In 2013, we took a 10 day vacation to South America and explored Brazil and Argentina. Because this trip covered a lot in 10 days, we decided to split it up a bit and cover each section separately. Today we are sharing the 4 days we spent in Rio de Janeiro. This was our first "toured trip" meaning we went with a guided tour company that provided everything through a package deal. We found the trip advertised on Living Social and it was through Gate1 travel. Before we bought the deal, we did a little research on the company to make sure most people were satisfied with their trips and we also researched the hotels Gate1 would be putting us in. We were beyond pleased with everything we read and decided to book it! When it was all said and done, we had an amazing experience through Gate1, our tour guides were personable and helpful, the hotels were not only nice but located right where we wanted to be and every tour and excursion went on without a hitch. We had an over-night flight from Miami to Rio and landed around 8am in Brazil. The first day was "at leisure" meaning there was nothing planned through Gate1 and because we really enjoy researching the cities we visit, we took advantage of roaming around Rio's interior and visited several spots we knew we didn't want to miss. We ate at several local restaurants in the heart of the city which had it's challenges due to Portuguese being the national language but we made it through. We had the national dish Fejioada and their national drink caipirinha for our first lunch. Both were amazing! Although, we would not recommend the passion fruit caipirinha unless you enjoy sucking giant seeds through a straw... That was a weird experience. We wandered around to several neighborhoods we wanted to visit, grabbing coffee and local fare along the way. As it approached dinner time, we knew we were too far into the city and weren't going to make it back for the meet and greet dinner through Gate1 so we decided to hit up a restaurant we really wanted to try called Aprazível. It was built on the side of a mountain in the Santa Teresa neighborhood and overlooks downtown Rio and the sea. The views and the restaurant were beautiful, the food was great, and due to their location being more residential than city, they had drivers waiting outside the restaurant to take us back to our hotel. It couldn't have been more perfect. Our second day was one we were looking forward to since we booked the trip. We were taken to the Cristo Redentor (Christ the redeemer) statue on Corcovado mountain. The whole experience was awesome, humbling, and breathtaking! I know, a lot of adjectives but seriously, it was all those things. The rail ride up the mountain gave way to the awesome views we were going to see once we got to the top. The story about how the people of Rio de Janeiro got the statue up the mountain was inspiring. They carried it piece by piece on donkey just to create this massive tribute to our Savior. And when you stand at the very end of the platform, you can look straight and see the statue, turn your head left and see the beaches and turn to the right to see the city. It left us speechless and totally in love with Rio! After our rail ride back down we explored the beaches! Our tour guides dropped us off at Ipenema beach where a lot of great food and fashion is located. We enjoyed lunch there, grabbed some açaí smoothies and did some damage at the Brazilian boutiques. Then we headed for the beach for some ocean views. For dinner that night, we got a little lost and found ourselves in a small neighborhood with a tapas place down the street. It looked lovely, located inside an old two story home and turned out to be one of our favorite meals. We went through 3 different waiters because they got sick of our pointing method for ordering and the manager came out to help us order our desserts and pay the check. Everyone was friendly but the language barrier was a tad difficult. Our last full day in Rio was a guided tour to Sugarloaf mountain. It was an optional tour through Gate1 but we were so glad we did it. After the gondola ride to and from the mountain, our tour guides took us to the Sambadrome for a quick tour of the dome where Carnival happens every February. Seeing the favelas in the background was eye opening. As tourists, it's easy to forget that there is so much more to a city then the fun shops and great restaurants we see from our beach front hotels. In that moment, we reflected on the culture of Rio de Janeiro as our tour guide told us how much pride Cariocas (locals to Rio) have for their city. After that, our guides asked our condensed group where we wanted to be dropped, everyone decided on the hippie market (a flea market if you will). It was a city block filled with vendors selling anything from clothing to food. We found some amazing art and sculpture pieces we decided to bring home with us. After the hippie market, we got a taxi to the botanical gardens. Due to it being the start of their "winter" (while we were there, it was still 90 degrees every day) most of the flowers were removed to prepare for the cooler temps but it was definitely worth a visit. We could see the statue of Christ between the clouds and fog rolling in and it was like a cross on top of a hill. Truly majestic. After lunch in the gardens, we got a taxi to the beach of Ipanema and made our trek back to Copacabana, about a 3 mile walk. The sun was setting behind the mountains so the views from both beaches were just gorgeous. The cherry on top of this picturesque walk was eating a piping hot dulce de leche churro from a street vendor. For our last night of Brazilian food, we decided we couldn't go to Brazil without visiting a Brazilian steakhouse. We went to Porcão, Rio's most famous churrascaria. To be honest, if you've been to a Fogo de chão anywhere in the US, it's just as good. Which isn't a bad thing, we just thought it would be so much better in its original setting but apparently, those Brazilian franchises in the United States have it down! On the fourth day we packed up and made our way to the airport for our afternoon flight to Iguazu Falls on the border of Brazil and Argentina. More on that later!
Until next time, C + D
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