February 24, 2009

I wanted Buenos AIres. Or Tokyo. Or Seoul. A big city. Fast walking. Boutiques and fancy restaurants. The things in life I like. You know?

But in the cold upstate kitchen, with Miss Cozart and Miss Currie sitting around the dining table, we discussed Brazil. Brazil? Unsafe? Dangerous? Food, eh? Not sure if it was for me. But we booked it.

And thank God we did.

Rio was remarkable in every way. Its cityscape is lush and green. Crystal blue beaches stretch to Christ Almighty, high atop the city. Sprawling. Hot. The light is intense and white and skin glows. There is photographic proof. Brazilians are friendly folk. Laughing. Drinking. Dancing. One, a near perfect Brazilian specimen, walked to me in broad daylight and said I was "pretty." Thank you, sir.

I sat from afar watching young couples make out. In front of restaurants. On the beach. In the middle of the day. Young love. Sex was in the air. Hard bodies everywhere. I cannot with the English language describe how many perfect people wearing next to nothing walked the streets. Ran the beaches. Cruised the bars. After a while my eyes went numb. Jesse, not so much.

We discovered a glorious little Italian cafe, Alessandro & Frederico, and ate there every day. Had all three meals there. Felt like a regular.

We descended upon Foxton, a surf-wear shop, and I bought adorable clothes. No polo horse embroidered here. A guitar in the horsey's place on my breast. Vintage Chinese globes. Skateboards on legs turned into dressing room stools.

Ben and I dined at Fasano for our Valentine's meal. Suckling pig. Suckling perfection.

Carrot juice. Beet juice. Watermelon juice. Caparina. Passion Fruit. Cocos. More Cocos. Agua sin gas. I drank so much. Never got drunk. Was always just right.

I slept. And laughed. Ate. Smiled. Sunned. Relaxed. I relaxed! A wonderland of nature. A major world city. The best of all elements. It was perfect. Like that pig.

I left my computer and cell phone in New York that week. And my heart, shaded still, steadily beating, sits in Rio, miles away.