annika hagen

On a last minute decision on Thursday night, Jorge and I took a flight Friday afternoon to Rio to spend a very fullfilling weekend of parties, dinners, lunches, meetings, shopping and even a whole hour of lounging at the beach!

We were very lucky to stay at a great hotel, considering that the night before we called around to find every room in Rio was booked!... word of advice, when coming to Rio, book well well well in advance! So, Friday evening we attended a huge 50th birthday celebration for his cousin, dancing well into the night to an impressive mix of music. The next day, we met with a potential future client and cousin of Jorge's and traveled up to see the beautiful property they are interested in, just up the hill from Barra da Tijuca. In the afternoon we visited their astonishing apartment overlooking the beaches of Barra da Tijuca where I got to really test out my new wide angle lens. In the late afternoon we visited another family member, a second uncle, and saw their gorgeous old restored house high in the hills. It was a landscape I did not expect to see in a crazy city like Rio, twenty minutes up the hill and it's just like you're in the countryside of Tuscany, peacefull, quiet and a view like no other! Unfortunatley I can't describe the view as we happened upon Rio during an uncharactaristicly cold and damp foggy spell. As night set, we wound our way back down the hill to visit yet more of Jorge's relatives, his cousin Angela, husband, 3 sons, uncle and aunt and a revolving door of interesting guests. It was an evening of meeting architects and filmmakers. When I asked Angela what the occassion for the party was, she ansered, no party... just Saturday! ah, I could envision that a life in Rio would be jam packed with warmth, cultural vivacity and a whole lot of socializing! Thank dios for the beaches, keeping everyone refreshed and full of life. By the time we reached the hotel I was spent. The next morning, a phenomental breakfast spread with a view over the city got our energy up again and we hit the streets to check out the local colourful fashions that you tend not to see so much in São Paulo and other central regions. Then we packed in a solid hour and a caipirinha on the beach of Ipanema before having to make our way back to the airport Sunday afternoon. The photos I've posted on here are all from my iPhone, as it is not wise to be carrying around any expensive camera equipment on the streets of Rio. Here is a little slice of what I saw, snapping mostly from taxis and cars as we zoomed our way around this fantastic city of Rio de Janiero.... comparable only to New York, but with big sexy beaches.

see the full gallery here

for photos of visited houses, architecture and rio locales, click here.