Rio de Janeiro, the home of the "real" Samba, a mixture of Spanish and African music. Remember "Bossa Nova" or the "Girl From Impanema" from the fifties? We saw the bar-restaurant where it was composed.
Our hotel, the JW Marriott, is located on Copacabana, the most popular in Rio. It is said that Copacabana has the most densely populated land area in the world of some 25,000 people per sq km. It didn't seem that way when we were there, but we did notice some good restaurants in the area.
Bill, my roommate, and I went to Tanaka San restaurant for lunch about two blocks from our hotel, and had a huge boat full of sushi with two beers that set us back about US$30, but you should see the food we consumed!
As most people know, Rio is known for Cristo Redeemer and Sugar Loaf. We went to the top of both, and also enjoyed a half day cruise around Inpanema, Sugar Loaf, and the bridge.
Rio was somewhat anti-climatical after Igacu Falls, but I'm glad I was able to visit Rio at least once to walk the streets, see the people, and enjoy their food. It rained the last two days we were in Rio, but it was after our sightseeing, so it didn't matter much.
The one with the window is our hotel.
I paid US$1 to take this picture.
Our lunch at Tanaka San.
Cristo Redeemer.
View from Corcovado mountain (location of Cristo Redeemer) towards Sugar Loaf on the left side.
