Rio de Janeiro
16 to 22/03/2014
2 adults
Itinerary
15/03 - São Paulo - Rio de Janeiro (André)
16/03 - Fortaleza - Rio de Janeiro (Camila)
16-22/03 - Rio de Janeiro
21/03 - Rio de Janeiro - Fortaleza
22/03 - Fortaleza - Lisbon (André)
- Fortaleza - Parnaíba (Camila)
Accommodation
15-21/03 - Rented Flat ub Copacabana
21-22/03 - Hotel Praia Centro (4*) - Fortaleza
Our Stories
In March 2014 André had to go to work in Rio de Janeiro and São Paulo and we thought it was an excellent opportunity to get to know Rio de Janeiro.
We both wanted to know the city and it was the ideal time to plan it. So, André took a week off after the work week he had in Brazil and Camila went to Rio de Janeiro on March 16th to enjoy this week.
We rented an apartment in Copacabana which, despite not being in the best neighborhood as it was already at one end of the beach, allowed us to get to know this whole area and also Ipanema without having to use taxis or any other type of transport..
In the first two days, we spent most of our time in this area getting to know Copacabama and Ipanema and we always walked or rented bikes. There was no shortage of baths on the two most famous beaches in Rio de Janeiro, the Copacabana Palace hotel, the coconut on the beach and a lot of heat!
March 19th
Of course, we also wanted to get to know the city as much as possible and André had met a friendly and reliable taxi driver with whom we agreed to take us on a tour of the city on the 19th of March. The idea was for him to take us to the main tourist sites during the day and thus we avoid having to buy those tourist tours that often force us to be in lines and dependent on the schedules of other participants. It went very well! We got to know Pão de Açucar, Corcovado and Cristo Redentor, Leblon and São Conrado beach with hang gliding practitioners landing there, Rodrigo de Freitas lagoon and other places in the city. Traffic in the city delayed us in some areas but we managed to get a good view and still climb both to Cristo Redentor and to Pão de Açúcar.
That night we set dinner at the restaurant "Aprazível" in the neighborhood of Santa Teresa and we would say that it lives up to its name (Aprazível means Pleasant in Portuguese)! It is a very nice place with great food. The restaurant has several spaces divided between the main house and the various outdoor terraces (we stayed on one of these terraces overlooking the city). It is not a cheap restaurant but it is well worth it !!
March 20th
This day was again spent on the beach and relaxing because that night we were going to a Guns n 'Roses concert.
We were able to buy tickets before the trip and we were looking forward to this show. The concert took place at the HSBC Arena in the area where the Olympics were held two years later. On that day, this Arena must have been one of the few buildings completed in the middle of an area of works that seemed to have no end.
At the end of the concert we were a little afraid to get a taxi because it was an isolated area and where there was no alternative. In the middle of the hundreds of taxis waiting for all those people who attended the concert, we found a free taxi driver who agreed to take us to the hotel at a fair price. As soon as we got in the car, realizing that André was Portuguese, he started talking about his family and his Portuguese ancestors and that ended up relaxing us and we had a quiet, quick and ... cheaper trip than going
March 21st
The day of return had arrived. We were still going to make another stop in Fortaleza and then return to Portugal and Parnaíba.
We didn't have much time in Fortaleza, but we could see that it is a city that lives off the beaches that it has. The rest of the city is dirty and ugly but the beaches are spectacular.
We had the opportunity to go to Chico dos Caranguejos for lunch and stayed there relaxing for the rest of the afternoon. The return flight was only at 11:50 pm and we took advantage of the day to stay on the beach before picking up our bags at the hotel.
On the way to the airport Camila stayed at Rodoviária to take the bus to Parnaíba. The holidays were over!
