Waiting For News

Thursday 1 March

We awoke this morning and checked the phones and computer for messages as a priority, but there was still no news about the new arrival. I think, for one of the first times on our trip, we really felt we were on the other side of the world to the rest of the family. We ate another superb leisurely breakfast, while the men were putting the finishing touches to the new patio awning. It was so cool and relaxing it was hard to move on. Our first task this morning was to find the laundry Marco had kindly pointed out yesterday, only a few blocks from the hotel. We gathered together two large bags of washing – would it go in one machine?! – and wandered along the main street, parallel with the esplanade and beach. The shop, in a small side street, was doing a roaring trade – about ten large washing machines full of frothy washing, and an equal amount of tumble driers doing their own thing. There were ironing boards and irons at the ready in the background. A lady came and took our washing, and as we paid up front, told us it would be delivered back to our hotel room by 14.00 today – less than four hours time.

We made our way back to the hotel, collected our bits and found loungers beside the pool for some serious relaxation. First a man came up with the mattresses for the beds, and two towels each to lie on, tucking them in at the sides and ends like making a bed. Then he arrived with a pillow and a computer holder for my lap top – a bit like a pot plant holder, with rests not only for the computer, but also glasses and dishes of nuts, pastries or petit fours that accompany every order here. Later in the day he made a couple of rounds with ice cold towels to mop our sweaty brows! I sent a few emails, and heard from Juz that there was no news about the new baby yet! He or she was definitely taking its time. By midday she texted us to say it was on its way. We wished our friend Rosemary a happy birthday, and I wrote to customer services at Samsonite to inform them about the plight of my poorly suitcase – now suffering severe cracking down the sides. It was then time for a swim in the beautiful blue pool, rippling gently in a welcome breeze. After a few lengths, I climbed up the steps near to our loungers, and a man instantly appeared with towels for me! What wonderful service. I then decided to blog some more, but not long after I found that my second battery was not recharged, so had to puzzle and read for the rest of the day while they were recharged. We were waiting for the news of the birth before we enjoyed celebratory cocktails, so had to stick to matte lemon for the rest of the afternoon. Whilst we were stretched out, the sun moved round the pool, so we decided to move – immediately our man came and whisked the mattresses and towels and took them to a new location. Drinks and nibbles were available by just raising an eyebrow! Colin thinks if we stayed here long enough they would come and hold the glasses for us too!

We decided we would splash out tomorrow night – being our last night of luxury in Rio – by going to the Cipriani Restaurant – the posh one here in the hotel. We perused the menu and it sounded delicious – it will probably be our expensive meal ever – but still delicious!, so we made a reservation. There were a lot more people in the hotel this evening – perhaps a cruise ship had arrived in port – and most of them seemed to be German – so better to be safe and have a table booked (remembering our experiences at the Sheriton!). It was then time to think about food tonight.

We decided to explore the opposite direction out of the hotel for food tonight – we had seen several acceptable restaurants on our walk to see Monica yesterday – and although we wandered a good way along the esplanade, we turned back and chose Maxims – not the equivalent of the Paris gastronomique – but meeting our requirements all the same. There were two main areas of seating – extending out across the wide pavement, and we were shown to a table to one side. We both chose fillet steak, with ham and cheese, vegetables and chips. The steak was cooked rare and was very tender, but half way through our meal, a group of youngsters arrived – out celebrating a birthday – who kept putting tables together as more and more of their friends arrived – ok – but then a group of tourists were seated behind us and did the same, so suddenly we were like the proverbial jam in a sandwich. As we were just finishing our meal, we decided not to stay for dessert. We wandered back to the hotel room, and ate apples, thoughtfully supplied by the management, before checking once more for messages – still there was nothing! I blogged for just a short while, watched a bit of an old black and white film on the television for a while and retired to bed. Would we get that message tonight?