Dear Rio, Lets be friends forever...
"I travel not to go anywhere, but to go. I travel for travel's sake. The great affair is to move".
-Robert Louis Stevenson
We arrived safe and sound in Rio after an uneventful (whew) flight. There was a driver waiting for us at the airport and when we arrived at the apartment one of the women was here waiting for us. Our apartment turned out to be EXACTLY like the photos. It is small but the perfect size for 2 people. The description states it sleeps 2-4 (the sofa pulls out into a bed), but honestly any more than 2 would be a tight squeeze. The kitchen has proven to be more than useful for breakfasts and snacks. The entire place was renovated not too long ago and it shows - it's gorgeous (photos to come). It's only a few blocks from Rio's two famous beaches - Ipanema and Copacabana. A couple of things we learned: 1. don't flush any toliet paper, the pipes are old and the toliet will clog - instead wipe and then dispose of in a bin (not gross at all - sarcasm). 2. Portuguese is spoken in Brazil - not English - not at all (they are incredibly nice people though - or so I think given I don't have a clue what they are saying).
Yesterday, after arriving, we went to the grocery store to get a few things before roaming the streets through Ipanema - the nicer side of Rio. We went to dinner at Marius Degustare. It was recommended by a friend of mine who's husband is from Brazil (and who visits often). You pay one set price and inform the waiter if you want meat or seafood (we chose seafood). They then bring you different entree's (we got shrimp, lobster, different kinds of fish, fresh calamari, etc). The food just.keeps.coming. The music made me feel as if I was in an 80's prom movie (Abba anyone?), but the ambience was quirky and fun (the waiters are dressed as pirates). The food was delicious and incredibly filling, however, the bill was a bit of a shocker. Neither one of us knew the price of what we were eating (because at times we think we're J.Lo) but we figured it couldn't be that much right? Wrong. The set price per person was $85.00, plus drinks...soo...expensive, but worth it if you have the money.
Today we slept in (we slept on the plane but it was off and on due to the lovely baby that was on board), got up and made breakfast in the apartment and then struck out for the hippie fair. It is a large outdoor market mostly full of things no one would want (honestly), but there were a few good finds. I was able to pick up $10.00 fedora. We then struck out for Copacabana beach. What did we find ourselves in the midst of? None other than gay pride. It was amazing and the people watching couldn't be beat. There were s&m gays, gays in feathers, gays in bear slippers, gays dressed as homecoming queen, and my personal favorite - little gays (if midget weren't politically incorrect I'd use that term, but it is, so I won't). There were large trucks full of gays, playing rave music, all shouting in portuguese (I had zero clue what they were saying but clapped anyways). We eventually decided we'd seen enough (well and someone grabbed my mother's face - probably our cue to exit).
We weaved our way through the streets of Copacabana. The great thing about Rio is if you stick close to the perimeter (where the beach is) it's hard to get lost (we haven't had any trouble thus far). Most places are closed on Sunday's, so we just wandered - looked in windows and eventually found a quaint bistro for lunch. The food was good - the dessert, even better. It was a lighter than air cheesecake topped with a blackberry jam - divine (calories don't count in a different country). We wandered some more and around this time the sun was starting to go down (it goes down early here - around 5:30). We made our way to the beach which at this point was mostly deserted. I stripped down to my bathing suit top and thong (didn't bother to put on the bottoms this morning and honestly both were black - so it worked) and played in the water. My mother and I got some cool photos, laughed until we cried, and then walked along the beach. It was perfect weather - 75, slight breeze, no humidity.
When we got back to our apartment we made dinner and drank wine....no schedule, no clock, no issues. Someone once asked me what my perfect day was: sleeping in, taking a shower, wandering around with no real direction, and learning something new. Today was just that day. What did I learn? Looking fierce has no language barrier, for even in portuguese you know when a gay man is giving you a compliment.
Obrigado....(thank you).....
-Robert Louis Stevenson
We arrived safe and sound in Rio after an uneventful (whew) flight. There was a driver waiting for us at the airport and when we arrived at the apartment one of the women was here waiting for us. Our apartment turned out to be EXACTLY like the photos. It is small but the perfect size for 2 people. The description states it sleeps 2-4 (the sofa pulls out into a bed), but honestly any more than 2 would be a tight squeeze. The kitchen has proven to be more than useful for breakfasts and snacks. The entire place was renovated not too long ago and it shows - it's gorgeous (photos to come). It's only a few blocks from Rio's two famous beaches - Ipanema and Copacabana. A couple of things we learned: 1. don't flush any toliet paper, the pipes are old and the toliet will clog - instead wipe and then dispose of in a bin (not gross at all - sarcasm). 2. Portuguese is spoken in Brazil - not English - not at all (they are incredibly nice people though - or so I think given I don't have a clue what they are saying).Yesterday, after arriving, we went to the grocery store to get a few things before roaming the streets through Ipanema - the nicer side of Rio. We went to dinner at Marius Degustare. It was recommended by a friend of mine who's husband is from Brazil (and who visits often). You pay one set price and inform the waiter if you want meat or seafood (we chose seafood). They then bring you different entree's (we got shrimp, lobster, different kinds of fish, fresh calamari, etc). The food just.keeps.coming. The music made me feel as if I was in an 80's prom movie (Abba anyone?), but the ambience was quirky and fun (the waiters are dressed as pirates). The food was delicious and incredibly filling, however, the bill was a bit of a shocker. Neither one of us knew the price of what we were eating (because at times we think we're J.Lo) but we figured it couldn't be that much right? Wrong. The set price per person was $85.00, plus drinks...soo...expensive, but worth it if you have the money.Today we slept in (we slept on the plane but it was off and on due to the lovely baby that was on board), got up and made breakfast in the apartment and then struck out for the hippie fair. It is a large outdoor market mostly full of things no one would want (honestly), but there were a few good finds. I was able to pick up $10.00 fedora. We then struck out for Copacabana beach. What did we find ourselves in the midst of? None other than gay pride. It was amazing and the people watching couldn't be beat. There were s&m gays, gays in feathers, gays in bear slippers, gays dressed as homecoming queen, and my personal favorite - little gays (if midget weren't politically incorrect I'd use that term, but it is, so I won't). There were large trucks full of gays, playing rave music, all shouting in portuguese (I had zero clue what they were saying but clapped anyways). We eventually decided we'd seen enough (well and someone grabbed my mother's face - probably our cue to exit).We weaved our way through the streets of Copacabana. The great thing about Rio is if you stick close to the perimeter (where the beach is) it's hard to get lost (we haven't had any trouble thus far). Most places are closed on Sunday's, so we just wandered - looked in windows and eventually found a quaint bistro for lunch. The food was good - the dessert, even better. It was a lighter than air cheesecake topped with a blackberry jam - divine (calories don't count in a different country). We wandered some more and around this time the sun was starting to go down (it goes down early here - around 5:30). We made our way to the beach which at this point was mostly deserted. I stripped down to my bathing suit top and thong (didn't bother to put on the bottoms this morning and honestly both were black - so it worked) and played in the water. My mother and I got some cool photos, laughed until we cried, and then walked along the beach. It was perfect weather - 75, slight breeze, no humidity. When we got back to our apartment we made dinner and drank wine....no schedule, no clock, no issues. Someone once asked me what my perfect day was: sleeping in, taking a shower, wandering around with no real direction, and learning something new. Today was just that day. What did I learn? Looking fierce has no language barrier, for even in portuguese you know when a gay man is giving you a compliment.
Obrigado....(thank you).....