Brazil
Praia do Leme

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    • Day 6

      Rio de Janeiro 🏖️🍹

      January 2 in Brazil ⋅ ☁️ 27 °C

      Vier Tage Rio liegen nun hinter uns. Wir sind beeindruckt von dieser quirligen, freizügigen, bunten, toleranten und lebensfrohen Stadt, in der es immer recht laut zugeht. 🔉🎶💃🏾
      Ein Vibe an den man sich als Deutscher erstmal gewöhnen muss.
      Übernachtet haben wir bei einem deutschen Auswanderer in der Favela Babilônia, 10 Minuten von der Copacabana entfernt - eine sehr interessante Erfahrung. So konnten wir die wahre brasilianische Gemeinschaft erleben!
      Einen Besuch der Christusstatur haben wir natürlich nicht ausgelassen. Leider war hier nicht mehr als ein Grau in Grau zu sehen. ☹️😶‍🌫️
      Am Silvestertag haben wir einen langen Strandspaziergang an den an diesem Tag besonders belebten Stränden der Copacabana und Ipanema unternommen. 🌊
      Den Neujahrstag haben wir traditionell etwas ruhiger angehen lassen und uns die Escadaria Selarón angeschaut, eine bunte Mosaik-Treppe. Sehr hübsch anzusehen 😊

      Auf Wiedersehen Rio, wir sehen uns zum Karneval wieder! 👋🏼

      Auf geht’s nach São Paulo! 🚌💨
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    • Day 168

      Rio de Janeiro

      February 20, 2023 in Brazil ⋅ 🌙 26 °C

      Gotta say we were both really nervous going into Rio.

      It's a theme in South America that everyone warns you about the next country, next town, saying that you'll get robbed, they'll steal your phone, etc, but with Rio, literally EVERYONE we met was warning us over and over again and we didn't know what to expect.

      It took us a few days to feel more comfortable, and we did take extra precautions, especially with it being Carnaval, but we did not feel unsafe or threatened.

      Quite the contrary, actually, Rio is a reeeeally cool town. The vibe is amazing. The people seemed very happy and fun-loving, and it is unbelievably gorgeous.

      It's a unique geography, with the bay and the surrounding mountains, which are absolutely covered in dense, vibrant, deep green vegetation.

      The views from Sugarloaf and Corcovado mountains are amazing, the christ the redeemer statue is on every tourists list (of course), and the carnaval was so much fun!

      They completely shut down sections of the city, even some of the main avenues for the 'blocos' (huge, themed, block parties) - there are about 400 blocos during the week of carnaval.

      We found some costumes to get in to the full swing of the party, and we had a blast!

      And the sambadrome was absolutely amazing. All of the samba schools of Rio compete in a massive stadium, they dress up to absolute nines in the classic carnaval colours, feathers, glitter, and dance their way through this massive arena with huge, brightly-coloured, parade floats and the scale of it is hard to describe. It is absolutely amazing and one of our highlights here for sure.

      All said and done, we kind of wish we had more time, just for the fact that we were a bit anxious coming here at first. But once we got used to the beautiful madness that is Rio de Janeiro, we loved every second of it and we can not wait to be back!
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    • Day 9

      Dernier plan foireux

      February 13 in Brazil ⋅ ⛅ 29 °C

      [Louis]

      Dernier soir a Rio, on veut marquer le coup.

      Pendant que Thomas passe du bon temps, les 3 autres se délèctent d'une bonne noix de coco (on a réussi a manger l'intérieur en la fracassant comme des sauvages sur le trottoir). 

      En fin d'aprem on décale au bar en bord de plage et on enchaine les fameux caipi. 15 réals le cocktail, on les as enchaînés bien comme y faut. 

      Après un ptit couché de soleil, pierre nous quitte également. Problème, ni Benj ni louis n'avions de la connexion. Rien de tel pour clôturer ce séjour a Rio en beauté.

      Usant et abusant de notre charisme et talent en brésilien, nous sommes allés à la seule force des taxis (ils nous ont plumé) au quartier dansant de Rio, Lapa.

