Millenium Park, Chicago, Jun 11

I always loved Chicago, even during its long and painful winter, but there is a special joy of Chicago in the summer. People value the good and warm weather much more, and there are eager to be outside, and a free concert at the beautiful Jay Pritzker Pavilion is just a wonderful opportunity.

Inle Lake, Burma, Mar 11

Fishermen in Inle Lake (Burma) have this unique way of rowing with their legs, that allow them to see better their way around a lake full of plants and other vegetation that makes their work a little trickier.

Morningside Heights, New York, Jul 11

Morningside Heights, my new neighborhood for summer, in a beautiful end of the day. Cloudy white balance is great way to get warm colors, especially in the beginning and the end of the day.

Change of policy!

I have tried several times to increase the postings; as you can see by the time elapsed between posts all trials were unsuccessful. I realized that the problem is that usually it took me too long to write the text and that meant that every post was a long activity, improbable to be as frequent as it is suppose to be.

But what I like to share are pictures, not my rambling about them. So I am beginning a new policy: no more than 5 lines about the picture and no more than a week between them (except for vacation time). If I can’t live by these new rules I will probably give up on this. Let’s see!

Jazz Showcase, Chicago, USA, May11

I have wrote about this before pictures and to those that know me well it is no secret how much I enjoy Jazz. Jazz is ubiquitous in Chicago; there are several great places all around the city and if you lucky enough to spend a summer in this city you also get several chances to listen to great music in one of the best venues ever (seriously, Millennium Park in the Summer is incredible).

Having said that one of my favorite jazz spots in Chicago is the Jazz Showcase. As soon as you get into the place you realized that this place has been much more than a showcase for excellent music; it has been an active actor in the development of the music. Old style posters decorate the walls and show all the monsters that have been there since the place opened in 1947; round glass tables facing the stage and a slightly dark environment, with low light skewed towards red tones complement the perfect environment to sit back and enjoy good music.

This is not a mere venue for concerts; musicians come here to perform as well as to interact with a community, their community. Often impromptu guests outnumber the original line up; stars of the night sit back and leave young unknown musicians shine; talks in between the tunes seem like summer talks on the balcony…

Every time I look at this picture that is exactly what I feel; Benny Green (piano) was the one that named the trio performing at that rainy night of May. However he gently sits back and listen carefully to the amazing solo Kenny Washington delivers, just as impressed as we (the audience) was, just enjoying the music…

Lincoln Park Zoo, Chicago, USA, Aug10

Moving to a different city is like falling in love; in the beginning you are trying to find your way in an unknown environment, exploring and being surprised every day by small and big things, and things couldn't be more wonderful than it all appears to you.

Well you can certainly say that I am falling in love with Chicago, the city I recently moved into and my home for the next 2 years. Despite all warnings of how cold it gets in the winter, that seems so far like a small price to pay for such a beautiful, organized and charming city.

Last Sunday I decided to escape downtown (where I live) and to randomly walk in the cool neighborhood of Lincoln Park, where buildings are low and streets are packed with trees and children selling cold lemonades (yeah, I actually saw 2 stands of little children selling lemonades for a dollar).

After walking down some nice streets I found myself by accident in front of the Zoo, in Lincoln Park. It was a hot (pretty hot, actually) Sunday afternoon and nothing seemed more perfect than a visit to the Zoo.

As I said, I am in love with the city so instead of annoying (as it would normally seems to me) the crowded Zoo seemed like a charming family activity. And after some time there, and of course an ice cream (I was by far the oldest in the line to get one) I found myself in the south end of the Zoo, facing myself with a peaceful lake and trees and as a background the vivid, busy, full of skyscrapers downtown.

Vinicola Norton, Mendoza / Argentina, Dez09

Mendoza é uma cidade que sem a menor sombra de dúvida merece uma visita, especialmente se você gosta de vinhos. A visita a vinícolas permite não só conhecer mais a fundo o processo de elaboração do vinho, mas também apreciar belas vistas e saborear um infinidade de vinhos, normalmente acompanhados de ótimos pratos ou apenas de despretensiosas, mas não menos deliciosas, tábuas de queijos. No entanto nem eu nem minha família temos a disciplina que o crescente número de turistas demanda, de agendar previamente as visitas.

Após visitar uma vinícola familar estávamos a procura da próxima parada, obviamente que sem qualquer reserva; após tentativas frustadas e duas ligações e um boa dose de jeitinho brasileiro conseguimos ser recebido na vinícola Norton, na qual a simpatia dos funcionários compensou em muito a falta de vinhos excepcionais.

Como não havia vaga no restaurante e tampouco vagas nas visitas guiadas fomos convidados para apreciar uma degustação e uma tábua de queijos pelo sommelier residente. Fomos guiados pelos corredores internos até o porão de guarda, onde os vinhos repousam nas garrafas (após o período de guarda em barricas) antes de serem rotulados e disponibilizados ao mercado.

O lugar era extremamente aconchegante, com poltronas feitas de barricas já utilizadas à exaustão de suas vidas úteis, e uma luminosidade baixa acompanhada de uma temperatura extremamente agradável (especialmente se comparada com o calor sub-saariano que fazia fora). Fomos recebidos com um agradável espumante, seguido de uma tábua bem servida de ótimos queijos e uma garrafa de Norton Malbec D.O.C. 2006, ainda não disponibilizada no mercado (a garrafa sem rótulo empoeirada retirada da pila que aguardava ansiosamente o seu debut no mercado adicionava um charme inexplicável à experiencia).

Sentado na poltrana, apreciando o vinho em boa companhia de siluetas à meia luz, com divagações que só nos permitimos quando estamos em férias, me fez remontar a uma época que não vivi, na qual imergi com gosto.