Day 4 - Rio

We started the day at the beach. The locals were out in full force. My JCrew bikini with a full coverage butt was the most conservative suit on the beach. Seriously, no matter how old or how in shape they were, the swimsuits were skimpy. I was expecting everyone to look like Giselle but the Brazilians come in all shapes in sizes just like Americans. And I'm not sure if I feel like I should applaud their high self-esteem for going so skimpy or if I should think they should dress more for their appropriate age or body type. The cariocas (residents of Rio) all looked like they had wedgies with their thong bikinis.

We had another delicious lunch at Espelunca Chic. The Husband had fried balls of cheese and beef and gorgonzola croquettes. I had shrimp and cheese pastries. We did some shopping and bought some Havianas but didn't find anything else.

After a nap, we headed over to Sugarloaf for the sunset. You take 2 cable cars to get all the way to the top of the mountain. Sugarloaf is 10 times better than the giant Jesus. Much better view, delicious drinks at both levels of the mountain. They even have a disco there. And much better shopping than the tacky tourist store selling plastic giant Jesuses. We hung out there and watched the sunset and had some drinks and took a bunch of pictures. Then it was off to dinner.

We went straight our giant orgy of meat, also known as a churrascaria called Porcao. You get a card you turn to red to stop the meat from coming and green signifying you want more. As soon as we sat down the meat started coming from all angles. Even when we had our red stop sign up they didn't stop. While the food was delicious, the whole thing was pretty disgusting. Too much meat and everyone was just stuffing their face. After this experience I don't feel the need to go back, especially as going to one of these restaurants such as Fogo de Chao in the US is pretty expensive. I'm honestly surprised this all-you-can-eat event was invented by Brazilians instead of Americans. Buffets and all-you-can-eat meals strike me as quite an American thing. However, a single filet will do just fine for me. To make matters worse, the manager saw I was trying to take a picture of the waiter with the skewer of beef and called a few waiters over to pose around me. So embarassing. But now I have pictures of myself and the massive amounts of beef. That's a picture to frame. After dinner it was straight to bed to sleep off the beef.

Beef and gorgonzola croquettes

Fried cheese balls

Shrimp and cheese pastries

Outside of the restaurant

Coconut waters at the beach

Cable cars up to Sugarloaf

View of the city from Sugarloaf

On top of Sugarloaf

View from Sugarloaf

View of Corcovado from Sugarloaf

View of Rio from Sugarloaf

Me on top of Sugarloaf

On top of Sugarloaf

Sunset from Sugarloaf

Disco on Sugarloaf

Me and the meat orgy at Porcao

The Husband and the meat orgy at Porcao

Thoughts on our hotel: The Praia Ipanema is in a great location. Right along the beach, in a nice neighborhood. Most hotels in Copacabana, Ipanema, and Leblon are on or very near the beach so I don't think it particularly matters which one you choose in terms of location. The rooms were very nice. We had a large king bed and there was also a table with two chairs. The bathrooms were nice too with decent size counters and a nice shower. The hotel breakfast was extensive and complimentary. We liked there was a place in the lobby to eat or have a nightcap although it was expensive for what you get but that's to be expected at hotels. The only downside was the pool was closed the whole time we were there. The front desk offers some tours but the prices were high. You're better off doing some research on tripadvisor.com before leaving and booking through independent operators.

Thoughts on the city of Rio de Janeiro: Rio is now my favorite city in the world. I love how integrated nature is into this extremely urban area with the mountains and the beaches and the lagoon in the center of the city. I love how the beach is such a large part of life in Rio. We'd heard varying reports of problems with crime in Rio. We didn't have any problems while we were there and at no time did we feel unsafe. We did take taxis everywhere at night and we also didn't walk along the beach at night. The cariocas are very friendly and laid-back. Some spoke English but a lot didn't. All in all we can't wait to go back.

