Carnaval - The Samba Schools Parade

Last night H and I went to the Sambodromo in Rio to watch the second night of the Samba School parades. The hostel was selling cheap tickets so we decided it was too good an opportunity to miss. And it was absolutely stunning. The samba schools have 80 minutes to parade down a purpose built stadium which holds 90k spectators. And each school has about 4k performers.

The schools start their preparations in March so the parade is the highlight of their year. The schools that parade in the Sambodromo are the best in Rio and the parades are split over two nights, Sunday and Monday. The Champions parade is next weekend. The schools that score the least number of points get relegated and are replaced by other schools who only get to perform on normal streets. Well, I think that's what happens anyway.

One of the schools who performed last night was Mangueira, the most popular in Rio (and their fans were also fans of the Flamengo football team). Sylvia was really keen for us to see them, and they didn't disappoint. As soon as they started on the course everyone went crazy. From our (cheap) vantage point we didn't see the first performers until there were 25-30 minutes into the performance, but we did get to see them all cross the finish line. It was really amusing - if the last performer hasn't crossed the finish line after 80 minutes then the school loses points. Now Mangueira timed their performance perfectly. But the first school we saw had a bit of a shocker - with a minute to go they still had hundreds of people dancing, as well as two huge floats. After months of preparation perfecting their performance, it came down to a sprint (or very fast dance) to the end. You should have seen these guys pushing the floats. But I think they made it, which meant wild celebrations all over the place.

I have never seen so much colour in any one place at any time. It was superb and although the Carnaval celebrations are more than just the parades, we are both really glad to have done it. It is definitely one of the most amazing things I have ever seen and is something we will never forget. Mind you, we wont forget anything we have done in Rio. We have managed to get everything done we wanted to except handgliding. And it doesn't look like we will get to do it here was we are due to leave tomorrow and we are having a leaving party tonight with some other people who are also leaving Rio. I'm not that bothered about doing it, even though it was supposed to be a birthday present to me from H. She bought me tickets to the Maracana and the Sambodromo instead which isn't bad at all.

And we are moving to Australia anyway, which means we can go to New Zealand and do it there.

We are heading off to Ilha Grande tomorrow and rumours are that there is very little internet access there, and the electricty gets turned off in the evenings, so we may not be online for a while.

Here are a couple of pictures from the parades last night. I also took a lot of movies but I'll bore you with them when we get settled in Australia and I can email them, or MSN them, to you.

The Maracana and Lapa

Yesterday was another quality day here. H and I went to the Maracana, the world's biggest football stadium, to watch a local Rio derby between Flamengo and Botafogo. I knew it was something I wanted to to if there was a game on so we organised it through the hostel.

Now, Flamengo are not only one of the worst teams in the Brazilian League, but they are also the poorest, but with the most passionate supporters. Rumours were that the organisers wouldn't put us in the Flamengo end (mainly for our own safety I think), so you can imagine my joy when we arrived at the ground and were taken into the Flamengo end. Honestly, it was joy! If you are going to a South American football game you may as well sit with the most passionate supporters.

The lower level of the Maracana is closed while they rennovate it but the top teir was open and it was probably threee quarters full by the time the game started. I guess there were 60-70k there. And the Flamengo end was full. The atmosphere was like nothing I had ever experienced at a football game. The fans were pretty mental, jumping around and chanting for the 90 minutes. All of us gringo's were sat together and there was a real party atmosphere in there, especially as it is Carnaval. The view was perfect, with Christ the Redeemer in the background. And perhaps the best thing is that you can drink as much beer as you like in the ground, and they bring it to you. Perfect.

Now, onto the game. Flamengo won 3-2. So I was even more pleased to have been sitting in the Flamengo end. They went 1-0 down to a dubious penalty, came back to 1-1, then went 2-1 down, before grabbing two superb goals to win. When the winner went in the place went mental, and the concrete was actually vibrating as everyone celebrated. H and I loved it.

