HaveShoesWillEatandTravel: Day 2

Our first full day in Rio was a disappointment. It was grey so no beach, Sugarloaf and Corcovado were in the clouds, and it was some sort of holiday so shopping was closed and downtown was empty. Plus hang gliding was closed because it was raining on the mountain. So not much to do. We tried to arrange a jeep tour of the Tijuca Forest but were told they were sold out by our hotel.

We stumbled upon a market near our hotel. They had freshly caught fish, raw chickens, and raw beef along with some of the most delicious looking produce I'd ever seen. We got some strawberries and snacked on those.

We did have a fantastic lunch at Via Sete in Ipanema. I had a passionfruit caipivodka that was heavenly. It was so good I decided to try a caipivodka with red berries next. Ugh they made it without sugar and it was terrible. When they delivered it to the table they put down a bowl with sugar packets. After six plus sugar packets it was drinkable. But nowhere near as good as the passionfruit. The Husband had a tropical burger with chicken, pineapple, and mango salsa. I had a caprese salad and we shared little pastries full of beef, chicken, and shrimp that were excellent.

We spent the afternoon walking along the beach from Ipanema to Copacabana and explored a little fort and watched the surfers. For dinner we took a cab to Copacabana and ate at a neighborhood place called La Trattoria. At least as neighborhood as it can be when recommended by a Frommers guide. Dinner was again delicious. We both had pasta and the dishes looked like a heart attack on a plate. Just the way we like them. I had large tubes of pasta full of shrimp and cheese sauce and The Husband had a baked four cheese pasta and we shared a bottle of wine. We had a Caprese salad to share which had good mozzarella but the saddest looking tomatoes we'd ever seen.