30th of April - 3rd of May 2016
Introduction:
It has been in the plans visiting Brazil for a long time for several reasons:
- my parents live in Rio and I have not seen them since Christmas 2014.
- almost all my friends in China are Brazilians and have listened a lot for their country.
- Djoko, because he looks like Djokovic, (one of my closest friends from school) lives in São Paulo and I knew we can count on him for planning and visiting.
So in March the only motivated person to travel with me was one more close friend from school: Gwen. We booked the tickets and then Djoko made us a nice plan to travel: Rio - Ilha Grande - Paraty - São Paulo - Iguazu - Salvador - Rio - Paris. We were very excited. So here we go:
30th of April:
After an 11h flight we reached early in the morning Rio. My parents were waiting us at the exit. I was really happy seeing them after such a long period.
We took the bus and went straight to their apartment (which was basically just next to Copacabana... "Could be worst I was saying to myself" hehe). While traveling I was able already to have a fast look of the city which seemed huge and diversified (starting from the favelas which are "welcoming" you right after the airport to the city center where beautiful historic buildings were standing). After breakfast Djoko came to meet us and we went to walk around Copacabana and went for a drink on the rooftop of Oton Hotel. The weather was a bit cloudy but still nice to appreciate the magnificent view from above.
We then went for a walk on Ipanema beach and to the lake Freitas where enjoyed a nice view and our first caipirinha with passion fruit.
In the night we went to the city center where a lot of historic buildings are. There was another friend from school (Lucy) who was also traveling in Brazil with her sister and boyfriend and was at this moment in Rio so we wanted to meet for a drink. Quite incredible because we both live in Paris and have not seen each other for ages.... This is part of the magic of being abroad :)
I was a bit afraid to be honest as this zone is famous for pickpocketing, drugs etc. but in the mean time Djoko was quite confident and we trusted him (even if I was most trusting the police which was present there :P)
I was really fascinated to see all the street art Rio has around the stairs (Escadaria Selarón) & how animated with bars and happy people.
We finally met Lucy in the Rio Scenarium bar which was a several floors bar with very nice decoration and typical Brazilian music. It is very funny inside because when you enter the bar gives you a list with different drinks where the waiter notes down the drinks you have consumed and you pay all you have drunk when getting out. By the way a lot of bars, clubs and restaurants work this way in Brazil.
After an hour spent inside & enjoying a caipirinha we started to feel a bit tired from the flight and the day so we went home as a new day of discovery was waiting for us.
It has been in the plans visiting Brazil for a long time for several reasons:
- my parents live in Rio and I have not seen them since Christmas 2014.
- almost all my friends in China are Brazilians and have listened a lot for their country.
- Djoko, because he looks like Djokovic, (one of my closest friends from school) lives in São Paulo and I knew we can count on him for planning and visiting.
So in March the only motivated person to travel with me was one more close friend from school: Gwen. We booked the tickets and then Djoko made us a nice plan to travel: Rio - Ilha Grande - Paraty - São Paulo - Iguazu - Salvador - Rio - Paris. We were very excited. So here we go:
30th of April:
After an 11h flight we reached early in the morning Rio. My parents were waiting us at the exit. I was really happy seeing them after such a long period.
We took the bus and went straight to their apartment (which was basically just next to Copacabana... "Could be worst I was saying to myself" hehe). While traveling I was able already to have a fast look of the city which seemed huge and diversified (starting from the favelas which are "welcoming" you right after the airport to the city center where beautiful historic buildings were standing). After breakfast Djoko came to meet us and we went to walk around Copacabana and went for a drink on the rooftop of Oton Hotel. The weather was a bit cloudy but still nice to appreciate the magnificent view from above.
We then went for a walk on Ipanema beach and to the lake Freitas where enjoyed a nice view and our first caipirinha with passion fruit.
In the night we went to the city center where a lot of historic buildings are. There was another friend from school (Lucy) who was also traveling in Brazil with her sister and boyfriend and was at this moment in Rio so we wanted to meet for a drink. Quite incredible because we both live in Paris and have not seen each other for ages.... This is part of the magic of being abroad :)
I was a bit afraid to be honest as this zone is famous for pickpocketing, drugs etc. but in the mean time Djoko was quite confident and we trusted him (even if I was most trusting the police which was present there :P)
I was really fascinated to see all the street art Rio has around the stairs (Escadaria Selarón) & how animated with bars and happy people.
We finally met Lucy in the Rio Scenarium bar which was a several floors bar with very nice decoration and typical Brazilian music. It is very funny inside because when you enter the bar gives you a list with different drinks where the waiter notes down the drinks you have consumed and you pay all you have drunk when getting out. By the way a lot of bars, clubs and restaurants work this way in Brazil.