      En tant que bons français, on a choisi le bar le plus proche : au programme, vin coca (???) et bières atroces. On a fait la rencontre d'un bon golem allemand qui nous a fait don de la fin de sa côte de boeuf ... Sublime. On a aussi fait la rencontre de deux charmants jeunes hommes brésiliens qui nous ont epaulés (= collés au baskets) toute la soirée.

      En rentrant, l'appel de la boîte de nuit nous a titillé le nazo, mais on est restês sages : rentrés à 3h30 pour la réunification et le départ en bus a 5h. Tout est bien qui finit bien.
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    • Day 5

      Feliz Ano Novo 2024! 🎆🍀🍾

      January 1 in Brazil ⋅ ☁️ 24 °C

      Frohes neues Jahr Rio! 🍀
      Dieser Silvesterabend war wohl ein einmaliges Erlebnis - Strandparty an der Copacabana. 🌊🍾
      Traditionell feiern die Brasilianer in weiß ins neue Jahr. ⚪️
      Eines muss man ihnen lassen: feiern können sie! Ganz Rio ist eine einzige, niemals endende Party. 🥳
      Nicht umsonst findet hier eine der größten Silvesterpartys der Welt statt. So war auch das Feuerwerk ein Feuerwerk der Superlative! 🎆
      Ein ganz besonderer Start ins Jahr 2024 und in unsere Weltreise! 🤩🫶🏼
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    • Day 12

      Feijoada Flop

      September 13, 2019 in Brazil ⋅ ☁️ 23 °C

      Joe kept insisting he had to have a feijoada. It’s the “typical” Brazilian meal, a pot filled with all kinds of meats, surrounded by plates of mantioc flour, collard greens, orange slices, beans, rice, etc. The place he remembered, the restaurant in the modernist Copacabana Palace Hotel, no longer serves feijoada. But we persisted.

      After a visit to the Copacabana Fort, built by the Portuguese to fend off the French, British, and Dutch (and maybe a few more), we took a long walk on two other iconic Brazilian beaches — Arpoador (named after the Harpoon Stone, from which harpooners supposedly used to hunt whales) and Ipanema. Now that I can compare all the beaches, I would say for sure that Copacabana is the prettiest — longest stretches of sand, widest beaches. But all of them have side lanes of traffic whizzing by and endless high rise apartment buildings.

      And then, having worked up an appetite, came the feijoada. Let’s just say it’s one of those experiences that should have been left in the memory and not repeated. I am glad I chose a salad. Now Joe is sleeping it off, and I am feeling superior for having been able to hop on the elliptical without feeling like I had a rock in my stomach. And now I am on the hotel terrace looking out as dark clouds move ini. All very dramatic.

      Home tomorrow!!!
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    • Day 10

      Beach Walk and Marius Restaurant

      September 10, 2023 in Brazil ⋅ ☁️ 23 °C

      Come for the experience, stay for the food.

      Walking along Copacabana beach at night, people packing up day mode and moving into night mode. The beach was still alive with partially clothed beautiful people. We enjoyed the walk as the sun went down until the end of the path and turning back towards our restaurant.

      Marius is unlike anything I've been to before. Every inch of the restaurant (and it's big) was littered with decorations. The ceiling, the walls and even the floor.

      Sitting down they put a little flag on the table that represent the counties of the people dining at that table. I'm not a flash guy, but looking around there were definitely some I didn't recognise.

      This too was a type of Brazilian BBQ, except it included seafood too. Prawns, calamari, fish, octopus and then also the meats of steaks and even wild pig ribs.

