnecting with friends in the evening hours, and not shying away from the night time rain while you go out for dinner and then clubbing until dawn.

Yes it will rain, but as Luiz often asks: “What? Are you made of paper?”

Tickets for Rio’s Carnaval go on sale tomorrow

Think: Ticketron and Lady Gaga or Rolling Stones.

Tomorrow, beginning moments before 9:00 a.m., everyone we know will be hitting re-dial from all their phones trying to get through to the computers that will be taking ticket orders.  All of the available tickets for both Sunday and Monday’s big event (March 6th and 7th) will sell out in less than 10 minutes.

It’s always a frantic 10 minutes.  Busy, re-dial.  Busy, re-dial.  Busy, redial.

Each sector has its own phone number.  If the computer picks up here's how it goes (something to this effect): "You have reached the ticket agency for Rio Carnaval 2011.  Listen carefully.  Have a paper and pencil handy, as well as your CPF number.  You may reserve up to four tickets for Sunday, March 6th.  Please enter the number of tickets you wish to reserve, or press zero if you do not want any tickets for Sunday's event.  Please wait... You my reserve up to 4 tickets for Monday, March 7th.  Please enter...  Please wait.  Your order is confirmed...  Your reservation number is...  To pick up your tickets you must go to the Bradesco Bank office in Centro Rio on January 13 or 14 in Centro Rio... (and pay for them).  If you do not show up, your tickets will be made available to others who wish to purchace them."

While we all try to get tickets to attend, LOTS of people are trying to get tickets because they can be sold INSTANTLY upon exiting the Bradesco office where the ticktes are purchased for up to twice their value.

It’s always a crazy morning.  I’ll let you know how it works out.

UPDATE!!!  Luiz is a super lucky man!  We used our home phone and his cell phone to try and connect.  (My cell - I forgot to re-activate my chip for January so it was a dud.)  Luiz got through once and used his CPF to get 4 tickets for both Sunday and Monday, then he got through again and used my CPF to get 4 tickets for Sunday -- by that time all tickets for Monday were sold out.

Of the six other friends who were dialing for tickets this morning 3 of them got tickets as well!  So it looks like our entire group will be going. *happy dance*

Celebrating New Year's Eve in Niterói

Our New Year’s Eve party was a lot of fun.  It was so much fun that we never pulled away to go to the beach to watch the fireworks.  **It’s hard to do everything!**

Luiz’s floating offering to Iemanjá played double duty as the buffet centerpiece.  As it turned out Luiz and I went to Itaipú beach the next day to set the boat afloat and offer our thanks.  The sea was a bit rough, so Iemanjá reached right up, grabbed the boat and sucked it under.  (That’s a good thing.)

Back at the house we celebrated the beginning of 2011 in all the usual ways: ham, pork loin, empadinhas, coxinhas, beans, rice, farofa, fruit, rabanada, Panetone --- and Jim cooked but no one ate: green beans (what!? a vegetable!!?)  Did I mention cold beer?

Marco Aurelio got a loud speaker and DJ software for Xmas, so he kept us in tunes.  In fact, I woke up early the next morning and Marco Aurelio was STILL seated in front of his laptop (asleep, however) keeping the music going.  I'm sure the neighbors were happy about the endless entertainment.

We had a great time.  It’s always fun to bring our group together.