at least thats the way they pronounce futbol, fussball, or soccer around here...but the games just the same, if not a little more crazy...i was in a riot once in london but the game itself was rather calm, this time not so much...last weekend we watch part 1 of the city championship in a bar...playing were flamango in the red/black and botafogo in the black/white...my buddy andre goes for flamango while bruno and iafa go botafogo...the first half of the game 2-0 black, but not really interesting and i was nearly falling asleep part way through the second 45 until flamango scores its first on a penalty kick cause by the goalie tripping up the forward and receiving a red card...sucks for the replacement goalie who confidence perhaps what shattered first 5 seconds on the field leading up for another score 10 minutes later...two more red cards, a shitload of yellows and the game remained tied at 2-2...no overtime, no pk because this is just game one of two to decide the campione...
game two we got tickets, since the first game was tied, the score on the board at the end of this all determines the winner...had one team been up a goal or two, it would have had a lead going into the game...so we arrive at the stadium to find what you find all over rio, a big party going on...so many street vendors selling this or that, jerseys, food, flags, stuffed animals, beer here and beer there but having left the club at 7am with the sun coming up and only getting about 4 hours of bad sleep i was in no mood nor was anyone else fortunately...we head around the massive stadium to get into the gates and scope out some seats in the middle of both camps since both bruno and andre were with me...0-0 at half and the game was going by slowly, i tried to take a nap during halftime but decided to watch a bunch of rowdies on the field playing with a 20 foot high and wide soccer ball, about 10 guys on either side trying to push it into the others goal, it was quite entertaining as many were quite drunk...second half and finally it starts to pickup, a few cards start flying and goals start scoring...1-0, 1-1, 2-1, 2-2...only a second yellow followed by a red and the 90 minutes are up, tied again...
however instead of going into overtime play, rules here go straight to penalty kicks...interesting...botafogos first two are blocked while flamangos first two go in...a few more kicks later and its the red & black on top as the new champions 4-2...game over we watch the cheering begin on the red side of the this massive stadium, once the largest in the world, while the blues seats empty quicker than the blocked goals...we eventually head out and home and i realized everything i really wanted to do while i was hear had now been accomplished...my list wasnt long but seeing a game was the last on it and a championship match made it all the better...but next time im picking sides.
Tuesday, May 08, 2007
Monday, May 07, 2007
The Beauty of Christ
i think beauty here breeds beauty everywhere...from person to person, from place to place...beautiful people must require a beautiful city
there are many spots inside the city from which to view the wonders 11 million people live for...atop sugar loaf, two mountains inside the city is one of these such places...its a two hour hike to the top of the first and a 2-minute cable car ride to the top of the next or a $500 helicopter ride...we took the cable car the whole way for $15, this is because im a lazy american...the second, maybe third highest point in the city, we caught the views during mid-day, no more explaining, just checkout the pictures...
the second spot is from up above, the Christ himself...not quite heaven but as close as the builders of this massive statue of Jesus himself could get...the highest point in the city, the views from this mountain, Corcovado, where atop stands a 125 foot high stone statue of Christ the Redeemer is again magnificent...caught just before sunset, im told is one of the best times so we managed to drive up a windy road to see the almighty, city and statue...
there are many spots inside the city from which to view the wonders 11 million people live for...atop sugar loaf, two mountains inside the city is one of these such places...its a two hour hike to the top of the first and a 2-minute cable car ride to the top of the next or a $500 helicopter ride...we took the cable car the whole way for $15, this is because im a lazy american...the second, maybe third highest point in the city, we caught the views during mid-day, no more explaining, just checkout the pictures...
the second spot is from up above, the Christ himself...not quite heaven but as close as the builders of this massive statue of Jesus himself could get...the highest point in the city, the views from this mountain, Corcovado, where atop stands a 125 foot high stone statue of Christ the Redeemer is again magnificent...caught just before sunset, im told is one of the best times so we managed to drive up a windy road to see the almighty, city and statue...
