Blogs from Distrito Federal, Brazil, South America - page 4

Since I was the first one of the adults to bed, it wasn't too painful when Daniel jumped into bed with us at 7:30 a.m.. I couldn't hold off having them open their gifts from one of their aunts. They were gleeful over their presents. Once again, we had a big churrascu lunch late this afternoon and had fun playing "Uno" with the cousins. Uel's mom went crazy arranging photos of the cousins, the aunts (sisters), etc. With such a big family, it's important to document the rare times that they are all together! Feliz Natal!... read more

The custom in Brazil is to stay up until midnight on Christmas Eve, eat a HUGE meal and then exchange presents. So we put the kids to bed at their usual 8 p.m. bedtime and headed over to the family's home next door for the evening. Unfortunately, some people's tradition is also to set off fireworks and play loud music on Christmas eve, so the kids woke up freaked out around 12:30 a.m. so Amy cut her evening short and entrusted Uel with the gift exchange while she got them settled again and went to bed. He did a great job coming home with a much exchanged soccer ball for Daniel, headband for Lily, and chocolates for Amy. Feliz Natal to all!... read more

Beds/cribs covered in Mosquito netting. After Lily's initial shock over the mosquito netting over her crib (=high pitched wailing for a few seconds) she seems to like having her own little space. At least that's my mother-in-laws opinion. I think she's jetlagged and exhausted, so doesn't care, just wants to sleep! Uel and I have one on our bed but we decided not to use it last night. So the edge of it is along the wall next to and above the bed. Uel woke up in the middle of the night to the fan blowing it over his face and he freaked out! I'll share more new things as they come my way.... read more

Brasilia, the capital of Brazil. We flew from Natal to Brasilia and the flight was three hours. It cost us e180 and we departed in the middle of the night. In Brasilia the hotels slash there prices at the weekend, and its possible to stay in a high class hotel for the cost of a hostel in Dublin. We got the Mercure Apartment hotel for e50 a night for the room, and as you can see from the pictures its wasn't up to much lol!!!! In Brasilia the main attraction is the architecture.It was a planned city built in the 1960´s. The designers involved in the construction were as follows, Lucio Costa was the urban planner, Oscar Niemeyer was the principle architect and the landscape architect was Roberto Burle Marx. Designed around a aeroplane fuselage, its ... read more

Terry Gilliam must have been inspired to name his 1985 movie "Brazil" - after seeing this utopian view of the future from 1960. "Fifty years of progress in five" moving the capital from Rio de Janeiro to a plateau in the undeveloped interior. President Juscelino Kubitschek, Architect Oscar Niemeyer, urban planner Lucio Costa and landscape architect Burle Marx - undertook this momentous feat - designing a city with a layout like a aeroplane - the central section containing all the governmental and civic buildings, the two wings the residential and military areas. The city was planned on a vast scale, it's unclear if this was to allow greater future development in between the blocks or if because in the future everyone would have a car. Vast numbers of lawyers, ministers and other civil servants migrated to ... read more