Secret. Don't leave home without it!

Yes, i met Jesus in Rio. Not that i am hallucinating nor i am talking about Madonna's brazilian boyfriend although they were at the Sambodromo at the same time as me but be assured, i am talking about Cristo Redentor. The huge statue, 40 m tall and 30 m wide, has became the symbol of Rio or one of the New Seven Wonders of the World since 2007.

According to Wikipedia, this is the highest art deco statue in the world ank it took nine years to build. Also according to Wikipedia, it has been struck by lightning in 2008 by an electrical storm. Hmmm....Interesting! I was wondering if Jesus was angry at himself that day??? 

Another fact I found interesting. This is one of the rare time that i see people fighting for a place to be near and to be like Jesus.They dont want to go to church but they went nuts at the Corcovado mountain.

I don't know what happened but i suspect that the lady in yellow didn't smell very good when she opened her arms! Just look at the reaction of the people around her! Honey, I just have one word for you: SECRET. Don't leave home without it!

Sambodromo, the nirvana of the carnaval

Without doubt, Rio throws the best party in the world during the carnaval. It's more than a party. It's a religion. For 5 days, eveywhere in the city, you see peolple dancing and singing and dressing for the carnaval. But, the ultimate events are the 2 days of competition between the samba schools at the Sambodromo, a stadium build just for the parade.

They said that you have to experience the Carnaval of Rio once in your life. And it's true. I never thought it would be THAT awsome! I've seen pictures, documentaries, even TV live broadcasts about it... but being there living their experience, feeling their passion, their joie-de-vivre is priceless!

To flaunt or not to flaunt.

Yesterday, i went to the Copacabana beach.Off course it was crowded but hey what the heck, in Rio, you have to do the way the locals do. Once settled in a place with chairs and umbrella, i started to observe people around me. There were all kind of shapes. Slim, and not so slim. People with nice body were flaunting it ....

and those who don't, did it anyway! No matter what, I have to admit that they are VERY comfortable about their body.

Thumbs up! But hey, I think there are certain limits. What the f*&% did she think when she bought that swimming suit??? and i just don't want to be the tattoo artist when he/she had to do that tattoo!

"Blocos" on the beach of Ipanema

Today,  it is a very beautiful sunny sunday. As you can see, i am NOT missing the cold or the snow at all! :-)

And on sunday, "cariocas" go to the beach: Copacabana and Ipanema. Around 11 am, as i was having breakfast, i saw people walking towards the beach with their chairs, parasol, coolers... it's going to be a very busy day at the beach! as the sun cooled down a bit around 4pm, i went to Copacabana Beach and this is what i saw... miles and miles of people lying on the beach like sardines. is skin cancer one of their concern? i guess not! even that i was very tempted to join them but i decided to go easy on my "fragile nordic skin"! lol.

But THE party was at Ipenama Beach. Thousands of people were dancing to the sounds of drums and samba... on the boardwalk. St-Patrick parade, Pride parade or Parade du pere Noel in Montreal are nothing comparing to this. Too bad that i can't upload video clips with Yahoo Blog. But i found "Kitty". I didn't know that Brazil has its own version.