My Brother's Visit to Brazil - Part 1 - Rio de Janeiro
December 28, 2014 - January 11, 2015
I enjoyed my week of traveling to Salvador and Morro de Sao Paulo solo, but I was looking forward to being around some friends and family especially since I wasn't home for the holidays. It was more difficult than I thought it would be.
Rio here we come! My brother and I were spending the first week in a hostel with my two friends from work. There are many things that have become my new "normal" while living here and I often don't realize it until someone comes to visit. For example, no, you may not flush the toilet paper down the toilet. The pipes are old and are not built to withstand that. Yes, that is gross, but you will get used to it. ;) Another example, is things don't work efficiently. Yes, there is a long line at the grocery store, but don't worry, the cashier will NOT move any faster and they will NOT open more registers. You just have to wait. :)
While in Rio, it was extremely hot. It averaged between the 90's and low 100's every day with high humidity, but we trekked on and completed our tourist stops, ate some delicious food, drank so ice cold beer (I love that Brazilians love their beer super cold!), and listened to some samba music.
Only a few short hours off the plane and we were soaking up the last few sun rays at Copacabana Beach! He also drank his first caipirinha - Brazil's signature drink (cachaça, sugar, ice, and lime). Deliciously strong!
Adventure to see Cristo Redentor (Christ the Redeemer) - Public bus to the base of the hill. Get in line and hop in a van for a short trip up the street where we exited, got in another line and waited to pay for the van service. Once we paid, we got back in a van and drove up the hill to the first waiting area where we had to pay for ANOTHER ticket to actually see the Christ. We then discovered that we would have to wait for 3 hours to get the next available van up to The Christ. (sooo many people!) At first this story was quite comical until I realized I forgot to pack snacks and we had to pay a ridiculous amount for a package of cookies (as this was the only thing the little store still had) and some waters. After waiting for over an hour and realizing the lines were getting longer, we decided it was time to get hydrated and walk the 2.5 km up to Christ ourselves. We made it!
Sugar Loaf for the sunset - a beautiful view on a clear warm summer night. While waiting for the sun to set we relaxed by walking along a short trail through the forest.
Santa Teresa - free walking tour on a 104 degree day! I love this section of the city - the narrow winding streets up and down hills.
New Years Eve - Spent the night up on the rooftop of a friend of a friend....Food and drinks were included as well as a free show of the fireworks display. We watched 3 separate fireworks shows from different beaches along the Rio coast and then turned around to see the Favela put on it's own fireworks show afterwards! It definitely felt more like the 4th of July than New Year's Eve. It felt magically to be there with a few friends and my brother while watching the sky lite up in bright colors. The hospitality of Brazilians never ceases to amaze me. They opened up there house to us and made us feel like part of the family and we were even offered a ride back to the hostel so we didn't have to get a taxi. :)
Freshly squeezed juice please! One of my favorite things about Rio de Janeiro is that there is a juice shop on practically every corner! I love trying all the different fruits and eating the acai! It is deliciously refreshing! My brother became obsessed with maracuja (passion fruit)!
Churrascaria (The Brazilian Steakhouse) - Most of the trip my brother was very quiet. He is not one who shows his emotions. Although he said he was having fun, I often wondered due to his lack of excitement and expression! But this night, there was no doubt he was loving life. He couldn't wipe that huge grin off his face! My favorite quote of the night was, "I feel like a prince." I had to agree with him. You just sit there and the food just keeps coming! Various types of meat from steak to chicken to salmon to chicken hearts kept coming around on large skewers. When your plate became dirty, the changed it for a clean one so you could start all over again. It is the perfect way to put yourself into a food comma! We went for a walk down Copacabana's night market afterwards and felt drunk off meat.
G.R.E.S. Acadêmicos do Salgueiro - Samba School - Since my brother couldn't be in Brazil for Carnaval, I took him to one of the most famous samba school's in Rio on a Saturday night. It turned out to be more touristy than I was hoping for but we heard some great music! It stated it started at 10pm and I had to explain to my brother that in Brazil, no one ever shows up on time to things and that 10pm was early according to Brazilian time. :) The building was made for events like this - two different stages and areas to buy drinks. It started off a little slow, but once the drumming started I was pumped!
I just did some research and learned that this school won second place this year!
Here is a link that shows a highlight of their performance at the sambodromo!
G.R.E.S. Acadêmicos do Salgueiro
Next up, our trip to Paraty...
I enjoyed my week of traveling to Salvador and Morro de Sao Paulo solo, but I was looking forward to being around some friends and family especially since I wasn't home for the holidays. It was more difficult than I thought it would be.
