This page starts on the 18th of May, but there are no pictures today.  You would not want to see what we did today, as we are both very sick.  We left the room to have dinner at Gula Gula, which was excellent.  On the 19th we never left the hotel room.  Sweating and chills.  Worried that we had Malaria or Dengue Fever.  On Sunday, the 20th, we got sicker yet.  Sandy was having shooting pains through her legs, chest and arms, and a terrible headache.  On Monday, the 21st, we both visited the hospital.  The good news was we did not have Malaria or Dengue.  The bad news... we are both real sick with a virus.  The doctor at the D'or hospital, Eduardo Portella, took the time to call us and send us emails to assure that we were recovering.  Thank you very much, Doctor Portella!

The best I could do on the 21st was walk to our hotel balcony and take these 3 pictures. The buildings are spaced far apart and there are many playgrounds for the kids. It was nice to hear the kids playing on the swings, as we laid in bed trying to regain our strength.
Looking the other way from our balcony.
And a beautiful sunset. It is miserable being sick while traveling, but if it had to happen, we had a nice room to be "sick in"! The 22nd and 23rd were also pictureless! We did leave the room on the 22nd, and ordered a custom ring for Sandy at Amsterdam Sauer, from the dirt rider "Christian Dobler", which treated us VERY fairly!

On Thursday, the 24th, we finally get out of the hotel to take more "Then and Now" photos.  The weather was not the best, so the colors are less than I would have liked.  We had 3 pictures of the Lapa Arches in the old downtown area of Rio.  The first picture is from the 1921 book by W. Sayle, titled "Trip to the Land of Romance".  Notice the old classic car on the original picture.

This is from the 1939 book called, "Travel in Brazil".
And today......

Because of security issues, I printed the old pictures so that I would not have to open the laptop up in unsafe areas.  As it turned out, the print of the picture was cropped, so that when I took the "NEW" picture, I excluded much of the original picture.  Oh well.........  The picture is from Sydney Clark's 1940 book, "East Coast of South America".

The next picture is also of the Lapa aqueduct.  But I completely forgot to try and take a new picture.

But I thought you may enjoy the picture anyways!  My guess is that the aqueduct would not be visible from where the original picture was taken, due to the many high rises that are now in this area. 

The picture is from the 1921 book by Harry Franck, called "Working North from Patagonia".

The 1908 book called "The Other Americans", by Arthur Ruhl had this picture of an old downtown street in Rio de Janeiro, but we were not able to find the exact location (we did find the street).

The next picture is another one we completely missed.  We did take "Then and Now's" of the theater which is on the right side of the photo.  We actually walked though the park to take pictures.

This picture is from Vera Kelsey's "Seven Keys to Brazil", written in 1940.

Here is Sandy in the middle of the park which is in the picture above.........

Also from the 1908 book call "The Other Americans", by Arthur Ruhl We did not find the exact buildings, but farther down, we do have pictures of buildings that are very much like those in this pictures. We defiantly got the feel of what this area felt like nearly 100 years ago!

From the 1907 book called "Continent of Opportunity", by Francis Clark. 

We walked and walked and walked, trying to find the exact location but we where unsuccessful.  This entire area has changed a lot, but many of the 3 and 4 story buildings are still there.

The following pictures were taken as we walked around looking for the "Then and Now's". We sure felt like we were walking down the streets of the early 1900's.
This is the historic "Confeitaria Colombo" which was established back in 1894. There are neat pictures of the restaurant on it's web site...  CONFEITARIA COLOMBO
Very classic......
Also in the Colombo.... I wanted to order a drink, which would require the bartender to get a bottle down from the upper shelf.... Not sure how he would have gotten the bottle down....
Old buildings, just like the old buildings in the OLD pictures above....
Very narrow streets....
I am sure that we walked right by the location of some of the old pictures we had...

This old section of down town Rio de Janeiro is an area that many visitor miss.  What a shame.

Some times the Old and New do not mix well....

On the 25th and 26th of May, we spent most of our time searching down the "Then and Now's".  Clouds developed during the afternoon on the 25th, so we enter GPS coordinates so we could make a quick return on the first sunny day, which ended up being the 26th.

