Brasilia - The Capital

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Mon 24th Sept:
Brasilia is built on a a plateaux with a hot dry climate, so lots of water (min 3 litres p/d) and moisturiser is the order of the day.
Had a half day organised tour of the city - best way to see it . There were only 4 others in the party - 2 Spanish and 2 Brazilians. The guide gave his commentary in all 3 languages and also had a good sense of humour. It´s a truly amazing city - the dream of Don Bosco, built in 3 years by 60,000 people working round the clock; was planned to be in the shape of a cross but more like a plane, with 2.2M people lliving in it after less than 50 years. Fantastic achitecture by Oscar Niemeyer with many futuristic looking buildings - the main Cathedral with its whispering walls (very effective, no need for microphones), the Don Bosco Church, which looks like a cube from the outside but the incredible use of blue stained glass on all sides gives an azure light effect inside; the president´s palace, the national theatre and palace of justice - all unusual designs. (see photos)
After lunch looked for Post Officeto buy stamps - the only place where stamps are sold, and when you get there you just join the queue. ´Found a little place to repair my old watch and just browsed the markets and shops. 'Ate at the commercial shopping centre again - must find local restaurant tomorrow. Walked to National Theatre and picked up a free ticket for tomorrow night´s orchestral performance.


Tues 25th Sept:
My cheap new watch gave up after it fell on floor during night. After breakfast made my way to the little watch repairers to pick up my old watch. He looked as though he´d been working on it all night and only charged me R$12 (~ £3.50)

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Photos

The main Cathedral
A typical example of Niemeyer´s architecture, the Catholic Cathedral with its shape symbolising Christ´s crown of thorns, and bronze statues of the 4 evangelists in the foreground.

Don Bosco Church
Brilliant use of stained glass to give a light azure spacious interior.

President´s Palace
This is the closest I could get to the presidential palace - security incredibly tight. Unusual shaped roof with his own private chapel to the right. He brought in a family of emus to wander the grounds; they get rid of the lizards and snakes!

The Congress Towers
These twin towers are the tallest in Brasilia and can be seen for miles around. The Governors meet in the left one and the representatives in the right.

The Pigeon Tower
In the shape of a clothes-peg this was specifically built to house all the pigeons in the main plaza. It´s only when you go close up to it you see the hundreds of pigeons nesting there.

Bridge over Lake
This is a new bridge (18 mths old) built over one of the lakes facing the city. The shape symbolises a stone skimming the water.