How do we best start the Christmas blog when so many folk have sent such nice emails in response to our premptive strike? Perhaps a "thanks to you all" is appropriate and same to those whose cards arrived via Jess. We've had a great Christmas week with all three 'young' ones here - very strange as we are rarely all together for very long these days!
Christmas began as always for us with the carol service from King's and the making (and eating!) of mince pies. Thanks to the internet and our mincemeat importer we could keep the tradition going even if we did have to buy empada tins to cook them in, use a bottle of cachaca (unopened!) instead of a rolling pin and get them straight in the oven as the pies, as well as the cooks, were sweating as soon as they were made. Given the conditions, they didn't taste too bad!
As we'd hoped, christmas morning dawned blue and sunny. All 3 kids had taken their mattresses out onto the roof terrace and spent the night out there in an attempt to find some breeze - the first of unusual new Christmas customs out here!
We spent some time on the beach, along with many others of course, just for the novelty of being able to and then came back for a barbecue on the roof terrace before heading off for the Stevie Wonder/Gilberto Gil concert on Copacabana beach. Barbecueing before the sun went down proved unbelievably hot and then walking along the edge of the sea to the open-air concert made it a christmas day to remember for sure!
Whilst we gather via the news that the UK was largely wet and flooded, Rio on Boxing Day recorded the hottest temperature of 41.6 degC since records began in 1915 and we resorted to air conditioning at night for the first time since we got out here. Some were a bit sore the next day as the sun was very hot. The sea was a perfect temperature and not too rough for swimming and brought welcome relief from the sun. The pool downstairs proved useful for pre-breakfast swims and dips during the hottest part of the day.
We hired a car for a week so took some trips out - Alto Boa Vista, Levy Gasparain, Itapavia, Teresopolis, Barra, Recreio as well as showing the kids places we'd enjoyed such as Santa Teresa & Forte de Leme. Burle Marx's garden rightly features highly on any day trip from Rio - not just because of the beautifully landcaped Brazilian garden, but also because of its proximity to nice fish restaurants, and good beaches for dipping in the sea - as well as excellent surfing apparently - with a stunning backdrop of Atlantic forest rather than the concrete towers of Ipanema & Copacabana.
We are inviting a guest blog from each of the family; - impressions of a very different Christmas this year, in Brazil;
Will: Stunning setting for a captivating city - perfect place to relax after a tiring year. Thanks for a great holiday
Jess: Christmas in Rio couldn't have been more special or more different... listening to (and by the end of the trip trying out) Portuguese, cervejas and pasteis in Urca, swimming swimming swimming, dad's magnificent caipirinhas, the hottest barbeque of all time on Christmas day...it has been great to be back in South America, this time experiencing Patriky and Kitch's Brazilian lifestyle. Muito obrigada!
Hugo: Memorable couple of weeks with Corbetts ahead of some months exploring Brasil; enjoying Rio's touristic delights, family time and parental generosity whilst looking forward to discovering the mass of Brasilian life outside of RdJ's Zona Sul
Will returns to London for New Year and Jess after New Year - each with new found resolutions! Hugo will stay in Brazil for several months to travel and further experience the heat!
31/12/12, 9pm - J, H, K + P heading out shortly to experience Brazilian Reveillon on Copacabana, expecting a different New Year from Auld Langs Syne on Princes Street