Saturday, May 05, 2007
7th grade
im not sure what it is...maybe im a nice guy but i think most would say the opposite...or they will after this one...its the first night in rio and im tired but after a nap, a large dinner (see brazilian bbq), a shower, shit and shave we head out for the night...around here its early to go out before 11pm...im still getting used to it, but the clubs dont shut down til 5 or 6am at the earliest and the bars 3...we were on the list for a new club in town that happened to be right down the street from my hostel so we headed on down only to find what you do at a typical club door...bouncers not really sure whats going on, no one really going by the list and random people hanging out in a supposed line, confused at to what is going on...after enough of that we walked a few more steps where andre's buddy was working the door at another club and headed inside...
cover charges around here are different...not only do you often pay your $25 or more to get in, you're also required to have a minimum bar tab...no problem there...per person, still no problem...by the end of the night i could have covered a whole groups, but this is due to $7 red bulls, $5 vodkas, and i didnt even wanna look at the rest of the menu...needless to say it ran up fast but for many reasons...the first of which i think we ate too much, the second being i do believe sea level, and the third, well the company that tried to accompany us throughout the night...moving into asshole mode and suming it up
...since 7th grade fat chicks have always shown an interest...why, ill leave that for whoever wants to take a shot, but its not something im so very proud of, in fact i think most people wouldnt admit it, but ill be honest, it happens...not all the time but too often for comfort...it all started when andre saw a sorta acquiantence across the club he knew from the states, apparently he drank too much one night and she wanted to make out...it happens...eventually she spots him and comes over, trys to introduce herself to me but is to influenced...the typical conversation ensues about where are your friends, hows life, etc...now the friends andres claims she was with earlier in the night were cute, as were a large, perhaps majority of the girls here (another blog, another day)...but the ones that showed up not so much...read scary...it was amazing that all of sudden i couldnt understand broken english much less hear anything at all, for this i love being a foreigner in another country because i can play that card all day, all night long...im not going to go into the specifics of height, weight, shape, form except to say i kept turning around to get another drink...i shyed away for awhile but they kept coming back, andre was looking for a bailout, then i was, then he was and it repeated over and over each time one of us went to the bar or bath...and then to top it off the third friend showed up, same category, so drunk i kept getting "bumped" into by these huge nasty things and finally, i just had to leave...
eventually it all went away and eventually we left and eventually we had to tell the story and ponder back about my first night in a foreign country with so many amazingly beautiful women only to be ironically hounded by pit bulls, emphasis on the bull.
cover charges around here are different...not only do you often pay your $25 or more to get in, you're also required to have a minimum bar tab...no problem there...per person, still no problem...by the end of the night i could have covered a whole groups, but this is due to $7 red bulls, $5 vodkas, and i didnt even wanna look at the rest of the menu...needless to say it ran up fast but for many reasons...the first of which i think we ate too much, the second being i do believe sea level, and the third, well the company that tried to accompany us throughout the night...moving into asshole mode and suming it up
...since 7th grade fat chicks have always shown an interest...why, ill leave that for whoever wants to take a shot, but its not something im so very proud of, in fact i think most people wouldnt admit it, but ill be honest, it happens...not all the time but too often for comfort...it all started when andre saw a sorta acquiantence across the club he knew from the states, apparently he drank too much one night and she wanted to make out...it happens...eventually she spots him and comes over, trys to introduce herself to me but is to influenced...the typical conversation ensues about where are your friends, hows life, etc...now the friends andres claims she was with earlier in the night were cute, as were a large, perhaps majority of the girls here (another blog, another day)...but the ones that showed up not so much...read scary...it was amazing that all of sudden i couldnt understand broken english much less hear anything at all, for this i love being a foreigner in another country because i can play that card all day, all night long...im not going to go into the specifics of height, weight, shape, form except to say i kept turning around to get another drink...i shyed away for awhile but they kept coming back, andre was looking for a bailout, then i was, then he was and it repeated over and over each time one of us went to the bar or bath...and then to top it off the third friend showed up, same category, so drunk i kept getting "bumped" into by these huge nasty things and finally, i just had to leave...
eventually it all went away and eventually we left and eventually we had to tell the story and ponder back about my first night in a foreign country with so many amazingly beautiful women only to be ironically hounded by pit bulls, emphasis on the bull.
taco bell
find it here no...although mcdonalds is around, i even saw a pizza hut billboard, and subway ill pass...but there is plenty of other eat fresh places around here, every corner, every alley, someone is trying to sell you something and quite often its food...its amazing how so many brazilians stay skinny (topic for another day)...and you know how street food is just that, street food...most of this is good, some of it is great...
