Brazil is a nation of the moment, indeed it might be the country of the future. It is one of the fastest growing economies in the world as befits a pretty big place; you could cram all of western Europe inside its boundaries. recent world events have made it inevitable that Brazil takes its place amongst the great powers of the globe. This is a country rich in natural resources and which boasts a plentiful supply of Labour which will sustain its advanced manufacturing economy for many years to come. Self sufficiency in produce, materials, products and finance means that the world recession has not really made its mark here.
As befits an economy about to be admitted the world’s elite Brazil is celebrating by hosting both the World Cup and the Olympic Games within two years of each other. Over the next four years the world will — most probably — go Brazil mad. Leblon, where we are staying, is the kind of safe, secure, beach environment that many visitors to these sporting events will stay in. So, i thought I’d say a little bit about the place, especially for those who find your way here over the coming years via. the services of Google.
Physically, Leblon looks like any number of newish Mediterranean towns. Wide, tree lined boulevards are lined with bars, restaurants and pizzerias. Mostly these run parallel to the beach. Side streets quickly take you to the sand where you can rent a deckchair, play volleyball or drink a cold beer or the juice from a fresh coconut. Leblon strikes me as being more of a family holiday kind of a place than Ipanema. Kate says it reminds her of Bournemouth. You need to stretch your imagination here a little while, after all the cocktails in Bournemouth are nowhere near as good. But she has a point.
In common with much of the Med Pizzerias and juice bars are replacing the standard bar, which is something of a pity I think. The one exception to this is the Café Jobi a good, honest, bar in the Spanish or Portuguese tradition.
If Leblon takes its physical inspiration from Europe it takes its cultural inspiration from New York. And a good suburb of New York at that.
Language is not really a problem here, not if you stick to the usual holiday pursuits of bars and eating houses. Menus are quickly produced with English translations and a lot of young staff are almost fluent in American-styled English. But culturally, what we have here is quite a decadent interpretation of the New York scene.
Leblon seems a place that dreams of being at the centre of the world’s consumer society. Top line restaurants shout their international credentials through wine lists top heavy with champagnes and menus over balanced with fois gras. Brazil is home to the biggest Japanese community outside of Japan. And yet even in the ‘best’ Sushi restaurant here the house speciality involves foid gras.
On night one we ate at one of these international restaurants. Sitting on a high stool our front was the most beautiful of black women, young, thin and at least 6 feet 2 tall. Her job was simply to meet and greet, something you find in places were Labour is cheap and plentiful. You may have seen the same thing in Asia or Africa. Our waiter, Moses, was dressed in a dramatic, corporate, sarong a la David Beckham. He spoke impeccable English. Meet him on his day off and you’d have thought him a banker or industrialist rather than a waiter.
Our meal was pretty mediocre really, though the price was certainly not. I reckon us Brits are now thoroughly spoilt in the decent restaurant stakes with the current movement for simple, seasonal food, expertly cooked using fine ingredients. This was the kind of stuff you’d find in many an international hotel, from Frankfurt to Copenhagen and from Sidney to Boston.
It seemed a shame to pass on Brazilian stuff entirely, I ordered a bottle of Brazilian Sauvignon Blanc. This did have a taste of sauvignon blanc but it also had the scent of petrol. I kind you not. It may even have been petrol as the smell kind of evaporated away a few minutes after the wine had been opened. Best stick to the excellent Chilean wines here — you don’t get Argentinian stuff, for that would be a step too far.
I’d advise giving these places a wide berth. Stick to the more basic pizzerias and bars like Jobi where the food is simple, decent and affordable. These places can be great. I particularly liked Diagonal Pizza. Great cocktails, wonderful real, fresh pizza and staff who just laughed a lot despite the fact that neither of us could understand each other.
Basically, the further you move away from the beach the more expensive, exclusive and really un-interesting things seem to come!
If you’re planing a stay here then I’d recommend self catering simply because of the standard of fresh produce in the local supermarkets. Foodies will have a great time here. There are wonderful, real, tomatoes all knobbly and of varying colours and hues, their taste as earthy and they come. Everything seems to be in a season at the same time, which is probably true as the climate is quite consistent the whole year round. Next to the tomatoes were great looking potatoes, bags of fresh green beans, beetroots and other root vegetables and fabulous bunches of herbs and lettuce.
While Rio has a lot more to offer I’m not sure that Leblon does really, though to fair I’ve not had that much time to explore. For many people this is represent the very essence of the good life though others will be very aware that this is possible only through an exploitative system of employment.
If you find yourself here make the most of it — it will make a great base for those visiting the World Cup or the Games as it is safe and well policed.
It is, though, quite a strange place for hillwalkers to while away the hours!
Very jealous Andy,both myself and Adriana,my partner could do with some Brasilian sunshine to warm our bones.We our due to go out there in August to introduce our new daughter to the family.
Enjoy Rio,i loved it.