Oh yeah, you come all the way to Brazil to go to a Rio derby with a Gashead from Staple Hill, and his girlfriend from Kingswood. Bizarre.

There was one other thing I noticed about the football. One of the main chants the Flamengo fans were singing to the Botafogo fans was "Bo-ha". It means sperm.





























When we got back to Ipanema the place was going nuts because the first local Carnaval parade had happened while the football was on, the 'Banda de Ipanema'. H and I went out to get something to eat, and then decided to try and get back to the flat via the street party. There were hundreds and hundreds of people in the street and it took us about 15 minutes to walk no more than a hundred yards. It was bonkers. It was also the local gay and lesbian street party and we saw some sights, that's for sure. We went to Lapa last night with our flatmates, and some of their friends from England and Ireland (who could also be coming with us to Ilha Grande next week). If there were hundreds of people in the street in Ipanema there were thousands and thousands and thousands partying in Lapa. We got there at about 1am and it was 29 degrees. The drinks were very very cheap and the street vendor food was unbelievable, which makes a really nice change because the food you get in restaurants over here is rubbish. It is just too bland and salty. And everything seems to be covered in cheese.

Andy - H and I thought of you as we spent some of the night dancing to Brazilian drum and bass. You would have loved it.

We had a great time drinking caipirinha's (which are very very strong) until about 5am. So we got to bed late and I forced myself up at midday to come down here and write this. H is still in bed.

So what's in store for us later? I think we will go to the beach this afternoon and I may have a kickabout on Copacabana with some locals. And now that Carnaval is in full swing we may go to the Sambodromo to watch the main parades (we have been watching most of it on TV so far), but tickets are very expensive. We have ticked all of the main boxes in Rio so we will just see what happens.

Rio De Janeiro, Brazil

Hello fans.

Ok, so here I am in Rio De Janeiro, Brazil - sounds pretty cool doesn't it?

After a very hectic and emotional last week in the UK it now feels good to be on the road. After all, we have been talking about doing it for so long. The goodbyes were pretty rough as you all know, but thanks to Matt and kate, the BA Lounge really helped sort us out. It meant we could escape the madness of Terminal 4 and finally call and text everyone again, and sort ourselves out.

Anyway, once we had boarded the plane we felt a lot better about everything and the flight was pretty good. I actually managed to get some sleep, but that was probably because of the lack of sleep I had had over the previous week.

We arrived in Rio at about 7.30am local time (after an hours stop in Sao Paulo) and it was bloody hot. I did my first bartering of the trip at the airport and managed to blag a cheap(ish) taxi to Ipanema. We are staying in a Kiwi guy's flat (Rob) with him, his Brazilian girlfriend (Sylvia) and two hostel workers, Jay (a Pom) and Chloe (his girlfriend who is an Aussie). So there is quite a mix. And there is a 7 month old (we think!) Dash-hound called Sunga - that's Brazilian for those tiny shorts the guys wear over here. Rob and Sylvia rescued her from the beach a few months ago when she was living off of sea water. Anyway, there a a really nice bunch and have made us feel very welcome.

So what have we done so far? Well we have ticked off a few boxes in our first 4 days as we wanted to get a lot of stuff out of the way before Carnival starts (tomorrow). On our first day we walked around Ipanema and Copacabana and it all felt very surreal. It took a couple of days to get used to the heat. It is bloody good living in shorts and a t-shirt again. It is over 30 degrees every day, all day, and at night it is in the high 20s.

On our second day here, and after a great sleep, we went to Sugar Loaf mountain for sunset. It wasn't the clearest day but the view was superb. We watched the city lights come on and the pictures I took will not do it justice at all. It actually started to rain a bit when we were up there, and then this huge storm came in over the mountains in the distance, behind Christ the Redeemer. It was pretty hair raising up there, especially the cable car ride back down in the high winds. We then got a local bus back which was an experience in itself. We were the only Gringo's on there, and the bus went a different way from which I was expecting, but it was all good. There were a few sketchy favella characters onboard but it was all good - even when the bus broke down in the torrential rain and we had to change buses. But we got home without any major dramas except for soacking wet Reefs - the sewers had overflowed!!

