I always wanted to go there, too," Mike said and sat next to her. "Only reason I haven’t gone is I don’t wanna be bothered with the crowds."
"I know what you mean." Shy paused and thought for a second. "Well, why don’t we go for a few days and leave before the crowds come?"
"That’s fine, but it does kinda kill the purpose in going if we leave before Carnival."
Shy leaned forward, looked into his eyes and smiled. "So, do you think you can tolerate the crowds for a day or two?"
"How can I say no to those eyes and that smile?"
Shy paused and thought for a moment. "I got a better idea. Why wait for Carnival? Why don’t we just go?" she asked. "I don’t know about you, but I could really use a couple of days off this rock."
Now it was Mike who paused, then he smiled at his wife. "Sounds like a real plan coming together."
"Perfect!" Shy said. "There’s one more thing," Shy said and moved her chair closer to his. "And I know how you feel about it, but can we, you know, like, play tourist?"
Mike took a deep breath and agreed, even though his idea of the perfect vacation was to be as far away from other people as possible. Sightseeing required being around a bunch of people that Mike didn’t want to be bothered with. On the other hand, Shy was desperate to be around people, to be a part of the crowd.
Shy missed being in New York, missed being a part of the whole I live in New York experience . Living on an island paradise was wonderful, but it does get old after a while. There were times when Shy wondered how Mike could stand it. But he goes to New York at least two or three times a month, Shy would rationalize. There were many days when she’d seen Mike get up early, catch a flight to New York and be back late that night.
When Mike woke up the following morning, Shy was at the computer and had arranged the entire trip. She informed him that she had chartered a plane, and they were staying at the Copacabana Palace Hotel, a five-star hotel on the beach. She told him that she had arranged for them to take a tour of the top ten attractions in Rio.
"Like what?" Mike asked.
"It’s a lotta stuff in Portuguese that I really can’t pronounce, but trust me, I know how fascinated you are by historical things, so I know you’ll love it," Shy assured him.
As soon as they landed, Shy grabbed the first brochure that she could find and began to read aloud to Mike. "Rio de Janeiro is the name of both a state and a city in southeastern Brazil," a very excited Shy read as she eased her arm around Mike’s. "The city is famous for the hotel-lined tourist beaches, one of which we’re staying at, Copacabana, and Ipanema , for the giant statue of Jesus, known as Cristo Redentor or something like that. But it means Christ the Redeemer . It’s on the Corcovado Mountain, which, by the way, is part of our tour tomorrow. It’s Brazil’s second-largest city after São Paulo and used to be the country’s capital until 1960, when Brasília took its place."
"Fascinating."
The first day Shy and Mike wandered around, Shy shopped and took pictures with her new digital camera. As it turned out, Shy was right about her husband. Mike found Rio de Janeiro to be a city rich with history and magnificent architecture, both of which fascinated him. Now as they walked back to their hotel, it was Mike reading aloud from a guide book to Shy. "The actual city wasn’t founded until March 565 by Portuguese knight Estácio de Sá , who called it São Sebastião do Rio de Janeiro, which means St. Sebastian of the January River, in honor of King Sebastian of Portugal. It was frequently attacked by pirates, especially by then enemies of Portugal, such as the Netherlands and France. In the late 16th century, the Portuguese crown began treating the village as a strategic location for Atlantic transit of ships between Brazil, the African colonies, and Europe. Fortresses were built and an alliance was formed with nearby native tribes to defend the
"I know what you mean." Shy paused and thought for a second. "Well, why don’t we go for a few days and leave before the crowds come?"
"That’s fine, but it does kinda kill the purpose in going if we leave before Carnival."
Shy leaned forward, looked into his eyes and smiled. "So, do you think you can tolerate the crowds for a day or two?"
"How can I say no to those eyes and that smile?"
Shy paused and thought for a moment. "I got a better idea. Why wait for Carnival? Why don’t we just go?" she asked. "I don’t know about you, but I could really use a couple of days off this rock."
Now it was Mike who paused, then he smiled at his wife. "Sounds like a real plan coming together."
"Perfect!" Shy said. "There’s one more thing," Shy said and moved her chair closer to his. "And I know how you feel about it, but can we, you know, like, play tourist?"
Mike took a deep breath and agreed, even though his idea of the perfect vacation was to be as far away from other people as possible. Sightseeing required being around a bunch of people that Mike didn’t want to be bothered with. On the other hand, Shy was desperate to be around people, to be a part of the crowd.
Shy missed being in New York, missed being a part of the whole I live in New York experience . Living on an island paradise was wonderful, but it does get old after a while. There were times when Shy wondered how Mike could stand it. But he goes to New York at least two or three times a month, Shy would rationalize. There were many days when she’d seen Mike get up early, catch a flight to New York and be back late that night.
When Mike woke up the following morning, Shy was at the computer and had arranged the entire trip. She informed him that she had chartered a plane, and they were staying at the Copacabana Palace Hotel, a five-star hotel on the beach. She told him that she had arranged for them to take a tour of the top ten attractions in Rio.
"Like what?" Mike asked.
"It’s a lotta stuff in Portuguese that I really can’t pronounce, but trust me, I know how fascinated you are by historical things, so I know you’ll love it," Shy assured him.
As soon as they landed, Shy grabbed the first brochure that she could find and began to read aloud to Mike. "Rio de Janeiro is the name of both a state and a city in southeastern Brazil," a very excited Shy read as she eased her arm around Mike’s. "The city is famous for the hotel-lined tourist beaches, one of which we’re staying at, Copacabana, and Ipanema , for the giant statue of Jesus, known as Cristo Redentor or something like that. But it means Christ the Redeemer . It’s on the Corcovado Mountain, which, by the way, is part of our tour tomorrow. It’s Brazil’s second-largest city after São Paulo and used to be the country’s capital until 1960, when Brasília took its place."
"Fascinating."
The first day Shy and Mike wandered around, Shy shopped and took pictures with her new digital camera. As it turned out, Shy was right about her husband. Mike found Rio de Janeiro to be a city rich with history and magnificent architecture, both of which fascinated him. Now as they walked back to their hotel, it was Mike reading aloud from a guide book to Shy. "The actual city wasn’t founded until March 565 by Portuguese knight Estácio de Sá , who called it São Sebastião do Rio de Janeiro, which means St. Sebastian of the January River, in honor of King Sebastian of Portugal. It was frequently attacked by pirates, especially by then enemies of Portugal, such as the Netherlands and France. In the late 16th century, the Portuguese crown began treating the village as a strategic location for Atlantic transit of ships between Brazil, the African colonies, and Europe. Fortresses were built and an alliance was formed with nearby native tribes to defend the
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