We are Love
All of Us. It's what we're made of.
The feel good photography of Cole Ramstad and Anna Bonnet.
All Images © RamstadBonnet 2012 unless otherwise noted.
RamstadBonnet@gmail.com
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Parque Lage.
When someone comes to visit me in New York, I pride myself in introducing them to my city the way I love it. The beautiful, off the beaten path, goodness that every city has to offer anyone that is excited enough. Times square is nice. Union Square at midnight is better. The Statue of Liberty is monumental. The Keith Haring murals all over the city are cultural artifacts. The Blue Note is classic and eternal. Fat Cat is one of my favorite places in the world. Of course, the sites should be seen, but the city loves a little intimacy.
Sylvia showed me the best things in Rio. The kind of things I would share with someone looking to experience New York the way we do. Personally, and on fire for.
Parque Lage is the kind of place I’m talking about. Many people I talked to that are from Rio have never even been there. The abandoned, greco roman style mansion that once belonged to a famous opera singer, now re-appropriated into Rio’s School of Visual Arts, was one of my favorite places. It sits on acres and acres of lush jungle, with ponds, waterfalls, a big outdoor aquarium, and art everywhere. The focal point of the grounds is in the middle of the old house. Classrooms surround the pool, enclosed by columns, and canopied by jungle mountains. We sat outside near the pool, drank espresso from the cafe, and watched people work on their art outside in the sun. The energy was right. I could have spent the entire day there. Parque Lage is truly a special place.
Photos from the Nikomat. Cross Processed Kodak ES100.
The two people hugging come with a great story. They were cute. I noticed them. I might have even smiled at them.
Later that day we ran into them again at a much more touristy spot. The Sugarloaf is a must do in Rio. I definitely smiled at them on top of this beautiful mountain, loving the opposite end of the spectrum encounter, and we went on our way.
In driving to another spot, we saw them walking down the road. Three sightings of this hand holding, cutest, in love couple. Once we got to our destination by the water, in a small neighborhood, way out of the way of anything, we had a beer and some great fried fish treats. We were almost done with our beers, talking and watching the moon bounce off the water, when the couple walked by us with beers and their fried fish treats. The seating for this bar/restaurant was a wall across the street from the place bordering the marina. They sat about 10 yards away. I couldn’t take it anymore. Hugo and his girlfriend Julia were from central Brasil, visiting for the weekend. He poured me some of his beer while we talked about the coincidence of this third meeting, and got to know each other. Sylvia joined us and we all became quick friends. I now have a place to stay in central Brasil, and they a place in New York.
Who’s coming with me?
This life is good.
<3