      The bathroom was an experience on its own. I've never taken so many pictures in one bathroom before. Gravel on the floor, rocks in the sink, big chest like locks on the cubical doors, a wooden toilet and ice in the urinal. I was fascinated.
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    • Day 8

      Sugar Loaf and being a beach bum

      September 9, 2019 in Brazil ⋅ ☁️ 27 °C

      Joe’s rich pasta dish last night must have not been the best choice, or maybe the tap water did it, but for whatever reason, we had a very late morning start. I took advantage and walked a few miles up and down the beach, and by 11 or so we were on our way to the “bondinho” (cable car) up to Sugar Loaf Mountain. It is a big piece of rock jutting out of the water, with amazing views. Getting there involves a stop on an intermediary rock, about half as high as Sugar Loaf itself. The views at every turn were pretty amazing, but I have to say I was left wishing I could have seen the bays and coves and mountains before all the high rise building.

      After a lunch in a beach café, I was once again left to entertain myself for a few hours, and this time I spent a good chunk of post-elliptical time sitting on the roof of our hotel in a beach chair next to the pool with views over the ocean below. Yes, very uncharacteristic of me to sit and do nothing, but it was relaxing, I will admit. Not sure about dinner tonight, that will depend on Joe’s stomach.
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    • Day 3

      Full day in Rio

      June 18, 2023 in Brazil ⋅ ☀️ 22 °C

      After 11 hours of sleep 😴, we decided to take another hike to the halfway point of sugarloaf mountain ⛰️ From there, we took the cable car because for the other half alpine climbing skills are needed…
      Kathi also got her first “thousand” mosquito bites 🙄 🦟
      After some great views and a snack on top, we went to the botanical garden to see many many different palm trees and monkeys 🐒
      After another “short” walk to Ipanema beach and an Uber (instead of bikes) back to the hotel we finished the day with some Brazilian food and a drink on a rooftop bar.
      Takeaway of the day: almost no one speaks English here 😰
      and Spanish is no Portuguese 🙅‍♀️
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    • Day 10

      Downtown Rio

      September 11, 2019 in Brazil ⋅ ⛅ 22 °C

      We had a vague plan when we left this morning. First stop, the Museu do Arte do Rio, in an old train station, Interesting collection, fun to visit, and with a great view from the sixth floor rooftop! Across the praça is the futuristic waterfront Museu de Amanha (Museum of Tomorrow). We didn’t visit it but really enjoyed walking around and getting the views of the port, Niteroi across the bay, etc.

      Joe remembered good lunches in the Cafe do Colombo, where we headed for lunch, getting lost and ultimately hopping in a cab. Belle Epoque, this place used to be for the upper crust, but is very democratic nowadays. Really lovely, with three different floors of different kinds of service. We took the top floor — better food and nicer surroundings.

      From there we walked to the National Library where Joe spent many many hours doing research way back when. It was a nice trip down memory lane. Across the street is the over the top Municipal Theater, built in the early 1900s in four years of non-stop building and cost overruns. The total price, ten times the projected cost, constituted 2% of the GNP for one year. But it is gorgeous — nothing built in Brazil, evry single thing was imported from Europe in pieces and then assembled on site. Stained glass from Germany, marble from Italy, etc etc.

      Time is flying — we have only two more full days and then a long haul back to the midwest.
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    • Day 11

      Folklore and Presidents

      September 12, 2019 in Brazil ⋅ ☁️ 29 °C

      We had a really nice combination of things to do today. First to the folklore museum — nice artifacts, but for me the highlight was the cute groups of school kids. Then a short walk to the former Presidential Palace now a museum, and the place where the dictator Getúlio Vargas committed suicide. The gun he used and his bloody nightshirt are on display, kind of grotesque, I thought. All of our day’s locations were within a km or so of each other, so we walked around downtown a lot. That is one of my favorite activities when in a big city.

      Lunch in another restaurant Joe remembered — another white tablecloth place, I am getting the idea that he was usually living high on the hog down here. From there we went to the Institute where lots of research was done. And since Joe has never met an academic bookstore he didn’t love, he was in hog heaven. We got inside the institute and walked around his old haunts, even though the archives where he spent the most time have been moved.

      Dinner tonight in a Lebanese restaurant — after a week in Sao Paulo with its excellent Lebanese restaurants, this one has a pretty high standard to live up to, we will see!
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