Corcovada from the Rooftop Pool Area

We went to the Botanic Gardens area today for lunch in a little bistro we found on a previous visit. It's only a 10 minute taxi ride away, but it has a different feel altogether up there and it kind of reminds me of areas we know in São Paulo.

After lunch we went for a wee wander and it was a disappointment to find that the lovely little bookshop cafe we also found last time has gone and in its place there's a bar restaurant, which makes it look like just about any other corner in Rio. When we asked about it to the owner of the little antique shop opposite, she said (in Portuguese), 'They closed a year ago. They got the market all wrong. Cariocas like to be outside in the open air, not inside reading a book'. Then I remember that, yes, I was the only one sitting in the aircon-ed interior and everyone else was outside outside. Shame it didn't survive though.

I've just searched for my blip of our last visit to this restaurant and notice that Bb and I switched main courses today. My starter today though was poached egg with mushroom sauce and delicious. On our last visit, we'd both been on the 2 day diet for 5 weeks and came off it for that lunch. We need to get back on that after we get back to Bcn.

Blip today is the view of Corcovada (look carefully!) from the rooftop pool area.

Last visit to the bistro...