there is the corner bakery, the big one, with everything but not as you'd expect...they like bread here, but not sliced bread, better shit has happened since then...pastries are everywhere and filled with everything, meat, cheeses, vegetables, you get the idea...and its cheap, fill up for a buck or two, maybe three...then add a fresh fruit smoothie-juice-sucros (you pick the fruit, they make the drink) to your mix and call it a meal...
leave the corner to find more pastries in smaller shops, standing room only often, along with typical food, sandwiches, burgers, beer, canned and fresh juice, matte the brazilian form of sweet tea is excellent...sometimes the shops specialize in only one thing, like the dough filled with ground beef, shrimp, or cheese, dropped in the fryer and served up warm with a glass of laranajada (think mcdonalds orange drink x10)...simply amazing the plethora of random foods, drinks, etc. available...
and if ur lucky you'll find something open at 3am but around 5, its only hot dogs on the street which i will not recommend although the brazilians love them, i got sick, days later i think the taste was still fucking with my stomach...
move along to the beach where abacachi (fresh pineapple) and acacaxi, purple fruit don't know the name in smoothie form, are found...or get cheese, cooked to order, yes guy carries around little oven to cook your cheese on a stick with, its again, the best...or find more pastries like empadas filled with cheese or ground beef or shrimp or chicken...if looking for a sweet, try the coconut concoction, ground and covered in shavings, topped with a sweet syrup, all coconut which i don't even like but it was good...what makes it all even better you never have to leave your lawn chair, wave your hand and here it comes...
all better than the 2am drive thru nachos bell grande...
there is the corner bakery, the big one, with everything but not as you'd expect...they like bread here, but not sliced bread, better shit has happened since then...pastries are everywhere and filled with everything, meat, cheeses, vegetables, you get the idea...and its cheap, fill up for a buck or two, maybe three...then add a fresh fruit smoothie-juice-sucros (you pick the fruit, they make the drink) to your mix and call it a meal...
leave the corner to find more pastries in smaller shops, standing room only often, along with typical food, sandwiches, burgers, beer, canned and fresh juice, matte the brazilian form of sweet tea is excellent...sometimes the shops specialize in only one thing, like the dough filled with ground beef, shrimp, or cheese, dropped in the fryer and served up warm with a glass of laranajada (think mcdonalds orange drink x10)...simply amazing the plethora of random foods, drinks, etc. available...
and if ur lucky you'll find something open at 3am but around 5, its only hot dogs on the street which i will not recommend although the brazilians love them, i got sick, days later i think the taste was still fucking with my stomach...
move along to the beach where abacachi (fresh pineapple) and acacaxi, purple fruit don't know the name in smoothie form, are found...or get cheese, cooked to order, yes guy carries around little oven to cook your cheese on a stick with, its again, the best...or find more pastries like empadas filled with cheese or ground beef or shrimp or chicken...if looking for a sweet, try the coconut concoction, ground and covered in shavings, topped with a sweet syrup, all coconut which i don't even like but it was good...what makes it all even better you never have to leave your lawn chair, wave your hand and here it comes...
all better than the 2am drive thru nachos bell grande...
8 ingredients
whenever i go places i often run into ideas, foodwise, i think would be a huge hit in the states but yet im not going to go back, raise capital and open my own chain because that means all sorts of things like settling down, or living in the states, or being corporate, or etc...so ill just share a few here along with other concepts, bars, and more ive recently filled my gut with...
spoletto, its italian, fast food, in the same realm as fazzoli's...standing in line inside the food court of one of the many shopping malls in this huge city im trying to decide what to eat...i can choose from lasagna, which i do, or go with ravioli, penne, spaghetti, rigatoni, and the list goes on...basically you pick the pasta, pick the sauce, pick the up to eight ingredients...like corn, peas, bacon, chicken, ham, broccoli, nuts, and a whole mess of other shit i knew and didn't know...and after all the selections they cook it up right then and there for you in a frying pan to your liking, then pour from pan to bowl, pay and go...its a simple concept, but with so many choices, and everything looked amazing, for fast food, not to mention healthy and all that jargon...
on healthy lets visit honi, a new startup here....small sushi type bar, modern decor, outside mostly seating, some standing...its here they serve what ive learned is a tamaki...ive not seen these in the states but perhaps this is just because i only ever order sushi rolls or fish...essentially its a large piece of seaweed paper, filled with rice, fresh salmon, tuna, kani or all of the above, perhaps some avocado or mango or cream cheese or whatever else you might find in a sushi roll, and shaped into a cone...fill it with soy and wasabi and munch away...cheap, quick, delicious and addicting...