After an hour spent inside & enjoying a caipirinha we started to feel a bit tired from the flight and the day so we went home as a new day of discovery was waiting for us.
1st of May:
We woke up quite early maybe because of the jet lag but we were ready to go discovering another part of the city. With my parents & Gwen, we left and we met Djoko in the park of Lague where a nice view has been offered to an old colonial building and to Christ in the top.
We then went to the botanical garden which was nearby where it was extremely beautiful with a lot of exotic trees and huge palm trees.
For the lunch we went to Saint Teresa district which was on one of the hills with also a lot of old buildings and nice views. There we met another friend of Djoko and had a nice lunch of traditional feijoada... Very delicious and heavy :)
After it we went walking to Lapa, the stairs and the Arc de Lapa to enjoy them during the day. It was less crowded than the night before and extremely nice.
We finished the day by enjoying the sunset on Ipanema, a walk back around the Copacabana and a dinner in what of those "kilograms" restaurants where you have a buffer of everything and you pay the weight of food you have put in you plate. The food was really good. Those kind of restaurants are also quite common in Brazil.
2nd of May:
We woke up early again (maybe because of the jet lag or because the sun was rising very early in the morning compared to Europe) and decided to go to the Morro Dos Dois Irmoes (which was a hill with a favela on the other side of Ipanema). The weather was really good so we walked from the last life guard post to the bottom of the favela where we needed to take motor bike taxis to go on the top, and then hike for an hour to reach the top of the hill... Well the hike was totally worthy because we had an amazing over the city !!!
We woke up early again (maybe because of the jet lag or because the sun was rising very early in the morning compared to Europe) and decided to go to the Morro Dos Dois Irmoes (which was a hill with a favela on the other side of Ipanema). The weather was really good so we walked from the last life guard post to the bottom of the favela where we needed to take motor bike taxis to go on the top, and then hike for an hour to reach the top of the hill... Well the hike was totally worthy because we had an amazing over the city !!!
We went back around noon and after a lunch we went on the other side of the city to check the Pao de Asucar and had the opportunity to admire the sunset from there.
We finished the day by a nice caipirinha and dinner. The day after we were leaving for Ilha Grande (a famous island south east from Rio).
We finished the day by a nice caipirinha and dinner. The day after we were leaving for Ilha Grande (a famous island south east from Rio).
* * *
14th - 15th of May 2016
14th of May:
We reached Rio at 9am and we had already a program we needed to do before leaving Brazil. We haven't visited the Jesus Redeemer statue of Rio... So after dropping out luggage we went for it by minibus which was leaving from Copacabana.
Once we reached it... Well it is really impressive and splendid combined with a magnificent view over the city. The only problem as a lot of touristic places was the crowd which was making complicated the pictures but we definitely enjoyed it.
During the night we went with my parents for a caipirinha with my parents at "name" from where we got a magnificent view again over Copacabana.
We reached Rio at 9am and we had already a program we needed to do before leaving Brazil. We haven't visited the Jesus Redeemer statue of Rio... So after dropping out luggage we went for it by minibus which was leaving from Copacabana.
Once we reached it... Well it is really impressive and splendid combined with a magnificent view over the city. The only problem as a lot of touristic places was the crowd which was making complicated the pictures but we definitely enjoyed it.
During the night we went with my parents for a caipirinha with my parents at "name" from where we got a magnificent view again over Copacabana.
15th of May:
Well... We have reached already the end of our trip... But as the weather was really good we spend the last moments on the beach enjoying the sun and the waves. Really great moments shared with my parents and Gwen.
I have also realized that making videos of different things and then creating a movie creates nice memories... This is why you will find below the summary video of the trip... Hope you will enjoy it!
In conclusion:
Honestly before going to Brazil I used to like it because of my parents living there, because of Djoko's feelings about the country and especially because of my Brazilian friends... After visiting a small part of it, I already love it and can't wait to go back again.
I loved the mixture of cultures, the smile of the Brazilian people, the landscapes, the music, the food and of course the caipirinhas. So That was not a good bye but a See you, Brazil!
Honestly before going to Brazil I used to like it because of my parents living there, because of Djoko's feelings about the country and especially because of my Brazilian friends... After visiting a small part of it, I already love it and can't wait to go back again.
I loved the mixture of cultures, the smile of the Brazilian people, the landscapes, the music, the food and of course the caipirinhas. So That was not a good bye but a See you, Brazil!