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Everyday I receive self-help emails of all kinds. The online community always has a beautiful sentence to brighten up our days, or an inspiring photo to remind us the greatness of the universe, or even threatening chain messages to make our blood literally freeze inside our veins. At first sight, I delete the scary message and breath in relief. However, sometimes some really nice messages come up and make me rethink about the sameness of routine.
Since I work at nights, I have free afternoons to do whatever I want. The problem with this “free” is, I always end up doing so many other things that with time, becomes tiresome: dentist appointments, hair salon days, massages, workouts, dermatologist, well, all the needs of a modern, over-forty woman!
Opening my correspondence (nothing more chic than new habits with old names) early in the morning, I face one of these nice emails, saying something in the lines of “running away from daily obligations and adventure yourself in simple but very fun things”. With this idea in mind, I answered a friend’s phone call. She invited me to spend the afternoon in Downtown Rio, more precisely at the area known as “Sahara”. I immediately accepted and happily left behind the idea of sweating while running on a threadmill.
This small area between the streets of Downtown has a world of products and services. Entering "Casa Pedro" and breathing all of the aromas, spices, and browsing by miles of fabrics, or visting Casa Turuna with the myriad of costumes, give to any visitor the sensation of being in a world apart.
The day was just beautiful and the climate really “desert-like”, as it was about 35 degrees Celsius, in mid-October. This little detail lent us the idea of sitting in an Arabic restaurant, the “Cedro do Libano” to drink a tasteful lime caipirinha that would rid us from the heat. Right after entering I picked a good table near the door, loving the atmosphere of this simple place, when I was instigated by an announcement hung in the place: “The Earth has 5 oceans, 7 seas, 6 continents and 509 km². With all this space in the world, do you need to smoke here?”
Since my friend is a heavy smoker, the kind that buys the cigarette with the Surgeon’s General advice turned the other way to be guilt-free, I decided to leave. We were leaving when waiter stopped us, and for my surprise, he advised the ashes should be dropped in the floor – maybe an usual thing in that part of the city!
Already very relaxed and still driking caipirinha, we ordered food and decided to enjoy every second of that fabulous lunch.
Aunt Beatriz (God bless her soul) always told me that going shopping after driking alcohol was a very bad deal. She was totally right! I was invaded with an undescribable sudden change of personality that transformed me into a Brazilian Cristina Onassis capable of buying everything I touched. Thanks to Elisa (my previously incignita friend), who brought reason back to me with a simple and efficient sentence:
- What happened, pal? Are you crazy? You don’t need four floor mats, do you?
While I planned a sensational change of floor mats by the season, what certainly would cause “frisson” in my neighborhood, what she said made me get back to my senses in the name of truth and my pocket!
A good friend is the greatest treasure we have, and also a very good help when we need to fall back into reality.
The caipirinha effect was already going away, and so were we. We were happy with life and with all of the cheap buys that we made during the afternoon, maybe more than half just junk.
It was a fabulous day. I sincerely believe, one of the advantages of being a woman is to make a few hours of shopping, lunch and good laugh into the best of therapies.
Going back home and passing through the avenue around the Guanabara Bay, protected by the Sugar Loaf, I once again had the assurance that living in Rio is absolutely divine.
Celina Penteado is a Brazilian publicist and journalist. She currently works for the celebrated Brazilian chef José Hugo Celidônio. Her passions in life include gastronomy, wines, and traveling... the art of living well. After living in Europe for many years, she returned to Rio de Janeiro, the place she considers the best in the world to live...Well!
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