Brasília Review

I keep shaking my head. Where did 26 days in Brasília go? Besides my hometown of Perth, I’ve never spent that much time in one city. I’ve skipped forward a few weeks in my blogs, but I’ll recap my movements to the Brasilian capital at a later date. I just felt compelled to write about my time there.

I was a little skeptical before arriving about spending just under a month in the ‘Canberra’ (Australia’s capital) of Brasil and having my own apartment, possibly secluding me from meeting new people and most importantly, interacting with locals. But how wrong I was.

 Brasília Cathedral – Green and Gold for Brasil

Cameron and I, who came over from Perth to meet me for the World Cup, chose Brasília as our base for the biggest event on the planet because I was able to get through the first phase of ticketing and buy the stadium pass, which meant we got to watch all seven games in Brasília! You beauty!

On day dot, we watched Brasil play in the opening game of the World Cup at a bar packed full of locals and a large group took us under their wing and showed us how to samba and party in true-Brasilian style. They were so welcoming and friendly and because we clearly stood out as gringos, they wanted to show us a good time.

Sara, Me, Meaghan and Chris (L – R) supporting Australia

Night two was Australia v Chile in the World Cup and despite the 3-1 loss for the good guys, we met a girl named Bruna, who we would see each and every day thereafter for the rest of our time in Brasília. She was our tour guide, taxi driver, sister, mother, sous chef and best friend. It was an absolute blessing to get to know her and have her around. I’m already counting down the days until we get to hang out again! I can’t thank her enough for helping us have the best time in BSB.

Me, Regina, Carina, Cameron, Chris and Bruna (L – R)

We spent the majority of our time in Brasília watching the World Cup in various bars, restaurants, cafes and even shopping malls. We managed to fit in some tourist attractions like Salto do Itiquira, a waterfall about an hour-and-a-half outside of Brasília and the TV Tower, but most of the time we hung out with our friends, and I can honestly say I don’t know where the time went. We were also welcomed, on more than one occasion, to various friends’ houses for barbecues and I couldn’t be more thankful.

Swimming in Salto do Itiquira

The Five Senses of Brasília

Brasília looks like sky. I don’t know why, but everyone from Brasília always talks about how much sky the city has, and it’s true. The land and buildings seem to be dwarfed in comparison to the sky.

 Sunset at Ermida

Brasília smells like slow-cooked meat. I’m from Australia and we do a pretty mean barbecue, but Brasilians do it better. Seriously. They only salt their meat and then slow roast them over hot coals. Magic.

Brasilian BBQ

Brasília feels like home. I’ve used this as a sense before, but having so many friends, who felt like family, made Brasília feel like it was home. Having my own apartment was the icing on the cake.

Brasília tastes like toasties. We had many barbecues, but we had more toasted sandwiches during our time in Brasília! It was nice to have our own kitchen in the apartment and many gourmet toasties were made in it.

Brasília sounds like goollllllllllllllll. What else? The World Cup was on and the only part of the Portuguese commentary I could understand was when a goal was scored. The lung capacity of the commentators is next level.

Brasília exceeded all of my expectations and was an amazing introduction to Brasil. Travel is all about the people you meet and the experiences you have with them, not the landmarks or sites you visit. This is what made Brasília so special, I have made so many great friends, and it will always be close to my heart.