This was an old clock tower located across the street from the Theater in down town Rio de Janeiro.
Another example of Old and New not mixing well.....
A few nights ago we had dinner in a restaurant named "Garota de Ipanema" (Girl from Ipanema), where the song was composed. Today we had lunch at "Garota de Urca" (Girl from Urca), which is a restaurant at the base of Sugar Loaf.
On Friday, the 25 of May, we stopped by Amsterdam Sauer and picked up Sandy's new rings from Christian Dobler, a dirt bike rider! Christian has given us a lot of great advice such as hotels in safe areas, restaurants (Gula Gula), and places to see as we head north. Thank you very much Christian!

The first Then and Now for Friday the 25th was a picture taken from the Hotel "Copacabana Palace".  We had to gain access to the 2nd story balcony.

The Copacabana Palace is a $445.00 to $2,300 per night, high end Hotel. It was built in 1923 and has a very impressive history and list of guests. The attached link has a page with the history of the hotel.... Copacabana Palace

This is a picture taken in 1940, in Sydney Clark's book titled "East Coast of South America".  The building in the background is still there, but hard to see, as an extension was added to the front of the Hotel.  The beach and the rocks are now hidden by the trees.  I love the old cars in the "Then" photo!

The next pictures is of the "Paco Imperial Palace", which was built in 1743 and was the residence for Viceroys. 

The pictures is from the book "Travel in Brazil", printed in 1939. 

Notice that the ornamental work is missing from the peak of the old building! 

And all the new tall buildings in the background!

Same picture, in color.

The next picture is also from the 1939 book "Travel in Brazil" and it is of the Guanabara Palace. 

There are no new buildings in the picture, but the vegetation has matured! 

The lamp standards are the same, but some of the glass globes are new, since 1939.

And again, in color.

In the "Praca 15 de Novembro", is this monument. The picture is from the 1939 book "Travel in brazil".
The wood door was replaced with metal bars. New buildings in the background. The monument is now located just a few feet from a freeway (I was standing under the freeway to take the picture).
In color....

Again, from the book "Travel in Brazil", the next picture is of the Municipal Theater, which is located in the core of the old down town of Rio de Janeiro.

 If you notice the large eagle on the roof of the Theater, you can see that the angles are slightly different

If I backed up to get the exact angle, all you would see is the tree!

The following picture is of the "Palacio Tiradentes", which was built in 1926.  The photo is from the book of 1940 titled "Seven Keys to Brazil" by Vera Kelsey.  The building is still the seat of the State of Rio de  Janeiro Parliament.  Notice the neat old cars on the right side of the Palacio.  The angle is slightly different, as the building which the first picture was taken from has been demolished and replaced with a parking structure in a different location.  The building to the left of the Parliament build is the "Paco Imperial Palace", which was a "Then and Now", about 12 pictures up!

Again, from the 1939 book, "Travel in Brazil", is this statue in "Praca Tidaentes". This "Then and Now" actually looks like it is in better shape today, then in 1939. Notice how the lamp fixture on the far right side of the photo is tilted......
Some time during the last 68 years the light fixture was repaired. New building in background. The trees on the right side of the monument are much larger!
In color.....

Again, from "Travel in Brazil" of 1939.  This picture was taken in Praca Paris, located near the Gloria Hotel.  On the far left side of the picture is a clock tower, which is still there.  Many new buildings line the park.

The narrow tower about 3 inches from the left side of this picture is the same clock tower, which was in the picture above.  The tower is barely visible from the same angle today due to all the new construction.  The apartment house on the very left of this photo is still there, but most of the other buildings are new.

Same picture in color.

It is now called Paris Park, but in the book from 1940, called the "East Coast of South America", by Sydney Clark, the park was called Gloria Gardens.

 .

The same church but completely different angles.  I thought it was time to include Sandy in the pictures!

Close up of the church on the hill.

This is Botafogo bay, in 1939.  The church near the middle of the picture is still there today! 

I have not counted the buildings but it appears there are a few more today!

In color!

I will have to finish up the many "Then and Now's" on the next page (Brazil 13), which is now under construction.

For "Brazil 11"  hit the "Back Button".....       For "Brazil 13"  hit the "Next Button".....