Escape to Shape | Travel

Yoga in the Living Room

Our Pool

Cruising on our private schooner

Samba Lessons!

Indoor Lounge

Following 3 weeks in Buzios we enjoyed ten days in Rio de Janiero, a city that surpasses any other in terms of natural beauty. Around every corner you will find a new breathtaking surprise… mountains and waterfalls, beaches and jungle, chic restaurants, authentic juice bars and of course, the quintessential Brazilian favelas, as Brazil is a country of contrasts. Brazil, which is also a largely self sufficient country due to its vast natural resources, is experiencing tremendous growth and financial success these days. It was a hard city to leave behind….

Sunset in Rio

Now, back in San Francisco with many memories of cherished moments with new friends and old, knowing that one day soon, we will return back to Brazil for other adventures.

For those of you planning a trip, or those of you who would like to reminisce or simply read up on this diverse country, here are a few books (& some music suggestions, as Brazil is all about the dance!) to draw you in or take you back…

TO READ

Stefan Zweig: Brazil, Land of Adventure – 1941 (Poche).

Claude Lévi-Strauss: Sad Tropics – 1955 (Pocket Terres Humaines).

Errol Lincoln Uys: Brazil – 1988 (Presse Pocket).

Hugo Pratt: Under the sign of Capricorn – 1990 (Casterman).

Ray C. Anderson: Mid-Course Correction, Towards a Sustainable Enterprise, 1998 (Peregrinzilla Editions).

Brian Nattrass and Mary Altomare: The Natural Step for Business: Wealth, Ecology and the Evolutionary Corporation – 1999 (Paperback).

Ricardo Semler: Voce esta louco!, Uma vida administrada de outra forma – 2006 (Ed Rocco ltda, Rio de Janeiro).

TO HEAR

Vila-Lobos: A floresta do Amazonas, João Carlos Assis Brasil, Ney Matogrosso, 1987 (Kuarup).

Joao Gilberto – Astrud Gilberto – Stan Getz: Autour de Minuit, 1967 (Polygram France).

Zeca Baleiro: Pet Shop Mundo Cão, 2002 (FIS)

Marisa Monte – Carlinhos Brown – Arnaldo Antunes: Tribalistas, 2002 (Capitol Records).

Barrosinho: o Sopro do Espirito, 2000 (Kalimba Music).

Enjoy….

It has taken us a few years, but we finally found the ultimate destination in Brazil- BUZIOS. As some of you may know, Buzios is often referred to as “the St. Tropez of Brazil”, complete with the charming seaside cafes & restaurants, stylish boutiques, sophisticated nightlife and of course, a bohemian chic clientele.  I suppose we can thank Brigitte Bardot for that- as this article we found online demonstrates….

Buzios was a tiny fishing village with few homes when in 1964, Actress Brigitte Bardot, near the prime of her career, arrived in Rio in January of 1964, to enjoy time with her Brazilian boyfriend Bob Zagury. Bardot couldn’t even venture outside Zagury’s oceanside apartment because of the paparazzi. She had almost decided to simply fly back to Paris when she came up with a plan she hoped the media would agree to.

The plan was to let Zagury’s friend, French photographer Denis Albanèse, who had been living in Rio for about ten years,journal Bardot’s vacation in Brazil and simply share the photos with the press if they agreed not to hound her.

From that visit and the media coverage that followed, global curiosity grew about a place that a world famous movie star so loved, she stayed much longer than planned. Indeed, Bardot came back later in 1964, in December, to celebrate Christmas in Búzios. In her honor, the municipality of Búzios commissioned local sculptress Christina Motta with creating a statue which now sits on the Orla Bardot. It’s a great likeness of Brigitte, sitting on her suitcase, hat in hand, and gazing out on the ocean.

The statue sit on the “Bardot Promenade”, a beautiful cove lined with stores, restaurants, and a few hotels. It’s a nice walk at any time of day, starting from the town pier and heading east toward Praia da Armação. You’ll note the schooners anchored here, and the tiny colorful fishing boats bobbing along the curve of the bay.