then there is the all you can eat sushi joint for $15 bucks...yeah i know sounds crazy but this isnt buffet either...sit down, order off the sushi menu as normal, whether its crazy rolls, straight up fish, salad, soup, tamakis too, etc...the only downside, the supply of fish around here is limited, at least in its raw form, to salmon, tuna, kani, and octopus (maybe one other)...fortunately salmon and tuna are two of my favorites so i dont mind...the display isnt quite the level i get in the states but again, check the price, oh and...sake not included.
unlimited eating here doesn't stop at sushi however and i experienced my first brazilian bbq...think of any meat you want, chicken, pork, steaks, of all cuts and sizes...this is how it works, sit down, flip over your card that says bring more or stop, green and red...and here it comes, filet mignon here, sausage links there, chicken tongues, grilled shrimp, fresh fish, the list goes on forever...then add to it whatever sides you want, simple fries or rice or potatoes...but why fill up on starches, here its about the meats...or you can head to the buffet area to find prepared dishes like clam shells filled with crab meat, salmon in garlic butter glaze...but im not done yet, add the all you can eat sushi to the mix and sum it all up with dessert from ice cream to flan to carrot and chocolate cake...i passed on all that so full of full...note, only drink one beer, two or more fills you up and leaves you wobbling out the door and unable to get drunk for 5 hours or more.
after the real meals comes the snacks...so many ill put all that in my next blog...
spoletto, its italian, fast food, in the same realm as fazzoli's...standing in line inside the food court of one of the many shopping malls in this huge city im trying to decide what to eat...i can choose from lasagna, which i do, or go with ravioli, penne, spaghetti, rigatoni, and the list goes on...basically you pick the pasta, pick the sauce, pick the up to eight ingredients...like corn, peas, bacon, chicken, ham, broccoli, nuts, and a whole mess of other shit i knew and didn't know...and after all the selections they cook it up right then and there for you in a frying pan to your liking, then pour from pan to bowl, pay and go...its a simple concept, but with so many choices, and everything looked amazing, for fast food, not to mention healthy and all that jargon...
on healthy lets visit honi, a new startup here....small sushi type bar, modern decor, outside mostly seating, some standing...its here they serve what ive learned is a tamaki...ive not seen these in the states but perhaps this is just because i only ever order sushi rolls or fish...essentially its a large piece of seaweed paper, filled with rice, fresh salmon, tuna, kani or all of the above, perhaps some avocado or mango or cream cheese or whatever else you might find in a sushi roll, and shaped into a cone...fill it with soy and wasabi and munch away...cheap, quick, delicious and addicting...
then there is the all you can eat sushi joint for $15 bucks...yeah i know sounds crazy but this isnt buffet either...sit down, order off the sushi menu as normal, whether its crazy rolls, straight up fish, salad, soup, tamakis too, etc...the only downside, the supply of fish around here is limited, at least in its raw form, to salmon, tuna, kani, and octopus (maybe one other)...fortunately salmon and tuna are two of my favorites so i dont mind...the display isnt quite the level i get in the states but again, check the price, oh and...sake not included.
unlimited eating here doesn't stop at sushi however and i experienced my first brazilian bbq...think of any meat you want, chicken, pork, steaks, of all cuts and sizes...this is how it works, sit down, flip over your card that says bring more or stop, green and red...and here it comes, filet mignon here, sausage links there, chicken tongues, grilled shrimp, fresh fish, the list goes on forever...then add to it whatever sides you want, simple fries or rice or potatoes...but why fill up on starches, here its about the meats...or you can head to the buffet area to find prepared dishes like clam shells filled with crab meat, salmon in garlic butter glaze...but im not done yet, add the all you can eat sushi to the mix and sum it all up with dessert from ice cream to flan to carrot and chocolate cake...i passed on all that so full of full...note, only drink one beer, two or more fills you up and leaves you wobbling out the door and unable to get drunk for 5 hours or more.
after the real meals comes the snacks...so many ill put all that in my next blog...
