The place where we’re staying in Rio is Leblon, a well-to-do and generally safe neighbourhood on the western end of the beaches and city. Right next door is Ipanema – the eponymous neighbourhood where in 1962 a real life woman named Helô Pinheiro, aged 19, inspired a song writer to create what would ultimately become the second most recorded song in history. Pinheiro became famous as a result of the song and when she opened a boutique called ‘The Girl from Ipanema’, she was sued by the composer’s family for copyright infringement. In a victory for common sense, and with public support behind her, the composers lost the case.
After watching the Mexico v Cameroon game at our apartment, and with Eli sporting a new hairdo and sunglasses, we set off to explore Ipanema… by foot!
First up, the beach…
Locals were on the boardwalk (and some Argentine fans)…
We came across the hotel where the Holland team is staying… (bit of a dumpy looking place)
Eli practiced… jumping
And it wasn’t hard to find a place to watch the Holland v Spain game…
Arjen was the star of the show, in the thriller of the tournament so far
And after the game we headed inland to check out Ipanema proper
Ipanema was lively and we instantly liked it a lot
We checked out some shops
And we tried to buy an England shirt for Eli
But they didn’t have his size 🙁
I saw a shop logo I haven’t seen in 20 years
The locals were coming out of church
For us it was dinner, and we came across an amazing restaurant called Zaza Bistro
The food was straight up superb (I had a wicked steak)
And the ambience was just fab
Semma confided that having watched the Holland game today, she now actually wants to watch the England game tomorrow!
I hope it’s as exciting as today’s game…
Let’s go England!