With dozens of possible sites to visit, I wasn't sure where to begin in Rio. I decided to get my bearings from on high at Cristo Rendentor (this, and the fact that I am hoping to do the more touristy activities in Rio before the Olympic crowds descend in August.) The view was expectedly stunning. Almost more unexpected was the collective experience of being at the monument with hundreds of other people and their selfie sticks, people lying on the ground to get the best photo of the statue, lining up to get "the" best shot of the bay, and photobombing strangers' photos. Since ascending Corcovado, as I move around the city of Rio, it is exciting to have this statue as a point of reference. Seeing it from afar (too tiny to photograph) gives me a sense of scale in the urban environment. Steve arrived on Monday morning and will be here for the week! Our first breakfast was prepared by the fabulous Daniella Costa, my host in Rio: homemade pão de queijo, and tapioca with queijo minas and guava paste (a "Romeo and Juliet"). Pão de queijo is a typical Brazilian breakfast bite - cheese + bread, made with yucca flour so it's kind of chewy. Queijo minas is a delicious fresh white cheese from the Minas Gerais region of Brazil that I am hoping to eat a LOT more of while I'm here. Updates on some art and buildings to come shortly!
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Olá tudos from JFK airport in New York! My backpack and I are on the road and ready to explore Brazil and its architecture for the next 6 weeks. Thank you for following my adventures here. I would love to hear from you along the way! Please feel free to comment on my posts and share your thoughts.
I bid farewell to the United States today with a fabulous New York bagel (truly, is there any other way), and a run-in with Alisa -- a good omen if there ever were one. Oh, and a harrowing call with LATAM airlines in which my flight appeared to be cancelled (not pictured for obvious reasons).
My project this summer explores architectural vocabuaries of nation-building in Brazil, particularly in the 1930s, 1940s, and 1950s, when ideas of modernism and historic preservation developed side by side. For more, see the "about the project" page.
The itinerary for such a project will take me through a diverse array of regions -- from one of the largest cities in the world, to a tiny one-pousada town of a long-abandoned Jesuit mission; from the modernist utopian plan of Brazil's capital, to the country's current preparations for the summer Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro. And because all my travel seems to inevitably start with a google map, here you have it:
I am all ears for any recommendations or suggestions you might have. More to come! Time to board...
- Lee Ann TEST POST I am stocked up on mosquito repellent and ready to go!
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