I got the flu on our second day which was a bit of a shocker and it wiped me out for most of the day. I had sweated some of it out on Ipanema beach during the day but needed to sleep for most of it. All of us from the flat went out in the evening to a new Aussie bar that had opened. The caipirinha's were fantastic. And we had a quality night into the early (late) hours.

H and I went on a favella tour yesterday, to Rochina, Rio's largest favella. And what an eye-opener it was. We booked a tour from the local hostel and when we got to the favella we had to climb on the back of some kid's bike, who took us to the top of the favella. It was pretty hair-raising as this guy took over cars, bikes and buses on blind corners. But all in a days work for these guys and we got to the top unscathed. So there we were at the top of Rio's largest favella - 6 people had been shot dead there last week when a rival drug gang tried to take over this favella. For those of you who have seen "Ross Kemp on Gangs" - well we were there, minus Grant and a film crew. The tour was brilliant and one of the best things I have ever done. And it was important to do it to see how most of the people in Rio live. We walked all the way down through the favella and it was very interesting to see how the people in there live. It really is a city within a city. They don't mind the gingo's going on a tour because some of the money is put back into the community - it helps to rebuild peoples houses, as well as fund a community centre for some of the kids. It seemed like a friendly place (probably because we were on a tour) and the kids loved having their photo's taken so they could see themselves on the screens. But it definitely had a edge to it - the group behind us saw kids with guns. There were times we weren't allowed to take photo's because there were dealers with us, but it was cool. I am really glad I went on the tour. I thought it might be a bit like going to a zoo and staring at the locals but we were the ones stared at.

Today H and I went up Corcovado to Christ Statue. It was a really clear day so the views of Rio were stunning, as you'd imagine. Mind you there were hundreds of tourists up there all walking around with their arms stretched out. It was incredible. We probably took as many pictures of people pretending to be Christ, than the views themselves (and has been well doucmented on people's blogs, I take a lot of pictures).

So here I am, sweating, in The Lighthouse Hostel, writing this while H is at the air-conditioned flat drinking homemade Black Russian with Rob. There's talk of heading into town tonight so sample some of the street parties. Carnival starts tomorrow so things are really hotting up here. Deep Dish are playing a gig so we may head over (I hate prog though but what the hell). Or we may just hang around here.

All I do know is that tomorrow H and I are going to the Maracana stadium to watch the local derby between Flamengo and Botofogo. I can't wait.

We still havent been hand-gliding yet. The one day we did get up early enough to go, it was too windy. So we have been a bit put off getting up early every day. But we will give it a go again before we leave (we are now leaving Rio on Wednesday because of accommodation issues on Ilha Grande - bascially we dont know if our original booking still stands because we cant get in touch with the guy - but at least we will be in Rio for all of Carnival).

We now feel nice and settled in Rio and are looking forward to Carnival. The beach life here is pretty cool and the girls don't wear very much. Mind you nor do some of the guys - in fact, some of them seem to go out to the bars at night in their very short speedo's. It must be like going to the pub in your pants.

Ok, I have waffled enough, but I really felt the need to do so. Here's some pictures. Enjoy.

Me and H at the top of Sugar Loaf Mountain.














The view from Sugar Loaf - City lights with Christ on Corcovado to the right.














The view from the top of Rocinha favella.














Rocinha favella.














Me, H and, erm, Christ!














The view from Corcovado - Sugar Loaf is to the left. The beach is Copacabana.

The Leaving Party

We had our leaving party last night at the Revolution Vodka Bar in Bristol.

It was a great night, and thanks to everyone for coming along and making it so special for the both of us.

You will all be missed so please keep in touch.

I’d love to write more but I haven't really got the time at the moment. I have to pack for tomorrow (and I am still suffering the effects of drinking too many mojito's last night - but they were very tasty).

Babylon

Many Congratulations to two of our very good friends, Em and Chris, on their recent enagagement.