Day 3 - Rio

We woke up and there was finally sunshine! That meant we could finally go hang gliding. If you have one thing to do in Rio I recommend hang gliding with Paolo from Just Fly. (http://www.justfly.com.br/) Paolo also can coordinate some other tours for you and runs a hostel and rents an apartment. It's terrifying standing at the top of the mountain and looking down. But once you start running there's no time to think about it and you just go. I probably got about 20 minutes of flying time. The Husband got less since he weighs more. Like I said I can't recommend it enough. We flew out over the ocean for a while and went back in forth over some houses. It was a beautiful clear day and we could see the whole city. They guide takes pictures while you're flying which we bought for the staggering amount of $60 for both of us.

Then it was on to the beach. Our hotel provides beach chairs, umbrellas, and towels right on the beach which was wonderful. Vendors walk up and down selling anything you could ever need. Snacks, bikinis, sunscreen which is mostly for the very pale-skinned tourists. It was high 70s and breezy. Perfect weather for laying out although the water was frostbite-inducing.

We had lunch at an upscale deli. I had some communication issues and ended up with the strongest drink ever that was tangerine flavored instead of strawberry and sparkling water instead of still. But my sandwich of brie and parma ham was fantastic. I love the brazilians heavy use of brie in their food. It's one of my favorite cheeses. Plus parma ham is just delicious.

Then we took off for Corcovado. It's amazing how they built a giant Jesus right on top of the mountain. Who even thinks to do that? We also referred to it as giant Jesus the whole trip. I'm sure everyone who heard our conversations loved us. It was a fun train ride up. (Do the train instead of the tours that random tour operators are offering down below. And you will be badgered by them.) Great views although of course crowded with tourists. Fortunately when I saw crowded with tourists I don't mean crazy lines like in Disney World or the Statue of Liberty. We enjoyed a drink near the giant Jesus then headed back down the mountain.

Then it was back to our hotel for a much needed nap since we were going out on the town that night. We started with Bar d'Hotel for dinner. Frommers says famous people like soccer players hang out there but we didn't see any. Not that we'd know what they looked like. The meal was delicious. I had bellinis to drink and The Husband had caiprihinas. He's going to be very disappointed when we get home and they don't make them nearly as well. Then we shared a bruschetta appetizer with four different types of bruschetta. Then we both had a different pasta dish which obviously wasn't as memorable as the bruschetta and drinks!

Then we headed into Lapa to go hear some samba at Rio Scenarium. Between having to go through a police checkpoint and driving around the scariest, most deserted streets, it was a little iffy for a while. We pulled up after going through a neighborhood that's seen better times and the place was beautiful. The club was also a lot of fun. We didn't dance of course (haha me convince The Husband to dance?) but drinks were only 4 dollars and I bought a samba CD. Seriously 4 dollar drinks made me incredibly happy. That's just unheard of anywhere in Chicago. The band was really good although the one guy looked like a fat frat guy and was cracking me up. He just looked so out of place in a samba band. It was a very fun night although cab rates double after a certain time. Ouch. Watch out for that if you're in Rio.

View of the mountain we'd be hang gliding off of

Our Land Rover carrying the hand glider

The platform we had to run off of

The Husband getting ready to go

The Husband in the air

The Husband again

Me hang gliding

Me again

The beach from our hotel balcony

The husband's lunch: beef with egg on top, fried bananas, farofa (which tastes like sawdust) and rice

My brie and Parma sandwich

Corcovado aka Giant Jesus

View from Corcovado

The Husband

View of Rio from Corcovado

Me

Giant Jesus from the back

Giant Jesus from below

Giant Jesus from the front

Me with Rio in the background

The Husband

Me having the highest caiprivodka in Rio

On top of the mountain

At the samba club in Lapa

Day 2 - Rio

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.

The market near our hotel

The most delicious drink in the entire world - a passionfruit caiprivodka

Shrimp filled pastries


Tropical burger

Caprese salad

Disappointing red berries caiprivodka

Outside of Via Sete

They love Barack Obama in Brazil!

The long street that runs along Ipanema and Leblon and along the beach

Sidewalk pattern

Surfers braving the cold water

The Husband on the fort

This guy danced in the same intersection every day in a different outfit

View of Sugarloaf from the tip of Copacabana beach

The Husband standing on the fort

View towards Ipanema from the fort

Me climbing the fort

Our hotel

View from our hotel balcony at night

Caprese salad

Four cheese baked pasta

Pasta tubes with shrimp