Rio here we come! My brother and I were spending the first week in a hostel with my two friends from work. There are many things that have become my new "normal" while living here and I often don't realize it until someone comes to visit. For example, no, you may not flush the toilet paper down the toilet. The pipes are old and are not built to withstand that. Yes, that is gross, but you will get used to it. ;) Another example, is things don't work efficiently. Yes, there is a long line at the grocery store, but don't worry, the cashier will NOT move any faster and they will NOT open more registers. You just have to wait. :)
While in Rio, it was extremely hot. It averaged between the 90's and low 100's every day with high humidity, but we trekked on and completed our tourist stops, ate some delicious food, drank so ice cold beer (I love that Brazilians love their beer super cold!), and listened to some samba music.
Only a few short hours off the plane and we were soaking up the last few sun rays at Copacabana Beach! He also drank his first caipirinha - Brazil's signature drink (cachaça, sugar, ice, and lime). Deliciously strong!
Adventure to see Cristo Redentor (Christ the Redeemer) - Public bus to the base of the hill. Get in line and hop in a van for a short trip up the street where we exited, got in another line and waited to pay for the van service. Once we paid, we got back in a van and drove up the hill to the first waiting area where we had to pay for ANOTHER ticket to actually see the Christ. We then discovered that we would have to wait for 3 hours to get the next available van up to The Christ. (sooo many people!) At first this story was quite comical until I realized I forgot to pack snacks and we had to pay a ridiculous amount for a package of cookies (as this was the only thing the little store still had) and some waters. After waiting for over an hour and realizing the lines were getting longer, we decided it was time to get hydrated and walk the 2.5 km up to Christ ourselves. We made it!
Sugar Loaf for the sunset - a beautiful view on a clear warm summer night. While waiting for the sun to set we relaxed by walking along a short trail through the forest.
Santa Teresa - free walking tour on a 104 degree day! I love this section of the city - the narrow winding streets up and down hills.
Escadaria Selaron - work of Chilean-born artist Jorge Selaron - dedicated to the people - there were mosaic tiles from places all around the world.
The artist himself....
New Years Eve - Spent the night up on the rooftop of a friend of a friend....Food and drinks were included as well as a free show of the fireworks display. We watched 3 separate fireworks shows from different beaches along the Rio coast and then turned around to see the Favela put on it's own fireworks show afterwards! It definitely felt more like the 4th of July than New Year's Eve. It felt magically to be there with a few friends and my brother while watching the sky lite up in bright colors. The hospitality of Brazilians never ceases to amaze me. They opened up there house to us and made us feel like part of the family and we were even offered a ride back to the hostel so we didn't have to get a taxi. :)
Brazilian tradition is to wear white with colorful underwear for New Year's. White represents peace and happiness. You choose the color of your underwear based off of what you wishing for in the new year and it is meant to bring you good luck. I'm not telling which color I decided on. :)
Freshly squeezed juice please! One of my favorite things about Rio de Janeiro is that there is a juice shop on practically every corner! I love trying all the different fruits and eating the acai! It is deliciously refreshing! My brother became obsessed with maracuja (passion fruit)!
Churrascaria (The Brazilian Steakhouse) - Most of the trip my brother was very quiet. He is not one who shows his emotions. Although he said he was having fun, I often wondered due to his lack of excitement and expression! But this night, there was no doubt he was loving life. He couldn't wipe that huge grin off his face! My favorite quote of the night was, "I feel like a prince." I had to agree with him. You just sit there and the food just keeps coming! Various types of meat from steak to chicken to salmon to chicken hearts kept coming around on large skewers. When your plate became dirty, the changed it for a clean one so you could start all over again. It is the perfect way to put yourself into a food comma! We went for a walk down Copacabana's night market afterwards and felt drunk off meat.
G.R.E.S. Acadêmicos do Salgueiro - Samba School - Since my brother couldn't be in Brazil for Carnaval, I took him to one of the most famous samba school's in Rio on a Saturday night. It turned out to be more touristy than I was hoping for but we heard some great music! It stated it started at 10pm and I had to explain to my brother that in Brazil, no one ever shows up on time to things and that 10pm was early according to Brazilian time. :) The building was made for events like this - two different stages and areas to buy drinks. It started off a little slow, but once the drumming started I was pumped!
I just did some research and learned that this school won second place this year!
Here is a link that shows a highlight of their performance at the sambodromo!
G.R.E.S. Acadêmicos do Salgueiro
Next up, our trip to Paraty...
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