Sunday 11.12.2016: Rio de Janeiro - Praça de Mauá: 35ºC very hot

We took an Uber taxi and went to Praça de Mauá. There was a gastronomical festival at the theatre on the square and we enjoyed watching the little monkeys "Mico" in the trees behind the stalls. Visit of the Museu de Arte which is more like a history museum with art. Feijoada at Maravilha do Porto (a kilo). Visit of the Mosteiro de São Bento, back with Uber. In the evening Dinner at the Churrascaria Giuseppe Grill Leblon. Our Hotel Palladium Palace is located on Rua General Artigas 200, and we can see the Jewish Talmud Orthodox school from behind. The boys are playing football all dressed up in their black suit and they just took off their jacket.

 

Monday 12.12.2016: Rio de Janeiro: Corcovado, Jardim Botânico: 33ºC hot terribly hot and damp

Corcovado: with Uber to the Rua Cosme Velho, 513. We had already bought the tickets for the train (R$ 61 pax) online (actually for the next day, but they let us go up at 10:40). Very crowded with people from cruise ships. We had plates done there for our parents with our picture. Then we went to the Jardim Botânico (R$ 10 pax) but before entering the park we had a light late lunch at the La Bicyclette (Rua Jardim Botânico 1008). Visit of the Botanical Garden where we viewed monkeys (www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZkD1aMdjbXU) "Macaco Prego" (Cebus apella nigritus).  Back to the hotel with Uber. Dinner at Pizzeria Guanabara.

 

Tuesday 13.12.2016: 28ºC, warm and damp

Walk to Shopping Lebon where -this is a miracle- I got my husband to buy some new clothes. Then we went to our Leblon beach, had a caipirinha and a côco gelado. We walked 45 minutes along the beach front to the Ipanema to Casa da Feijoada, Rua Prudente de Morais 10B (good but expensive -the feijoada for 1 person costs R$ 92 + 10% service). We bought a suitcase to be able to pack everything we bought. Back with Uber.

 

Wednesday 14.12.2016: Rio de Janeiro - Flight GIG-LIS: sunny and hot 35ºC

Visit of the Museu do Amanhã (20R$ pax,). We took the Metrôrio (R$ 3,80 pax) and tried to take the new tram VLT that goes to the museum, but it was impossible to buy a ticket -there was a terrible long queue at the ticket machine in Cinelândia. So we proceeded by foot with two stop where Julia bought some nice dresses for the next summer ;). The Museum of Tomorrow (Portuguese: Museu do Amanhã) is a science mixed with art museum. It was designed by Spanish neofuturistic architect Santiago Calatrava, and built next to the waterfront at Pier Mauá. The museum mixes science with an innovative design to focus on sustainable cities. Funded by the Rio city government with support from sponsors, the building attempts to set new standards of sustainability in the municipality. Compared with conventional buildings, designers say it uses 40% less energy (including the 9% of its power it derives from the sun), and the cooling system taps deep water from nearby Guanabara Bay. The structure looks set to be one of Rio’s most famous tourist sights. Its solar spines and fan-like skylight have been designed so that the building can adapt to changing environmental conditions (Wikipedia)

Back to the hotel with Uber and due to heavy traffic we were a bit late for our late check-out which was until 3 pm. We managed to get our of the room, even after showering, at 15:30. We went for lunch to Prima, an Italian restaurant where we only had antipasti (R$101). Back at the hotel, we took Uber but the driver was not very acquainted with the traffic in Rio, so it took us almost 2 hours to arrive at the Galeão Airport. We went to the Star Alliance Lounge, had caipirinha and some food before boarding our flight TP2542 at 20:00. We have been lucky to be upgraded to business class with our Victoria miles. But it has not the service offered by Lufthansa. 9h 30 flight time.

 

Thursday 15.12.2016: Lisbon - Faro: 9ºC cold, cloudy

Arrival in Lisbon at 8:00 am. We got our car back from ParkVia (EUR 122 for the 4 weeks incl. car cleaning). Drive 2,5 hours home where we arrived at 11:50.

 

R$ 10 = EUR 2,90 on 14-12-2016

 

On the Leblon-Ipanema sea-front promenade