O Rio De Janeiro continua lindo….. (Rio post)

This (the title) is a very famous start of a popular song by Gilberto Gil that celebrates the beauty of the “Marvelous City” as Rio is known since 1935 when yet another song (better yet, a march) was written for the carnival. Both songs have since become some sort of Anthem of the city of Rio de Janeiro.

In case this is your first time visiting my blog, you probably don’t know that I’m from São Paulo which is a quick 35 minute plane ride to Rio, but I adore Rio and it’s natural beauty. People are more relaxed and tanned than my peeps back in Sampa, you have the beach and the city life right at the same time. But I do want to add the NOBODY dresses better than the Paulistanos (that’s how people from the capital are called), think New York City and L.A!

Back to Rio, shall we?! Here I’ll be listing a few things we’ve done that might help you or even entice you to take a trip down there. It can be overwhelming at first and I believe because they are trying to get ready for the World-Cup in June and the Olympics in 2016 you’ll find lots of construction, remodeling and high traffic (possibly the worst of their history) but hey, who cares right?! We weren’t there to work, we didn’t have commitments to get to places and to leave from them, so traffic did not bother us at all, we mostly walked places, took us sometimes 1 hour to get to a different place walking but when you’re surrounded by beauty that becomes a pleasure!

Our trip started in Copacabana, that’s where our hotel was. Beach front was a requirement from hubbs, he loves to be close to the beach, and it truly pays off to sleep with the soothing sound of the waves exploding on the shore…zzzzzzzzzz Copa is in the same beach lane as Ipanema and Leblon only divided by Arpoador. “Arpoador is the border between Ipanema and Copacabana. The name comes from the rock formation, that gives you a wonderful view to both neighborhoods. Ipanema Beach is renamed Arpoador Beach once you go past Rua Francisco Otaviano. The beach lane, Rua Francisco Bhering is open for pedestrians only (see map). Arpoador Beach is a favorite with surfers, and there are spotlights for night surfing.” Read more: http://www.ipanema.com/citytour/arpoador.htm#ixzz2sHFVklbq

That was a great location and AWESOME hotel (Pestana Rio Atlantica) , but we found Copa too crowded and hung out a lot more in Ipanema, which turned out to be our favorite spot! The walk from one beach to the other is quite pleasant except for the hundred degree weather, so we piled up on the spf 70 and there we went…my feet did get a bit burned on the spots I missed, but I was happy regardless! Hahahaha

TIP 1: Stay as close to the beach as possible. I promise it pays off, not only for the prime ocean sounds and views but the further you go into the town the more dangerous (and ugly, sorry) it becomes. We met an American family on our way back and they had a horrible time at their hotel which was in Rio’s downtown area, they said it was so scary they wouldn’t go out at night. If you stay by the beach there’s close police watch, nice hang places and beach front bars that stay open pretty much all night!

The second and fourth day we spent at Ipanema beach. Post 9 to be more exact! When the weekend was approaching, the beach was getting more and more crowded. It was nice though, very very hot, but the heat didn’t bug us…we were too happy to notice (let’s say we needed to b under the umbrellas to be fully happy! Hahahaha). Ipanema is known for the Two Brothers Mountain, beautiful people (lots of celebrities hang out in Ipanema), and it’s shopping.

TIP2: If we ever get to go back I’d rather stay in a not so awesome hotel located in Ipanema or Leblon, we found it to be more of a selected crowd, smaller beaches and nicer bars and restaurants.

Our third day was a touristic one, we did everything from the Christ the Redeemer to the Sugar Loaf Mountain…it was a hot day for walking around, so we made sure to pack a ton of sunscreen!

TIP3: We booked the sightseeing tour in the hotel but they offer packages everywhere, it’s worth to use a tourism company than going by yourself, especially if you’re not familiarized with the city. Price wise is also worth it, and the tour guide (ours spoke 5 languages) will give you a nice explanation about everything you see during the tour so instead of riding a pricey cab you get to be with other people and enjoy the city along with a private guide!

The feeling of going up to the Christ the Redeemer was incredible, no wonder why it’s one of the world’s 7 wonders! But the views of the Sugar Loaf Mountain were simply spectacular, I’ve been to a few places in my life but very few left me speechless and this was one of them…just a perfect creation by Mother Nature, with a 360 degree vista!

Now off to What I Wore – besides a bathing suit all day long! 🙂

TIP4: Honestly all you need to pack is a couple bathing suits, a beach wrap, one pair of Havaianas, one pair of shorts and a couple shirts and you should be set (that’s basically what I had!).

 

Relaxed looks go a long way with the heat and the beach!

 

Shirt from local shop; Short/skirt M.Officer; Mini-Mac Rebecca Minkoff; all jewelry is also from local shops!

 

 

At night another M.Officer denim shorts (I love their fit!) and a JCrew tee were more than enough to have a a few glasses of chopp and delicious Portuguese appetizers! One of my favorite local spots was Jobi at Leblon, the most affluent neighborhood in Rio, but this is a VERY reasonable priced bar as well as casual (trust me I hate the fancy restaurants vibe full of stuck ups!Hehehehe)

Here’s a vlog with a quick mini-tour of the Sugar Loaf Mountain and a fun slideshow with the song that’s the post theme! Hope you enjoy it <3

 

Well my friends I truly hope you enjoyed this post, maybe you could get to know a bit more of Rio if you’ve been there or even had your first glance at this beautiful City, either way I hope I got to entice you to visit the city for the Olympics,  Carnaval or a

Beijos,