Number two - a visit to Quinta da Boa Vista

Actually number two was supposed to be a visit to São Cristovão to check out one of the many stores that have moved there. But sometimes a detour turns out better than what you had in mind...It was Saturday before Easter and all the stores were closed, so we ended up at Quinta da Boa Vista instead.

Quinta da Boa Vista used to be the residence of the Emperors of Brazil in the 19th century. Nowadays, what used to be the gardens of the São Cristovão Palace is a public park. The Palace is now the National Museum, with a curious collection on natural history, ethnology and archaeology. I have visited the Museum on several occasions and always enjoy the mixture of stuffed Brazilian animals, strange insects and even an ancient Egyptian mummy - said to have been a princess.

In the park you can also find the Zoo of Rio de Janeiro. It is very popular, but I confess that it makes me a little sad, it is an old zoo, and the animals do not have much space. This day, however, we opted for not visiting the museum nor the zoo. We just enjoyed the park. And that is what a lot of people from the Northern Zone of the city were also doing. The park is enormous, with lots of big old trees, lawns were you can lay down, have a picnic or play, and a  lake complete with pedalos. There are sales people offering cotton candy, balloons, kites, balls and of course water, sodas and ice cream. There is even a little train that goes around the park, in a way it was a trip down memory lane. It is an old fashioned park, just like a park should be...it ended up being a wonderful afternoon. And I decided that I should go there more often and maybe bring a packed lunch and a book.