Ann Norton Sculpture Garden, Palm Beach

By accident we discovered the beautiful sculpture gardens of the late Ann Norton. I especially enjoyed her studio and the orchids.

The Ritz and Glitz of Palm Beach

We've had a little glimpse of how some of the "one percenters" of America live.

Multi-million dollar properties . . . we drove along the ocean boulevards and gawked at the huge mansions. Many of them are hidden behind filigreed hedges that rise to thirty feet heights.

By the docks of the lagoon closeby are yachts as large as the mansions and probably as expensive. It was a learning experience.

Worth Avenue, the shopping district, can be compared to New York's Madison Avenue, and is ten times the size of Toronto's Yorkville.

Palm Beach Misc

Visit to Norton Art Museum was an absolute delight, including our lunch of soups and a dish of polenta with mushrooms.

We came across two houses of worship on our early morning walk, the Palm Beach synagogue . . .

The St. Edward Catholic church -- which is a beautiful edifice . . .

We spotted the yellow-crowned night heron, aka American night heron, aka squawk, on an early morning drive and walk along the luxurious ocean front homes and lagoons of Palm Beach, Florida.

This second one-legged bird has been domesticated for a while now, and with which you're probably familiar.

Morikami Museum and Japanese Gardens, Florida

After an overnight uncomfortable trip from Rio de Janeiro to Miami, we took a shuttle to Fort Lauderdale and picked up our Impala rental car and continued north to areas surrounding Palm Beach. We spent a good three hours yesterday at Morikami, strolling through the gardens and museums, browsing the gift shop, and eating a light lunch of vegetables and rice at the museum restaurant, the Cornell Cafe.

Anole lizards with red throat puffs were in abundance. I was pleased to get one decent picture.

The quiet peaceful surrounding of the gardens inspired us into yoga positions.

Rio Airport Galeao

Goodbyes have been said.

Let's move ahead!

Two Grandfathers--Double Trouble

Cilene's father Aldo, and granddaughter Julia, came to visit for a few days from Brasilia, giving us many more reasons to gad about and enjoy each other's company.

Here is Arturo with his dad and both his grandfathers, and another photo record of the entire family. Also pictured is Artur Pilar, Arturo's best buddy.

Last Day in Brazil

Woke up with mixed emotions on our 38th and last day in Brazil.

Empty hammock...

Ferry to Rio

Sunday was a full day that started with us joining a tai chi class with a professor, and colleague of Andrew's, and his wife leading the group in the scenic outdoor open space of the museum looking out over the water.

Following tai chi we boarded the ferry for the 20 minute ride to Rio. Much shorter and way more pleasant than taking the traffic jammed road. Flocks if swallows skimmed the water.

Andrew had hoped to take us to a morning concert but unfortunately when we arrived we discovered they had sold out. We nursed our disappointment with cups of coffee in a street cafe on the plaza outside the magnificent structure that is the concert hall, and later walked around a bit taking in an art museum and other street sights of the city. I was excited about seeing a young malyali family, the man's mustache being a dead giveaway, otherwise they could have passed as being Beazillian, that I went up and chatted with them. Another highlight was meeting an Amazonian Indian who exchanged contact information with Andrew for possible future linguistics collaborations.

On the ferry ride back, Andrew had us sample corn pudding, a street side treat. Later that afternoon after a late lunch at Cilene's we all headed to the garden park atop the highest point of Niteroi to take in the views.