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| View of Rio de Janiero from Sugar Loaf |
If Rio were a drink, it would be 1 part South Beach, 2 parts Madrid and zest of tropical lime, caipirinha style. This town has amazing culture, beautiful landscapes, and colorful graffiti artwork everywhere you turn. We got into this stunning town on Monday afternoon, and spent the day exploring Ipanema beach and the shops near Ipanema on R. Visc. De Piraja. After a Rio style siesta, we spent the evening at our hotel restaurant overlooking beautiful Copacabana and sipping caipirinhas.
The next day, we took the two stage cable car up to Sugar Loaf Mountain (Pao de Acucar), which is 394 m high and showcases stunning views of the sand and sea over the Guanara Bay. From there we soaked in the stunning green vistas with Cristo Redentor (Christ the Redeemer) overlooking the beautiful city. Then we made our way to Corcovado to view Cristo Redentor up close. The Corcovado towers 710 m above the city, and it offers a 360 degree panorama of Rio. Standing under Christ the Redeemer was an unforgettable experience – he seems to not just overlook the city, but protect it as well. There was a rainbow behind him in the clouds, which added to the breathtaking beauty of the experience. We ventured into the Tijuca Forest and had a yummy plate of overpriced batata fritters in a little cafe. After our site seeing, we spent some time reading at the beach and then went for a late dinner at a local restaurant called Normangue, known for their yummy seafood.
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| Sugar Loaf |
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| Cristo Redentor |
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| View from Corcovado |
The weather has been absolutely beautiful since we’ve been here – about 32 degrees every day. We woke up today to beautiful sunlight, and took a walk through Ipanema for a little bit of shopping and a very Americano dose of Starbucks (and air con). We spent the day soaking in the rays on Copacabana. We highly recommend our hotel as it is right on Copacabana and a stone’s throw away from Ipanema, so you have the best of both worlds. We walked the 4.5 km stretch of Copacabana and took in all the sights and sounds of wonderful Brazil. The beach has miles and miles of beautiful white sparkly sand, and you see tanned, lithe, buff bodies playing soccer everywhere you turn. I’ve never seen so many girls with curly hair, which goes nicely with the curly black and white tendril pattern of the pebblework along the Copacabana boardwalk.
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| Copacabana |
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| Copacabana boardwalk with squiggly squiggles |
But the proverbial cherry on top of our Rio experience? Rio Scenarium in Lapa! Lapa is an area of Rio that is the birthplace of Carioca bohemia, and it has intense night life almost every day of the week. This was one of the most amazing experiences of my life!! This place is like what my dreams are made of (and Imran’s nightmares I think...). It can be best described as an eclectic mix of kitschy crazyness all with a backdrop of live Portuguese music. I’m talking walls of clocks that all tell the wrong time, cases full of random china and antique cups that don’t match, random spiraling staircases that lead nowhere, ceilings full of dazzelingly mismatched chandeliers, cases full of dolls and aged trophies, vintage mirrors and artwork on every surface, clusters of colorful umbrellas, and old school bikes hanging from the ceiling for no reason what so ever. It was like I fell down the rabbit hole and ended up in my own little wonderland. The music was intoxicating and the food was amazing – we were probably the only non-locals in there which is what I loved best. The dessert not to be missed is the Chocolate Passion fruit Pie with nuts...and the carpaccio has been amazing all over Rio. The Portuguese jazz was incredible, and as the night progressed the music got crazier and crazier until you couldn’t help but dance your heart out. We even met some locals that invited us back next year to stay with them during Carnival. Who knows where life will lead us, but hopefully one day we can come back and experience it!
Rio is a city that leaves me wanting more...but I guess that’s a good way to leave a city. Tomorrow we head to Buenos Aires! Ciao ciao!
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| Random street in Lapa - Home of Rio Scenarium |
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| Wall of random clocks |
