The Pink Plated Ceiling of the Nova Capela

If you haven't tried the "bolinhas de bacalhau" (cod fish balls) at the Nova Capela Restaurant in Lapa, then you're missing something special. I first went there with Tom from eatrio.net, one of the many yummy spots on his food tour and I had to go again. There's a weird vibe on the street out front, the vibe you get when the Sunday morning early birds collide with the Saturday all-night partiers, and the facade of the restaurant is hardly noticeable, but as soon as you walk in, it's like arriving in the dining room of the "Brazilian great-aunt-you-didn't-know-you-had." The combination of the pink spots on the ceiling, the ornate tiles on the walls and the pleather seat covers make it a place to you want to linger in and order big plates of food; especially the "piggy homestyle with fried vegetables".

I can't stop looking at the spots on the ceiling!

Ah, pleather, the perfect hot weather material

I told you so.

The perfect bolinha de bacalhau!

We left Nova Capela satisfied and drove to the MAM, the Rio Museum of Modern Art which I have wanted to visit since the first time I came to Rio years ago but never had the chance to go. Well, in true Rio style, it's wise to always plan to break the plan. As we approached the parking lot entrance we saw a long line-up of cars encroaching on the street and didn't even hesitate to pass it and head back toward home. No museum is worth waiting in this kind of line-up where questionable men call out loudly for you to park your car in impossible spaces for questionable amounts of money.

On the way home, we made a pit stop at the Instituto Moreira Salles in Gavea which I heard was worth a visit by the International Club Rio de Janeiro, an expat club I belong to. Founded in 1992 by ambassador and banker Walther Moreira Salles, the non-profit institute for the promotion and development of cultural programs in photography, literature, iconography and music is now what was once the Moreira family home. Designed in 1948 by architect Olavo Redig de Campo, the modern house is surrounded by lush gardens which were designed by famed landscape designer Roberto Burle Marx. Giant Mezosoic-like bamboo and towering trees with gnarly trunks shade the grounds and hide this "hidden treasure" from the uglier, neighboring towers. Instantly I was thrown into an episode of "Mad Men"; images of smartly dressed people and rooms filled with ashtrays, teak cocktail carts, and phones that sit on desks and can't be carried around sprung into my mind.

There was a man talking on his cell phone that wouldn't get out of the shot, so I hid him behind the tree!

Pond and tilework

Poolside

Photography exhibit

Being a dork with a VW van

Peach from the "peach tree of India"

The thing about going to place like this with a kid is that I start to envy the childless couples who quietly sit in the coffee shop or in the gardens after slowly lingering over the interesting photography exhibits and I wish I could spend more time in the gift shop perusing the coffee table books without the kid taking all the postcards off the wall. So if you have kids, just be prepared to whip through pretty quickly unless your children enjoy 1950's architecture and like to discuss literature while slowly sipping on an espresso. It was worth a visit anyhow, anything to break up the trip back to Barra.