Blogs from Ipanema, Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, South America - page 6

Monday 20th September 2010 Arrived in Rio late on Monday and got the bus to Ipanema (the trendy & expensive part of Rio, a bit like Chelsea). We didn't have anywhere booked to stay - Organised as ever - so we wondered a little and tried a few hotel/ apartment blocks, but they wanted between R$350-R$795 (around £140-£310) a night. Obviously, this was a little over our backpackers budget so we continued trudging through the streets with our backpacks until we came across "The Girl from Ipanema" hostel, at a bargain R$80 a night for a private room (although this meant a twin roon so we spent the first night of our honeymoon in bunk beds!). Tuesday 21st September 2010 The sun was out so we had a lazy first day. Breakfast included a cheese & ... read more

So Rio is a city full of mountains and tunnels and has the massive Tijuca rainforest in the middle of it. It's uber pretty, I don't think I'd ever get tired of drinking coconuts watching the sunset on Ipanema. The view from Sugar Loaf is better than on Corcovado especially for sunset, but unfortunately the cable car on the way up was too busy to re-enact the fight scene from Moonraker! The Homeless World Cup was on at Copacabana but the Scotland v Russia game was on the day after we left, ah well, you know how I hate to miss football. We stayed at the Girl from Ipanema hostel, it was alright, there's a really annoying guy at reception who does magic tricks constantly. The cathedral in Centro is very futuristic, it looks like a ... read more

1) National Anthem of Brazil 2) Duck Sauce - aNYway 3) Gramophonedzie - Brazilian 4) Calvin Harris - I'm Not Alone 5) Kennedy - Karate 6) Friendly Fires - Paris (Aeroplane Remix) 7) Visitor - Los Feeling (Alan Braze Remix) 8) Kele - Everything You Wanted (RAC Remix) 9) Kaskade - Falling in Love with Brazil (Mashup) 10) Roland Clark and the Montanas - url=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6_2... read more

Welcome to Rio de Janeiro! Kayce and I spent our last four days of our trip in this vibrant, cultural, and exhilirating city. Also known as the Marvelous City, Rio is known for its lush green mountains, white sand beaches, samba, and of course its very good looking residents. Our time was spent checking out Christ the Redeemer, street dancing in Lapa, cheering on the local futbol teams and of course soaking up the sun on Rio'sworld famous beachers.... read more

Arriving around midday we hurriedly changed into our beach gear and headed straight for the beach! Copacabana beach! The weather was beautiful, not overwhelmingly hot and humid like the jungle and Venezuela, but a comfortable 30 degrees with not a cloud in the sky. The beach was gorgeous - with a fascinating backdrop of skyscrapers and mountains. The people, however, were less than gorgeous. I was expecting Rio to be full of beautiful people; skinny women in skimpy bikinis. Only half of this was true, the skimpy bikini part. Thongs galore and tiny triangles of material that let boobs escape in all directions. But these ladies were not skinny, or even average weight. It was a sight for sore eyes. Another amusement was the cycle track on the road that bordered the beach, which facilitated runners ... read more