R.G. DAYS 3,4

RIO DE JANEIRO:

I am not sure where I have left off...but I'll start with Friday.

Friday was a long walk through Copacabana and Ipanema...Copacabana is known as the tourist sector of the city and hence people are always coming up to me wanting to sell whatever they have in their hands at the moment...mostly shirts and baseball caps, but I have seen jewelry, cigarettes, and the occasional underwear. nothing too exciting.

However, Ipanema, is one of the more upscale neighborhoods of the city and therefore has less street pedalers. The best bars and restaurants are located here in addition to the Lagoa Rodrigo de Freitas...an interior lake under the arms of the Cristo Rendentor. There is an 8km trail around the lake for jogging and cycling and the city's row team is housed here. I have been told to visit a few bars/restaurants in this zone, so tonight I shall check them out.

SATURDAY:

Today, after a nice run along Copacaban, I traveled to centro via the metro. Like Sao Paulo, it is easy to navigate and very clean. At the cinelandia metro stop, I visited a square in which the Biblioteca Nacional, Teatro Minicipal, and the Museu Nacional de Belas Artes surround. Each is classical in style...The national library was not officially open to the public, but I was allowed to visit the lobby and the stair atrium...There was what appeared to be a middle school graduation ceremony that I crashed and I am sure all of the parents were thinking, 'who is that guy related to?!' But, it was a cute ceremony.

The Belas Artes has a vast collection of Brazilian painting and sculpture. The collection bascially followed the trajectory of the history of art, so you could trace the Brazilian perspective of the differnt art movements. Also, I was able to see an exhibition of the landscape architect Roberto Burle Marx which was spectacular. There were models, sketches, and final drawings for different projects across the nation. I also learned he was a sculpture, too.

Unfortunately, the Teatro National was closed for renovations, but I was told it was modeled (almost literally) to the Paris Opera by Garnier.

The last stop of the day was a visit to the Museu de Arte Moderna (MAM) designed in 1952 by Lucio Costa and Eduardo Reidy. It is a concrete bar building set with a theater (that I only later learned...more on that experience) in a expansive Burle Marx landscape/park. The exhibits included a Brazilian photographer (whose name I have forgotten) and a spectacular painter (whose name I have just not on me).

Tonight, I have found a broadway show (whose name I shall not mention, but is closed on broadway) to see. Although I have no idea where the theater is, I take a cab to make the 7.30 start time. I arrived surprised by the fact that I am back at the MAM and I am thinking this is a mistake, but I do not know how to tell the driver this. He drops me off at a ticket kiosk...there is no sign or indication that the show I am supposed to see is actually playing, so I get nervous...

I am indeed at the correct venue...fortunately, and after getting my ticket, I am told the show is here and what I have just now learned is the theater adjoing the museum just recently visited. However, I am the only person outside and there is no activity in the building. Did I get the days wrong? I look again at the ticket and see 21.30. Quick (and simple) math indicates this to be 9.30 and not 7.30! So I am two hours early and from my walking today, I remember a. there are no places in the immediate area to grab a drink or dinner and b. I was told this is not the place to be alone after dark. Not wanting to drop another round trip fare via taxi, I get back to the metro and return to my area for a quick snack and drink before making my way back to the show.

This is not the typical broadway experience I have grown accustomed to...not that this is a problem, but for starters, I arrive and am handed what I thought were sanitary towels to clean my hands with...a nice gesture. But upon closer inspection before I opened the package, I realized it was Palmolive dishwashing detergent samples! I look around and see Palmolive soap, advertisements, and signage everywhere! Having no need for dishwashing detergent, I returned so some other Carioca (a person from Rio) can enjoy.

As I make my way to my seat, I locate the orchestra section and step into the theater. There are no seats or I should say not your typical stadium style seats, but a flat and what feels like a scaled up version of my elementary school cafeteria complete with hundreds of tables for four and a raised platform that is the stage! I didn't realize this was a 'dinner theater' experience or I would have forgone the snack earlier! I find my table and I am seat 'c'...which is not marked any where. I assume the couple I am setting with are a and b, so I take a seat, but the stage is to my back. To make a long story short, seat d is the largest Brazilian I have seen on my trip and table 516 and 518 on either side of us are so tightly packed that the seats between tables touch each other when occupied. I can clearly see that 'd' is agitated that 'c' (me) is also tall and broad shouldered. He makes a scene and proceeds to set in the aisle, now in front of seat 'a' at my table. She gets pissed and sends him away. At this time, a loud buzzer sounds and we are to take our seats. After 'd' is asked to move three times, he finds a spot; I turn my seat towards the stage, and we enjoy the show.