Thursday, May 03, 2007
hippies
u cannot escape them, i travel 5000 miles only to find more, wtf...and not to mention some were from the hippiedom of boulder...so im trying to explain to my brazilian friends just exactly what i deem is a hippie...first they didnt know what patchouli is, then i went back in time to the true hippies of the 60s and 70s followed by an explaination of trust fund hippies and eventually boulder hippies...
one set was at a cultural, art, and music show we attended...now it sounds like it could be a good time, i like all the above but something just wasnt right...upon arrival after 3 hours of waiting for, guess what, girls to get ready...we head straight to the bar to find its not cash, u have to stand in another line for drink tickets, dumb...so we've been itching to drink for a long while now and the line as are most lines sucks...not the length or anything but how people never learned to stay sorta one behind the other and move along once a purchase is completed...no it was just a clusterfuck of idiots, not even drunk yet, standing around being retarded...so we finally get the tickets and wait again at the bar...eventually i get my whiskey and wait in another line for my coke...next we visited the room where the "bands" we playing...i only put quotes because i dont classify hippie music as a real band because this is where my second set of long flowery dressed, pot smoking, i think i know how to play the guitar people we found...i turned right around and walked out into the garden only to hear them still through the outside speakers...finally the pain ended but my drink was empty so i returned to the lines...
unorganized, unplanned is what i call this mess...beyond the lines were three bartenders...one only had to hand out beers, sodas, etc...two others handled the straight pours and in this case, the pain in the ass factor drinks...by definition we charge more for anything that takes time to concoct...a caiprihina is one of these drinks, first u muddle a shitload of fruit, then ice, simple syrup, and finally vodka or cachasa...shaken, shaken, and shaken, pour...now the guy doing this was going as fast as he could, i give him props, he's got 4 going at a time and the other is just cutting up fresh strawberries as quick as they're muddled...now all i needed was a quick two pours of red label but i was also picking up one of these pains for someone else...finally after standing and looking like an idiot for ten minutes or so, not getting served because i cant speak brazilian enough to ask before the jackasses behind me do, a girl says a few things which i translated into this guy needs one too, just like mine, thanks whoever you were, id had finished my two drinks straight up no coke and would be feeling rather hungover today at that rate...i just dont get it, but the planning one only one bartender for an event with 500+ people just doesnt make sense in any culture...
all said and drank, we decided the party wasnt happening so we eventually took off, stopped for a quick bite and hit the sack...win some lose sum.
one set was at a cultural, art, and music show we attended...now it sounds like it could be a good time, i like all the above but something just wasnt right...upon arrival after 3 hours of waiting for, guess what, girls to get ready...we head straight to the bar to find its not cash, u have to stand in another line for drink tickets, dumb...so we've been itching to drink for a long while now and the line as are most lines sucks...not the length or anything but how people never learned to stay sorta one behind the other and move along once a purchase is completed...no it was just a clusterfuck of idiots, not even drunk yet, standing around being retarded...so we finally get the tickets and wait again at the bar...eventually i get my whiskey and wait in another line for my coke...next we visited the room where the "bands" we playing...i only put quotes because i dont classify hippie music as a real band because this is where my second set of long flowery dressed, pot smoking, i think i know how to play the guitar people we found...i turned right around and walked out into the garden only to hear them still through the outside speakers...finally the pain ended but my drink was empty so i returned to the lines...
unorganized, unplanned is what i call this mess...beyond the lines were three bartenders...one only had to hand out beers, sodas, etc...two others handled the straight pours and in this case, the pain in the ass factor drinks...by definition we charge more for anything that takes time to concoct...a caiprihina is one of these drinks, first u muddle a shitload of fruit, then ice, simple syrup, and finally vodka or cachasa...shaken, shaken, and shaken, pour...now the guy doing this was going as fast as he could, i give him props, he's got 4 going at a time and the other is just cutting up fresh strawberries as quick as they're muddled...now all i needed was a quick two pours of red label but i was also picking up one of these pains for someone else...finally after standing and looking like an idiot for ten minutes or so, not getting served because i cant speak brazilian enough to ask before the jackasses behind me do, a girl says a few things which i translated into this guy needs one too, just like mine, thanks whoever you were, id had finished my two drinks straight up no coke and would be feeling rather hungover today at that rate...i just dont get it, but the planning one only one bartender for an event with 500+ people just doesnt make sense in any culture...
all said and drank, we decided the party wasnt happening so we eventually took off, stopped for a quick bite and hit the sack...win some lose sum.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)