Don't forget their aren't many better settings for a wedding than the Botanical Gardens in Sydney with "that" view (Mum, Dad, Jenn and Mike - don't worry, we wont be getting married over there).


If you want it, Come and get it....

The Shippers

I was going to right this yesterday but it got bumped because I went to my last Wednesday night kickabout and then the pub. It’s not a very interesting post anyway.

I think it was back in November that I booked the shippers. I had decided to invite two companies out to give us a quote. Both of them had good reputations but one had a reputation of being one of the most expensive in the trade. So out they came. One of the salesmen was a salesman through and through. He’d “been in the game” (no, not that kind of game) for 30 years so gave us the talk that he probably does 5 times a day as he drives around the country. After walking around the house and making a note of the items to be packed he gave us the estimated volume. When he said it we were pretty shocked. We’d measured the stuff up ourselves and it had come in at less than half what he had quoted.

The second salesman from the cheaper company turned up that afternoon. He didn’t give us the hard sale. Instead he just went round the house with his laptop and came back to use with a much more reasonable estimate (and a much cheaper quote).

Needless to say we plumped for the cheaper option, thinking that the more expensive company wouldn’t tell us if our shipment was actually less than they had quoted.

Anyway, the shippers arrived yesterday and took our stuff away. Over the last couple of days H and I had moved everything into one room to make it easy for them. And as far as I could tell they did a good job – and the original estimate seemed pretty accurate. Let’s just hope it all gets to Sydney safely.

It’s a relief getting this part of the move out of the way. With three more days to go we are now more or less living out of a backpack.

I have been so busy this week that I haven’t had much time to think abut what we are about to do. We’ve still got a lot of stuff to do around the house before we leave it on Sunday, and there is the small matter of our Leaving Party on Friday night. I don’t think we will be getting much sleep this weekend – but that may help me sleep on the flight.

Oh yeah, my Dad told me that Rolling Stones are playing a free gig on Copacabana Beach on Saturday night.

We don’t arrive until Monday.

There's Only One Team in Bristol

I am a Brighton and Hove Albion Fan. But I also support Bristol City, and have done since I first moved here back in October 2000. The first City game I saw was a 4-0 thrashing of Reading in which Danni Rodriguez bust his ankle – and the crack was so loud I remember hearing it from my seat in the Atyeo stand.

I watch City with H’s step-dad Mike, and Andy, one of my mates (who H knew years and years ago). Both of them are big City fans and have season tickets.

I've just got back from watching my last game with Andy in the Atyeo (Mike has since moved to the Williams stand but I met him in the bar beforehand for a couple of pints of glider). It was a boring 1-0 defeat to Brentford. I should have stayed at home and saved £17. City had won the previous game I went to 1-0, against Swansea, and I should have been satisfied with that.

I always liked the way City would pass the ball around but today was classic League One long-ball shite a la Danny Coles. And the referee blew up for pretty much every tackle.

Anyway I am going to miss going to see them play. I never had a season ticket of my own. Normally I’d blag a student ticket and get in for a tenner, but just recently I thought I’d do the right thing and admit my adultness to the nice lady on the end of the phone (I was under pressure from Mike who wasn’t too impressed that I had got away with it for so long). Now I wish I hadn’t. I also borrowed Andy’s ticket for the best part of 3 months when he went travelling a couple of years ago and I saw them go on their longest unbeaten run in the clubs history. Something like 22 games. Unlucky Andy. Now they are looking good for relegation.

I’ve had some great times over the years watching the City. But perhaps the best times have been when they have played Brighton. When Brighton come to City I have always gone in the Brighton end. And City never beat them. One of my finest memories was when I went down to Brighton with Andy to watch a game on an Easter Monday. Because of the crap that Brighton had been through in the past with rubbish Chairmen they now play out of an athletic stadium (The Withdean Stadium) which holds ~7000 people. Tickets are like gold dust (well, almost), especially for a fan living in Bristol. So I got a ticket in the Bristol City end with Andy and the away fans (Mike also went). City went 1-0 up, but Brighton won 2-1 with a last minute winner. It was fantastic, but I couldn’t really celebrate for fear of a chav gobbing on me or having a sovereign ring imprinted on my chin. And Brighton won promotion with that win. Not being able to properly celebrate your teams win and promotion with your own fans (and taking the abuse they shouted at us) definitely felt a bit weird. But it was a great experience.

