Brasilia

I'm currently in Brasilia for meetings at the Canadian Embassy. Brasilia is a bit of an odd place -- built out of nothing, in the middle of nowhere, in approximately three years, in the early sixties. On paper, the ideas behind Brasilia seem revolutionary. The city is divided into sectors. There's the hotel sector, the government sector, the residential sector, the embassies sector, the sporting club sector, etc. The residential sectors are divided into blocks or quadras, with each quadra having a grouping of apartment buildings as well as its own little commercial street. The idea being that people who live in the quadras will patron the businesses in their commercial sector. It sounds so good! Unfortunately, the chance of your commercial sector having the business you need at the moment, is low. And everything else is far. Far, far, far. Aside from the quadras, Brasilia was built for cars. Distances are enormous and sidewalks are non-existent. The transportation system consists of highway-type roads with off-ramps, roundabouts, and "retornos" -- essentially ways of turning left without intersections or lights. For a city of two million, there are very few traffic lights. There's no downtown or city centre, although a couple of the quadras have managed to build up a critical mass of restaurants and bars.

Brasilia was commissioned by then president Juscelino Kubitscheck, and Lucio Costa, an urban planner, Oscar Niemeyer, an architect, and Burle Marx, a landscape artist, formed the planning team that won the competition to build the city. Brasilia does indeed have many interesting architectural buildings and features. Unfortunately, each interesting building tends to stand alone in a vast plain of emptiness and the whole is not equal to the sum of the parts. However, one should not completely write off Brasilia. It still has many restaurants and there is access to cultural activities, concerts, and shows. It is just that everything is so far apart and there is lots of barren space between buildings and sector. A bit of a strange concept indeed!

There are two hotels that we use in Brasilia. The first is Naoum Plaza, which is in the hotel sector and across the street from a shopping centre. An ex-colleague of mine would rave about Naoum Plaza being the best place to stay in town. Since distances are so far and nights in Brasilia tend to be, ummm, relatively calm, at least there is the mall for entertainment. The second hotel is the Blue Tree Park, which is perhaps the best hotel in town. The Embassy discount makes it even more affordable than Naoum Plaza. The Blue Tree (which is actually red) is located next to the President's residence, quite literally in the middle of nowhere. It is on the edge of Brasilia's man-made Lake Lago Paranoa and is the weekday home to many of Brazil's members of congress and senators who commute to Brasilia during the week. For me, the Blue Tree embodies Brasilia. It is sleek and modern. The front lobby has a minimalist but funky/modern decor. The comforts are second to none -- the duvets and pillows are the best I have ever seen (or felt) in a hotel. However, also like Brasilia it is isolated and in the middle of nowhere. The only reason to drive past the Blue Tree would be if you were staying there. So the question is, do you want a great sleeping experience but have to take a cab to get anywhere else, or, do you want a lesser sleeping experience with access to some forms of entertainment and life ....