Rio de Janeiro Exploration- Beaches, Municipal Cathedral, Santa Teresa, Forts, and more

June 2nd morning we had a later start, a lazy breakfast, and took a walk along Ipanema beach to Aporador Rock, which is famous for its sunset view. It was a beautiful and sunny day and it had a great view of Ipanema and Copacabana beach down each side. We next took the Metro to Carioca and wandered to the Municipal Cathedral, which is shaped like a Mayan temple. The inside had beautiful stained glass along the four sloping walls, and the center podium had seating around three directions. Next, we walked past the aqueduct to the Lavradio Fair in Santa Teresa. The fair only happens the first Saturday of every month and draws in over 300 vendors. On a side street we saw a live Capoeira performance with music and a crowd gathered to watch the fluid movements of the dance fight.

On our way up the Seleran Stairs we bumped into some Fulbrighters from Gioana in town for the Rio de Janeiro marathon. The stairs were more crowded than I expected, but the tile work was colorful and beautiful. Evidently, the tiles are swapped out with next artwork every so often. Houses lined the infamous step staircase with residents trying to sell pictures imprinted on al materials. We continued on through the hilly Santa Teresa neighborhoods to the Parque das Ruinas. The old refurbished building was a lot more impressive than I expected, and the top of the third floor provided an amazing 360 degree panoramic view.

By one in the evening we headed back towards Copacabana beach, hoping to get in some sunny beach time, but the sun was setting in two-three hours. The water this day was even colder than the first, and I honestly enjoyed Ipanema Beach better than Copacabana- but both were breathtaking with the meeting of city, ocean, and mountains. We relaxed on the beach for an hour and then decided to walk to the end of the beach to the Duque das Caixas (a fort on the hillside). The fort closed at 4:30, and we went up at 4, so we only had a bit of time to admire the view looking down on the city, the Christ Redeemer in the distance, and Pao de Acucar. We walked back to the metro along Copacabana beach. The cobble stone roads, crashing waves, and hazy mountains around sunset were amazing.

That night for dinner, Jake picked a Portuguese restaurant. It looked like a market store out front, but then as you walked in it had bottles of wine lining the walls and about 12 tables arranged. We had bacalao fish, and a famous tradition sandwich with calabresa, filet mignon, eggs, and poutine fries. We looked around markets for cheap wine and chocolate, and Jake snuck my wine into the hostel for me.

To see my adventures, click here to watch this video:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DwpVy5INiDE&feature=youtu.be

 

Municipal Cathedral

Aqueduct 

Municipal Cathedral

Santa Teresa market

Selaran Stairs 

Selaran Stairs 

Selaran Stairs 

Parque das Ruinas

Duque das Caixas

Duque das Caixas

Copacabana Beach

Copacabana Beach

Sao Paulo Easter Photos

Just a few of my favorite memories in picture form from Sao Paulo-

Mercado Municipal 

Mercado Municipal 

Liberdade 

Cathedral de Se 

Rua 25 de Marco 

Avenida Paulista 

Vila Madalena 

Vila Madalena 

Sunset Park 

Sao Paulo Adventures on Easter Weekend

Delayed, but better than never! Here is a snippet of some of my best memories from my adventure trekking through Sao Paulo on Easter weekend. Some of the locations shown include-


The Municipal Market

Banco do Brasil

Liberdade

The Sao Paulo Cathedral

Braz Quintal- rated as one of the top ten pizzerias in the world

Vila Mariana

Avenida Paulista

Vila Madalena

Beco de Batman

Sunset Park


It was a short weekend, with two over night buses, but it was worth the trip to reunite with my friends placed in Sao Carlos. I got to know the Sao Paulo metro really well, and felt confident navigating the city. We ran into a lot of small fairs on the roadside, and Avenida Paulista was closed to all traffic on Sundays to allow for a band and fair to overtake the road.

Click here to watch my video from the weekend trip:

https://youtu.be/Cf-L21TCLew

Cityscape Views

It took me two months to finally make it up to the rooftop of my apartment, and now I try to go every chance that I can. I'm beyond in love with the views of this city. Londrina sunsets and sunrises are some of the most beautiful I've ever been able to admire. 

Beautiful Londrina Views

Evening tempestade in Londrina