Vila Madalena was the district I stayed in when I was in São Paulo.  It’s a bohemian neighborhood with a strong artisan, cafe, and local music scene.  One area that…

Ins this last FIFA World Cup game, Jorge and I watched a Round-of-16 game between Argentina and Switzerland.  I was really excited at the chance to see Lionel Messi play…

On our last day in Rio de Janeiro, Jorge and I did a tour of the city’s largest favela in Rocinha.  What amazed me the most was the organic structure…

Our third FIFA World Cup match was a Round-of-16 game between Uruguay and Colombia.  I was excited about this game – but that was before Luis Suarez had biting Chielini…

At close glance, Rio de Janeiro is a busy and a bit worn city.  But higher up, particularly at views from Pão de Açúcar (Sugarloaf Mountain) and Cristo Redentor, Rio…

On the morning prior to our World Cup game between Belgium and South Korea, Jana took Jorge and I on a tour of São Paulo’s old-downtown.  While a bit seedy at…

For our second FIFA World Cup Round-of-16 match, we watched Belgium play South Korea.  The costumes and singing weren’t as intense as the Netherlands-Chile game.  Also, it wasn’t the most…

For our first FIFA World Cup group stage match, Jorge and I watched Netherlands play Chile.  It was funny to realize the Arena was truly built hastily with some shoddy…

Upon the recommendation of Jana, we took an overnight trip to Ilhabela – beautiful island.  Because it was low season, we were able to find reasonably priced accommodation and traffic…

This was my second visit to Brazil, but this time the reason was for the World Cup.  My friend Jorge and I based ourselves in São Paulo and stayed with…