Rio's Botanical Garden

I'd forgotten just how beautiful Rio's Jardim Botânico is with its majestic paths, waterfalls, tropical flowers, tall, skinny trees and plump, enormous ones, plus a nice view of Corcovado Mountain and Christ the Redeemer. The last time I'd been was in 2000 when I spent six months in Rio. My friend Mona came to visit during that time and on a trip to the gardens, she and I posed for a photo next to a sculpture inspired by Matisse's painting, La Danse. It's a photo that always brings back fond memories and reminds me of those first few months I spent in Brazil. Mona came for a week and ended up spending a month with me and Daniel. The stories about all the fun we had have been told countless times and never seem to get old.

I'm almost positive that the sculpture wasn't surrounded by ropes and right next to a security guard 11 years ago like it is now. I really wanted to take a similar photo with Nico, but was too chicken to blatantly break the rules with him. So, the goofy picture above is all we could get. It still makes me smile. He'd fallen asleep right around the time we arrived and was so excited to wake up in a such a beautiful place with so much to explore. I'm sure we'll go back again this trip and on all future ones. It'd be fun to take a photo with these dancing ladies each time and turn it into a family tradition. (You can't see in the photos, but I was devoured by mosquitoes in the gardens and now have 12 of the itchiest bites ever covering my legs. Fantastic! I already stand out on the beach with my one piece bathing suit and sunblock-streaked face and now this. Sigh.)