Another great memory was watching Brighton beat City in the League One play-off final two years ago. The Millennium stadium was full and the atmosphere was superb. It was a pretty poor game but Danny Coles gifted us promotion (again) then when he hacked Leon Knight down in the box. My brother flew down from Scotland to come to the game. Mike, Ella and Chewie, a Rovers fan, sat with me in the Brighton end. He was also very happy.

There’s been some fun and games with City as well. Andy and I went to Mansfield one Saturday (I had no idea where Mansfield was at the time). City were 4-2 down with 3 minutes to go and won 5-4. We’ve also had fun at Swindon and Barnsley, and against the Gas (although never in the League). And the Cardiff games were pretty special (although I never saw the City win against them). Or score a goal for that matter. And Christian Roberts’ last minute winner in the League One play-off semi-final match against Hartlepool…the place was rocking after that goal went in. City went onto meet Brighton in the final but I have already mentioned that.

I am going to miss going to Ashton Gate. I’ve sat in all of the stands over the last 5 years but most of my time has been sat in the Atyeo with Andy and Mike. There’s a lot of characters down The Gate. Many of them look like they have just stepped off their farm for a couple of hours. And lots of them like fake Burberry. But the guy who sits behind Andy is one of the funniest. I can’t sing. But this guy really can’t sing. He is the most tone deaf person I have ever heard (even worse than me). And I think he has a mild form of Tourette’s as well. You should really hear him singing about drinking cider, the “Red N’ White Army”, going “down the Rover’s to do the f**kers over”, and telling Irene to, well, F off.

By the way, if anyone knows who Irene is I’d very much like to know. I have never understood that Gas chant. Why would a bunch of football fans sing about someone called Irene?

My favourite City chant goes as follows;

“Heeee – ey Jonesey
Ooooh, aaah
I waaaaaaana knoooooooooow
Where d’ya get that tan?”

Genius. Steve Jones looked like he worked in a tanning salon (obviously, hence the chant). He played his last game for City against Brighton a few years back. Even though he wasn’t very good he had just got into a bit of form approaching the Brighton game. He was the danger man as far as I was concerned. He pulled his hamstring after 10 minutes or so and had to be subbed. Brighton went onto win 1-0 thanks to a goal from Bobby Zamora (ex-Gas).

Sorry for writing such a long post – believe me I could have written more.

Thanks to Andy and Mike for your company during the games, and on our travels to and from them. Like all football fans we've seen plenty of highs and lows. Well maybe not so many highs with City, but certainly with Brighton :-).

By the way, for those of you who don't know, the Gas are Bristol Rovers. And they hate Bristol City. And Bristol City hate them. But there is only one team in Bristol!

Leaving Lloyds TSB

I have been working in the Marketing department at Lloyds TSB for nearly 5 years and today was my last day. I turned up with the customary hangover from my Leaving party last night and spent the day clearing my desk, and erm, well clearing my desk. When you tell people you are going to leave work everyone always says that you are really lucky and that they wished they could do the same. But the reality for me was a bit different. I have had 5 really good years at LTSB and have worked with some really top people, and it is sad saying goodbye to such a great bunch. I've been part of the furniture for ages so I have seen lots of change and today it was my turn to hand in my security pass. Like any place you go it's always the people that make the place, and the people I worked with definitely made it a good place to work (and I am not just saying that because you will all be looking at this blog).

It was a bit odd actually as I found myself not really wanting to leave my desk and say the goodbyes when it was time to do so today. It has made the whole thing a lot more real for me. For a while H and I were hiding behind the security of Christmas and New Year ("we'll deal with it all after then") and actually being at work. And now that's gone it feels pretty weird. But I have no doubt at all that what we are doing is the right thing, so that makes it easier.

