A recent trip to Rio de Janeiro had us staying at the Fasano Hotel at Ipanema Beach. A very strange hotel designed by Philippe Starck, many of the furnishings were rather strange and curvy. A chair in the common area of our hotel room floor called Big Mama had the shape of a curvaceous woman. Mirrors in the room looked Dali-esque - droopy and teary. Our room seemed very small and basic and for the grand price of US$370, which did not included internet nor breakfast, seemed rather lame. Plus they could not get their shit together and our actual check-in was 30 mins later than the stipulated check-in time. If you have not already realized, I was not a big fan of the hotel, thus no photos.
The first order of the day was to visit Christ the Redeemer, or Cristo Redentor. Lingon had been to Rio twice before and never visited, and that to me is a travesty. I believe there are two ways of getting there, though I'm not sure which is the preferred method. One is to find some transportation part way up Corcovado mountain and take a minivan up (my guidebook said R$25 but seems like prices have gone up since). The second way, which is the one we did, was to get to Corcovado station and take a tram up for R$62 in the high season. The tram leaves every 20-30 minutes according to the signs posted. You can get timed tram tickets in advance here. The ride up takes about 30 mins, and is rather slow and painful. When we reached the top tram station, we had to climb a bunch of stairs, and as we made the approach we saw the statue of Christ the Redeemer. Looming high in the sky, arms outstretched, what a spectacle! It is one of those things that one has to see in real life to really appreciate the sheer size and beauty. The 360 degree view of the city was amazing too.
We had our dinner at the hotel restaurant, Fasano Al Mare, which again to me for the high prices (about R$100+ per entree, I actually do not remember) was nothing too special. The food quality was good, but very normal. Again, no pictures.
The next day, Lingon went for meetings, and I set off for a walk to see Pão de Açúcar, or Sugarloaf Mountain, the other vantage point that one would visit when in Rio. Along the way, I passed Ipanema Beach and Copacabana Beach (including the famed Copacabana Hotel). Since it was a Monday, the beach was not as crowded as it had been the day before, but still had a substantial amount of people. I had expected the Copacabana Hotel to look old and run down, but when I caught sight of it for the first time, I was wowed. The exterior was stark white, sign of good up-keeping in a rather dirty city. The pool scene looked great. I would love to stay there if there is a next time.
After a long-ish walk, I finally reached the base of the cable car station of Sugarloaf Mountain. I think there are a couple of ways to get up. One is to rock climb. Forget about it, that was not for me. So I shelled out my R$62 and bought a cable car ticket. There are actually 2 cable lines. The one from the base gets you up to the Urca hill, and then u take a walk around and reach the second line, and then get up to Sugarloaf Mountain. Great views.
That night Lingon was tired, so we skipped dinner. I had wanted to go to the House of Feijoada for the national Brazilian dish of Feijoada, but I think secretly Edward did not want to eat this dish so he just slept through dinner instead. Free diet.
This ends our short trip to Rio.
The first order of the day was to visit Christ the Redeemer, or Cristo Redentor. Lingon had been to Rio twice before and never visited, and that to me is a travesty. I believe there are two ways of getting there, though I'm not sure which is the preferred method. One is to find some transportation part way up Corcovado mountain and take a minivan up (my guidebook said R$25 but seems like prices have gone up since). The second way, which is the one we did, was to get to Corcovado station and take a tram up for R$62 in the high season. The tram leaves every 20-30 minutes according to the signs posted. You can get timed tram tickets in advance here. The ride up takes about 30 mins, and is rather slow and painful. When we reached the top tram station, we had to climb a bunch of stairs, and as we made the approach we saw the statue of Christ the Redeemer. Looming high in the sky, arms outstretched, what a spectacle! It is one of those things that one has to see in real life to really appreciate the sheer size and beauty. The 360 degree view of the city was amazing too.
We had our dinner at the hotel restaurant, Fasano Al Mare, which again to me for the high prices (about R$100+ per entree, I actually do not remember) was nothing too special. The food quality was good, but very normal. Again, no pictures.
The next day, Lingon went for meetings, and I set off for a walk to see Pão de Açúcar, or Sugarloaf Mountain, the other vantage point that one would visit when in Rio. Along the way, I passed Ipanema Beach and Copacabana Beach (including the famed Copacabana Hotel). Since it was a Monday, the beach was not as crowded as it had been the day before, but still had a substantial amount of people. I had expected the Copacabana Hotel to look old and run down, but when I caught sight of it for the first time, I was wowed. The exterior was stark white, sign of good up-keeping in a rather dirty city. The pool scene looked great. I would love to stay there if there is a next time.
After a long-ish walk, I finally reached the base of the cable car station of Sugarloaf Mountain. I think there are a couple of ways to get up. One is to rock climb. Forget about it, that was not for me. So I shelled out my R$62 and bought a cable car ticket. There are actually 2 cable lines. The one from the base gets you up to the Urca hill, and then u take a walk around and reach the second line, and then get up to Sugarloaf Mountain. Great views.
That night Lingon was tired, so we skipped dinner. I had wanted to go to the House of Feijoada for the national Brazilian dish of Feijoada, but I think secretly Edward did not want to eat this dish so he just slept through dinner instead. Free diet.
This ends our short trip to Rio.
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