We don’t have children. And because we don’t have children I’m in no position to offer advice to our friends and relatives who do. Or so they keep telling me. One friend once said “never, ever question how people raise their children until you have your own”. The life-changing experience flicks a switch in some … Read more
On a bright sunny weekend in Buenos Aires, right up there with leisurely strolling the elegant cobblestone streets, browsing one of the Argentine capital’s many buzzy flea markets and a lazy afternoon sipping yerba mate with the locals in one of Palermo’s sprawling parks, is, for us, a visit to La Feria de Matadores on … Read more
Going to Carnival in Rio de Janeiro is a must-do experience (see this site for Carnival dates and details), yet you can get a taste of Carnival or at least a carnivalesque atmosphere somewhere in Rio just about any day of the year. It’s simply a matter of finding the party – or serendipitously running into one, as … Read more
Ask a Brazilian cook or chef who makes the best feijoada, Brazil’s national dish, and they’ll say “I do!” Nothing is more of a source of pride than making a delicious version of this pork and bean stew. Well, perhaps apart from making a mean caiparinha with their own supply of artisanal Cachaça! A ritual that’s … Read more
One of the highlights of Marcelo Armstrong’s favela tour for us was a visit to Para Ti, a very special NGO that was started by Italian Franco Urani, a former President of Fiat Brazil in the 1970s, and his wife Giuliana. The couple lived in the neighbourhood around which the favela Vila Canoas grew and … Read more