Now I feel like a trend setter ;)
A few days after I spent a weekend in Rio, my favourite online magazine publishes: Rio the place to Go!
I did not write straight away about this amazing trip. I first needed to process all the wonderful things I had seen in order to be able to pass on the incredible energy that buzzes from this city.
We only stayed for a very short time. We needed perfect location to waist no time on travel and get the most out of our stay. That is the reason why we checked in at Praia Ipanema on the fancy Ipanema beach (where the beautiful people go according to the locals). The hotel despite being rather un-charming from the outside is very comfortable. The rooms are large and they all have a view on the beach. The real perk of the place is its infinity pool on the roof and the fancy restaurant with a breathtaking view.
But no one comes to Rio to stay in a hotel!
First stop something to eat. We had a quick and tasty lunch at Alessandro & Federico Café a stone throw away from the hotel. It a nice and unpretentious Italian restaurant. It is conveniently located opposite the Stern building where we we welcomed by a man in a suit speaking perfect french. he took us to visit the incredible gem museum where we could see over 2200 tourmaline's and other unique stones. I highly recommend not only the tour but the shop! you get to choose your gems whilst sipping on refreshing drinks, a car will take you back to your hotel free of charge!
After all that excitement we took of to the city centre. One cannot say that it is beautiful per say and yet again I find it fascinating! So much life! Cafés everywhere! Modern buildings old colonial buildings, 70's horror buildings create an interesting mix, not without charm. The final destination was Santa Teresa: the artist hill. To get there we desperately looked for the old tram reassembling the ones in Lisbon only to be told with our approximate understanding of Portuguese that the tram was long gone and that the only way up the hill was a bus. Off we went! The scenery changed dramatically. We were surround by the tropical forest. Here and there an old colourful house emerged from all that green. We followed the paved street up and down, stopping at café (I particularly recommend the Espirito Santa which serves delicious Brazilian food from the northern regions) and little art galleries. As carnaval was due in a week we had the pleasure of dancing to street music as the Cariocas where rehearsing for the big day.
All that activity made us rather hungry. Luckily we found the perfect place: 'Rustico'. The name might not be very original but the place is stunning. A beautiful ancient 3 story house with open terraces outside tables, few tourists, delicious pizzas and caipirinhas to die for!
Truly enchanting...
But no one comes to Rio to stay in a hotel!
First stop something to eat. We had a quick and tasty lunch at Alessandro & Federico Café a stone throw away from the hotel. It a nice and unpretentious Italian restaurant. It is conveniently located opposite the Stern building where we we welcomed by a man in a suit speaking perfect french. he took us to visit the incredible gem museum where we could see over 2200 tourmaline's and other unique stones. I highly recommend not only the tour but the shop! you get to choose your gems whilst sipping on refreshing drinks, a car will take you back to your hotel free of charge!
After all that excitement we took of to the city centre. One cannot say that it is beautiful per say and yet again I find it fascinating! So much life! Cafés everywhere! Modern buildings old colonial buildings, 70's horror buildings create an interesting mix, not without charm. The final destination was Santa Teresa: the artist hill. To get there we desperately looked for the old tram reassembling the ones in Lisbon only to be told with our approximate understanding of Portuguese that the tram was long gone and that the only way up the hill was a bus. Off we went! The scenery changed dramatically. We were surround by the tropical forest. Here and there an old colourful house emerged from all that green. We followed the paved street up and down, stopping at café (I particularly recommend the Espirito Santa which serves delicious Brazilian food from the northern regions) and little art galleries. As carnaval was due in a week we had the pleasure of dancing to street music as the Cariocas where rehearsing for the big day.
All that activity made us rather hungry. Luckily we found the perfect place: 'Rustico'. The name might not be very original but the place is stunning. A beautiful ancient 3 story house with open terraces outside tables, few tourists, delicious pizzas and caipirinhas to die for!
Truly enchanting...
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| Hotel room view |
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| Tourmaline collection at H. Stern museum |
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| View on Santa Teresa from Espirito Santo |
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| Little art Gallery in Santa Teresa |
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| Rustico |
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| Rustico |
Hotel Praia Ipanema
Avenida Vieira Souto, 706 - Ipanema
Rio de Janeiro - RJ, 22420-000, Brazil
praiaipanema.com
Alessandro & Federico
Avenida Garcia de Ávila, 134 - Ipanema
Rio de Janeiro - RJ, 22421-010, Brazil
alessandroefrederico.com.br
Espirito Santa
Rua Almirante Alexandrino, 264 - Santa Teresa
Rio de Janeiro - RJ, 20241-260, Brazil
espiritosanta.com.br
Rústico
Rua Paschoal Carlos Magno, 121- Santa Teresa
Rio de Janeiro
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