Anyway, I should really go to the pub to top myself up from last night, so all there is to say is a BIG Thank You to everyone I have worked with at LTSB and Clarity Blue. You know who you are.

London

H and I have just spent the weekend in London doing the things that tourists do; eating at a celebrity chef's restaurant, drinking in Soho, going on a river cruise and the London Eye (I got to to see the new Wembley and Arsenal football stadiums), and eating and drinking in Covent Garden. We managed to fit a lot in over the weekend and now, with the wonder of hindsight, we both wish we had spent more time there over the last few years. But I guess we were always going to feel like that. Thanks to the hostest with the mostest, the high-riding Mr Legge. And to the London Underground for not closing any tube lines that we needed to go on. It was a top weekend.















Pukka!














And I would walk 500 miles.....

The Good, The Bad and......Davina McCall (who definitely isn’t Ugly)

Whilst watching the final of Celebrity Big Brother last week it dawned on me that when I am in Australia I am going to miss Davina McCall. I’ve always been a fan, ever since the glory days of God’s Gift in the early 90’s. And that got me thinking about what else I am going to miss when I am in Australia. And that in turn got me thinking about what I am looking forward to in Australia, and so on. So here are my thoughts (in no particular order).....

Things I am going to miss in the UK:
Friends, Family, Football (watching and playing), Eastenders, Roast Dinners, Cider, decent Tea (I have recently become a big fan), Brighton, Brighton & Hove Albion FC, Bristol, Bristol City FC, Davina McCall, Long summer evenings, Ashton Court Festival, Bristol Balloon Fiesta, the smell of freshly mown grass in spring, Watching the World Cup with my mates (and other England fans), Listening to Chris Moyles in the morning, the new TV Presenter on Points West (I think I must be getting old!).

Things I am not going to miss in the UK:
Being cold, It being dark when I get up in the morning, It being dark when I leave work, Cold wet driving rain, Bristol waterfront on a Monday morning (avoiding the bloodstains), Bristol City Centre on a Saturday night, Rising Damp, Damp that doesn't appear to have risen from anywhere, the boring walk to and from work, Broadmead and The Galleries, The Mall, Cribbs Causeway, Elizabeth Duke beauties, Telewest, the price of Beer and Cider.

Things I am looking forward to in Australia:
Sunshine, Surfing, Scuba Diving, Snorkelling, Swimming, Beautiful beaches, Sea water you can see through, Schooners, Stubbies, Palm Trees, New Years Eve in Sydney, Watching The Ashes (either in the SCG or watching it on a big screen), Playing cricket (something I have only ever done once, caught and bowled second ball), Not taking my camera to the Opera House and Circular Quay, Watching Sydney FC, Buying 4 litres of wine for $10 (~£4), Cans of Bourbon and Coke, Bottle Shops, Slabs of beer, Happy Hour in the Orbit Bar, Eating Kangaroo, Shark and Crocodile (and cheap and tasty lamb), Beetroot in my burgers, Concerts in the Botanical Gardens, Not sleeping for a month and watching the World Cup with Australia fans (and English backpackers and other Expats), Living in shorts (well, when I am not at work anyway), Walking around barefoot (again, when I am not at work), Listening to Chris Moyles in the evening, Going on holiday to places like Asia, New Zealand and Fiji, Meeting Steve Irwin and Rex Hunt (hopefully), Living in Sydney, Getting out of Sydney and exploring, Having friends and family over to visit, Becoming an Aussie, Catching up on news via MSN and Skype, Hanging out with Mr Skinner.

Things I am not looking forward to in Australia:
Having to wear suntan lotion, Getting sand in my trainers (it's thongs all the way!!), Spiders, H's reaction to cockroaches.

It’s going to be interesting to see whether or not I miss any of the things I think I will, or not get to do, or enjoy the things, I am looking forward to. I'll get back to you in due course!