We spent the first day showing Casper the beauty of Rio. We ate at The Arab on Copacabana beach, which is our favorite restaurant in Rio - try the Arab salad, a mix of veggies and raisins. They bake their own pita bread and serve it hot. I love that place.
We spent the rest of the day walking the beaches of Copacabana, Leme, and Leblon. We drove around Botofogo and Barra de Tijuca and saw the combination of natural beauty and savage poverty that is Rio. Casper tried the local Coconut drink and ate some of the weird local foods, like Minas Cheese, which he said tasted like cheddar. I think Casper was still drugged from the plane trip because there is no way Minas cheese tastes like anything.
The following day we spent a few hours getting to Corcovado and back. Because Carnival starts in a few weeks, the city is packed with tourists. I wouldn't suggest coming this week - it's hot, rainy and packed with people. Unfortunately, we didn't get any sun, though Rio was still beautiful and Christ The Redeemer is always worth seeing simply for the views. I suggest taking a private car instead of the Bonde train. The private car service can be hired at the bottom of the hill for basically the same amount of money and it is faster and it makes a stop at a helicopter pad where you can take some amazing photos, see some monkeys, and view the city and the statue of Jesus. The car will then take you to the top where you can see the statue of Jesus, take in the beauty of Rio, the bridge to Niteroi, the ocean, marina, Pao de Azucar, and the islands.
The view from the helicopter pad high above Rio de Janiero. Beautiful even on a cloudy day!
Me and Casper in front of Jesus Christo in Rio. My big sun hat is always a hit here.That night we ate at Devassa in Leblon and got some of the local flavor. I normally wouldn't recommend eating at a chain, but we were tired and sick of walking around. The food was mostly surprisingly good - do not try the pizza - yuck! Every Davassa in Rio serves different food and has a different menu. I like the pumkin soup (always!) with gorganzola.
Rio was rainy when we left and we headed to Buzios, Cabo Frio and Macae. We left in the dark and it rained all the way there. I would not suggest driving in Brazil at night in the rain. We saw two car accidents that looked fatal. There were torrential rains here and a lot of flooding and landslides. We had a good time hanging out, driving the muddy roads, and checking out the devestation left behind after the rains. The ocean is cloudy with sewer and city run off, but this is still a very pretty place.
Beautiful Buzios! Stay at the Pousada do Mar just off Rua des Pedras - it's like a tree house with authentic and quirky antiques from all over Brazil.
We went for a hike above Buzios and watched the waves smash into the rocks. We ate some local pizza and had some drinks at a local bar by the beach. Cabo Frio has some beautiful beaches with powder sands, but Macae is dirty and run down so I suggest you skip it. Buzios is beautiful and highly recommended. If you come to Buzios, check out the Princessa supermarket on the main road - you have to be brave and well coordinated to shop there! Imagine a steep ramp tiled with ceramic tile which becomes a slippery slide when wet - and it is the only way in or out of the supermarket. I saw someone slide down the slope with their full supermarket cart and run into the car parked illegally at the bottom of the ramp...its like a South America sit com. I love that there is no sense of lawsuits or liability here. We would never allow such a supermarket in the US - it is sooo Brazil. In Beverly Hills people bitch about unripe fruit at Whole Foods...here they are all simply glad to not break their neck leaving the store.
Hiking trail in Buzios - its tropical, ocean cliffs and desert at the same time.
Construction has been delayed due to rains and flooding, but evertything is still moving ahead, more or less. Casper brought us some beautiful light fixtures and sconces for the second master bathroom and a fireplace. He got through customs without any problems.
We are leaving in a week for our big trip, but we haven't yet figured out where we are going (typical of us!). We were going to see the rest of South America first, but now we think that we might go to Asia and India first in order to miss the upcoming monsoon season. Caker and I are wimps when it comes to cold and rain - we will do anything to stay with the sunny weather.
Rio was rainy when we left and we headed to Buzios, Cabo Frio and Macae. We left in the dark and it rained all the way there. I would not suggest driving in Brazil at night in the rain. We saw two car accidents that looked fatal. There were torrential rains here and a lot of flooding and landslides. We had a good time hanging out, driving the muddy roads, and checking out the devestation left behind after the rains. The ocean is cloudy with sewer and city run off, but this is still a very pretty place.
Beautiful Buzios! Stay at the Pousada do Mar just off Rua des Pedras - it's like a tree house with authentic and quirky antiques from all over Brazil.We went for a hike above Buzios and watched the waves smash into the rocks. We ate some local pizza and had some drinks at a local bar by the beach. Cabo Frio has some beautiful beaches with powder sands, but Macae is dirty and run down so I suggest you skip it. Buzios is beautiful and highly recommended. If you come to Buzios, check out the Princessa supermarket on the main road - you have to be brave and well coordinated to shop there! Imagine a steep ramp tiled with ceramic tile which becomes a slippery slide when wet - and it is the only way in or out of the supermarket. I saw someone slide down the slope with their full supermarket cart and run into the car parked illegally at the bottom of the ramp...its like a South America sit com. I love that there is no sense of lawsuits or liability here. We would never allow such a supermarket in the US - it is sooo Brazil. In Beverly Hills people bitch about unripe fruit at Whole Foods...here they are all simply glad to not break their neck leaving the store.
Hiking trail in Buzios - its tropical, ocean cliffs and desert at the same time.Construction has been delayed due to rains and flooding, but evertything is still moving ahead, more or less. Casper brought us some beautiful light fixtures and sconces for the second master bathroom and a fireplace. He got through customs without any problems.
We are leaving in a week for our big trip, but we haven't yet figured out where we are going (typical of us!). We were going to see the rest of South America first, but now we think that we might go to Asia and India first in order to miss the upcoming monsoon season. Caker and I are wimps when it comes to cold and rain - we will do anything to stay with the sunny weather.
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