South America Trip: Part 1- Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

We had the amazing opportunity to visit our favorite Brazilian, Isa, this summer. We were so fortunate to have her along for the entire trip in Brazil to be our translator (we are exhausting) and tour guide! It was hard to believe that four and a half years have gone by since she left Tacoma.  We picked right up where we left off and a reminder that even if years go by between visits, she'll always be a part of our family.  

Day 1

We flew through Houston leaving our house at 11am and left Houston at 8pm to arrive in Rio the next morning at a little before 9am. It was a total of 15 hours on an airplane…much longer than the longest flight the kids had ever been on (3 hours to Albuquerque). We all got just a little sleep but the kids did really well armed with snacks, lots of audiobooks and the movies on the plane. 

When we arrived in Rio it was about a 45 minute drive to our airBnB where we met the doorman who helped us upstairs with all of our luggage. Isa arrived about fifteen minutes after us and it was a very happy reunion!!! 

Once we were all settled we walked immediately to the beach, which was only a block away from our apartment. We got a quick glance at the water and then went to our first meal at Boteco Belmonte. We had a delicious lunch and sampled a lot of delicious food. 

We spent the afternoon at the beach. Zoë and Oliver were delighted with the waves and the water was quite warm! Chris practiced his "obrigado" as many of the vendors made a beeline right to him (and no one else) while we were there.  Our favorite moment of the day was a woman singing "sanduiches natural!" The kids enjoyed a coconut drink and then we headed to the grocery store to stock up on some breakfast items for the next few days.  We bought a ton of different fruits to try and then headed back to the AirBnB to order pizza in and play cards.

Day 2

The second day started with a trip to the Escadaria Selarón (the Selarón Steps) to see the beautiful tiled steps created by artist Jorge Selarón beginning in 1990.  Of the more than 2000 tiles on the steps, many of them were eventually donated by tourists and visitors.  The site is beautiful and such an amazing piece of art.  After climbing the steps, we also walked by the Arcos da Lapa Aquaduct but were extra wary of our phones at the time so didn't take a picture.

 

We Ubered to the Museu do Amanhã (Museum of Tomorrow), a super beautiful building dedicated to science, technology and a focus on the dangers of climate change, environmental degradation and social collapse.  Despite that sounding super depressing, it wasn't.  We learned a lot and spent a lot of time there (with a brief intermission for a lunch in the museum that was delicious and perked hangry Oliver right up).

On our way back to the AirBnB we stoped at the Confeitaria Colombo, a beautiful pastry cafe with fantastic desserts.  They took our pictures before we entered (very cruise-ship style) and then presented them upon leaving for us to purchase.  I was just going to purchase the picture of the five of us and Isa translated to the employee that I didn't love my children so I didn't want to buy the picture just of them.  He threw in the pics of the kids for free.  ;)

Day 3

Chris and I woke up early and went for a run on the road along Ipanema beach.  We did four miles on the closed road with THOUSANDS of other people.  It was sunny, hot, and it was great!

We spent the rest of the day on the beach and the kids only left the water to drink their drinks and eat snacks.  They loved looking for shells (collected BAGS of them that surprisingly made it home in one piece) and playing in the BIG waves.  

 In the evening we went and ate at what (I think) was everyone's favorite meal of the trip.  We went to Zazá Bistro Tropical a block away from our AirBnB.  EVERYONE's dinner was so delicious we had a hard time choosing which one was best.

We had some great cocktails, too!  Actually, even Zoë enjoyed half of her alcoholic cocktail she was served until the waiter realized that it didn't have the same garnishment of the typical non-virgin option.  He apologized profusely, whisked it away and brought her the proper drink (though she said the one with alcohol was better!).  Later, the bartender also came out to apologize and brought us a round of after dinner drinks as a gesture (no alcohol for the kids on theirs...for sure).

Day 4

The next morning we headed out to Parque Lage to eat at the cafe nice and early before it got too crowded.  The cafe is located in a mansion that is now a historical and cultural heritage site for the city of Rio and the park is a public park.  We ate breakfast, then enjoyed watching a few monkeys and their shenanigans afterwards for a bit.  There were some indigenous vendors outside of the mansion that we enjoyed shopping, also.  

The kids wanted more beach time, so after our yummy breakfast we headed back to play in the water and eat more snacks.  Our favorites from the beach were Biscoito Globo (a crunchy, ring shaped manioc flour snack) and the maté iced tea mixed with lemonade frosty beverage served from aluminum barrels. In fact, the tea we drank in most restaurants and Zoë made sure to get some to bring home.

In the evening, Isa taught us how to make Pahla Italiana, a related dessert to our beloved brigaderios (which, surprisingly...we didn't eat ONE of in Brazil!) that she taught us to make back in 2019. It was delicious and we'll definitely be adding it to our family recipe book!

Day 5

We woke up early to make our 8:00 tickets to Christ the Redeemer.  The monument is impressive and worth the trip.  Even by the time we got up the mountain at 8:30 however, it was very crowded.  It was slightly cloudy, but the clouds weren't low enough to impede the view of Rio far below.  Oliver was delighted to find monkeys at the little cafe we stopped at on the mountain again, and also to do some shopping on the way down.  By the time we left at 10:30 it was INCREDIBLY crowded and I was glad to get out of there.

We went directly to Sugarloaf Mountain.  To get to the top of the 1, 200 foot tall Sugarloaf, you have to first take a glass-walled cable car to the top of Morro da Urca and then take a second one to the top of Sugarloaf.  The views were fun because they were different than those of Corcovado.  We ate a delicious lunch at the cafe at the top, did a little shopping, and headed back down to the AirBnB to play cards on our last night in Rio.

Overall, we loved the beach in Rio and ate some really great food.  If we go back to Rio, it is nice to know that we crossed off so many of the typical tourist spots and could do more relaxation on the beach (since that was the kids' favorite activity).  We agree with Isa's opinion that many of the people we met seemed to act like they were doing us a favor when we asked for something (like in a restaurant, for example) and weren't as friendly as the people we would meet in Belo. We were really looking forward to heading to Belo Horizonte the next morning (bright and early)!