Blogs from Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, South America - page 3

Today was a long day but a most enjoyable one. It began with breakfast in the hotel restaurant serving eggs, sausage, bacon, sweets, fruits, lunchmeats, cheeses, cereal, yogurt, breads, juices, coffee or tea. It was a very nice beginning to our day. Since there was so much ground to cover today with sights we wanted to see we decided to go with a tour group which worked out very well. Our first stop was at the Seleron Steps. These were created by a Chilean born artist, Jorge Seleron, as a tribute to the Brazilian people. He covered the steps between the neighborhoods of Lapa and Santa Teresa with ceramic tiles in the color of the Brazilian flag. He began in 1990 and completed them in 2013 after covering them with over 2000 tiles with 300 of ... read more

We only had a last afternoon in Rio before the trip home so toured around the city seeing areas we hadn't been to. First we were down town in the main square which was designed by a Frenchman and has a wide boulevard and lovely opera house, library and other French looking buildings. We called in at Colombo's a famous coffee house which is beautifully decorated like the ones in Vienna but the queue was too long so went across the road for a spot of lunch. Then it was on to the St.Therese area which has some lovely old houses as well as lots of little bars and quirky art shops. We saw the old tram come trundling through the area. It had started raining so we ended our touring around at the St.Benedict Monastery ... read more

For a first time visit we decided a guide and driver were essential and we chose BeFree Tours run by Marcelo who was himself the guide and driver for the day. We set off early about 8.15am to get to Christ the Redeemer statue before the crowds. It was already hot and humid. A tram takes you up to the base of the statue. Good to pre buy the tickets to make sure of a place when you want. We had 9am tickets but got onto the 8.40am tram. There is a lift at the top but unless you are disabled you might as well use the steps and avoid a queue as it is only a short distance. It was already very busy but we managed to get the usual photo of the 38 metre ... read more

Today we are going sightseeing in Rio. So, on a sunny summer Saturday, we set of by Metro from Copacabana to the city centre. Not surprisingly, we are travelling in the opposite direction to almost everyone else. We buy Metro tickets, which are quite decorative and thus a good item for my scrapbook. However, at the turnstile, we insert the ticket and it isn’t returned. I look so disappointed that on the following journey, the old man buys 3 tickets so I have one to keep. First stop is the Bonde, the old streetcar which clambers across the Arcos de Lapa viaduct and up the hillside along cobbled lanes decorated with murals. We’re taking the Bonde just for the sake of it, so buy a return ticket, worrying that we’ll look a bit sad when we ... read more

We get up and go for breakfast. We deal with yesterday’s dietary deficiencies by consuming a mountain of fruit – mainly mango – the sweetest, juiciest mango I have ever tasted. I also have some sausage and eggs, although there’s a slight delay in proceedings while a women attempts to light her cigarette on the heat source under the breakfast buffet. Then we set forth along Copacabana Beach. It’s 8.30 and the prom is already heaving with walkers, runners and cyclists out for their morning constitutional. It’s like an exotic Bournemouth; we have the Overcliff, they have Sugarloaf mountain. We walk the full 4 km length of the beach, and back again. By the end it is 36 degrees and we’re rather warm and sweaty. After a pit stop at a beach bar, we round off ... read more