Rio de Janiero - Day 1

This morning was an early start to get to the airport, It was only about a 15 minute drive to the small Brazilian airport from our hotel. It was a short security checkpoint and long line to get our boarding passes before through security and then after an hour or so getting on the plane. We flew for two hours before landing in the cloudy Rio de Janeiro, On the drive to our hotel/inn we passed the Christ the Redeemer statue and the Sugarloaf Mountain, both almost touching the clouds. When we got to the hotel (situated in Ipanema) we dropped off our bags, We went out to get some lunch at the organic cafe Delirio Tropical and went down to Ipanema Beach and walked along the board walk Here are the photos.

Flying into Rio de Janeiro.

View from the plane.

Ipenema Beach.

Bar on the side of the beach.

Obviously the beach.

Beach Volleyball courts.

Sales on the beach.

Phone booths lined the streets close to the beach supposedly there due to the Olympics.

On our way back to the hotel we saw Garota de Ipanema, for those who don't know this is the cafe/restaurant where The Girl From Ipanema was written, a song covered by people such as Frank Sinatra. We bought a shirt and then went up and across a few streets to a souvenir shop and then on to our hotel. Here's the restaurant from the song. 

When we got back we chilled out watching tv for a while before heading out for dinner at a place called Marius Degustare, a mix of Seafood, Steakhouse and Mediterranean food. It was designed like a pirates treasure hideout.  But more importantly the meal was all you could eat.  You first had to go up and get all of your sides from a buffet type area and then they would come around with different types of meat and fish to your preferred style (rare, medium-rare, medium etc.). It was a long hard night of meat eating (sorry vegetarians) in the end approx. 1 hour of constant meat and seafood from the kitchen straight to our table. Here is what it looked like.

Chips considered as a side.

It got to a point where one of the guys just gave me a dessert and waited for my approval, such great service. After the full meal was done at this Copacabana restaurant we went outside, caught a taxi and here we are. In the hotel. Tomorrow promises a walking tour of the city by Neyla - looking forward to it! Until then, goodbye.

Joseph Hewson