Brazil, Rio de Julia

Last December (2013), my family and I decided to experience the country of soccer, Brazil. It was a good thing we went before the chaos of FIFA World Cup.

Our first stop was "Rio de Janeiro"! In English it means, "River of January".

We stayed at the Sofitel Hotel Copacabana. As soon as we arrived, we were welcomed with professional service, and was brought champagne and macaroons. After the incredibly long journey from the Philippines to Brazil, a glass of champagne was much needed. The Hotel had a spectacular view from the rooftop bar overlooking the sea. I enjoyed sitting there during mornings, and late afternoons to watch the sunset. 

I loved walking down to the beach in Copacabana, renting a paddle board and just laying on it while it floats and sways in the water. Its a great way to keep cool and tan. While using any types of services such as paddle boards, a useful phrase is, "quanto custa?", meaning "how much?" I got to practice my Português a lot and had so much fun because the language is so beautiful.

I think I spent most of my time in Rio on the beach. I'm an ocean person! Plus, it is a different ambiance from the Philippines. No one cares and no one stares (at least not as much). 

Of course, since there are more women in my family than men, we went to the mall in Ipanema and shopped for clothes. We also shopped for gifts since Christmas was a couple days away. I posted a short video on Instagram of the gorgeous long skirt I got from that mall, just click "here" to see. 

We took a drive at night in the city to search for a good place to eat. As we drove by, I wondered if most Brazilian men speak to each other on the street like this, which made me laugh. 

We found an intriguing restaurant called "Porcão", a Churrascaria (Portuguese Barbecue). The waiters come by your table holding large skewers of grilled meat. They keep coming back until you tell them to stop.

The food was so delicious and filling I had to tell the waiters to stop coming back, "estou muito cheio", I said, "I'm very full", and they laughed, either I said it wrong or my American accent was awkward in Português. Either way, I enjoyed the food, the service, the ambiance and the experience! 

We dedicated the next day to touring the city and acting like the crazy tourists we are, even renting a tour guide and a bus.
The first stop was Estádio do Maracanã. We got to see the stadium that is currently holding some of the FIFA World Cup games. I would not want to be stuck in the kind of crowd that is hovering around that stadium now, including the protests. The government in Brazil really shouldn't have used all that money on reconstructing and building stadiums. They would have done a lot more for their country by investing that money towards hospitals and education.

A festival that would interest me in returning, is the Rio Carnaval. A famous festival that is considered to be one of the largest in the world, where about 2 million people gather to parade through these streets. Floats, samba, music and costumes, sounds like something I need to cross out of my to do list. The next Carnaval will be held in February 13 to February 18, 2015, hopefully I can go!

Metropolitan Cathedral of Saint Sebastian. It looked like a very futuristic church. My family is religious and wanted to see a church during our time in Rio but I don't know why we chose the most touristy one. I would have preferred a more historic church but I liked the design of the walls inside. There were four lines of coloured glass pained windows all meeting in the centre of the roof, allowing the lighting to change in the room according to the sun. 

Our next destination had a name that made me hungry, "Pão de Açúcar", in english "Sugar Loaf" Mountain. This was located at the mouth of Guanabara Bay. Its funny because this peak does look like a sugarloaf, sweet.

To get to the top of Pão de Açúcar, you must first take two cable cars. There is another part of the mountain you stop by first before reaching the top.

While we were midway, we stopped at a small cafe and got a very local dish that is considered to be like ice cream, Açaí com granola. It is a delicious tropical fruit that is sweet and fulfilling, almost like a whole meal.

Before reaching the top, we did what all families do, take photos of the scenery with us in it. 

 Then, we reached the top. The view was spectacular, we could even see Copacabana beach where we were staying. It was scary having my little brother with us because I felt like I had to have four eyes on him or else he would try to climb through any barrier near the cliff. There were some objects there that dorky families could take photos and embarrass themselves in too.

The highlight of Rio and what is always best for last, was the Cristo Redentor. It was windy and cooler up there. The ambiance felt different, even made you feel a little spiritual. You have to take car to a bus station where you buy tickets to go see the statue. Then the bus takes you up the mountain to a place that everyone lines up to take an elevator. Then, you use an escalator and more stairs before you reach the Cristo Redentor. We went late so that people were already leaving because usually it is really crowded.

Of course, you can't always do the boring standing by the monument photo. Be spontaneous, innovative, creative, or just plain stupid because who cares?

My trip to Rio was unforgettable, I had a great experience getting to know one of the most lively cities of Brazil. There was one bad day for me though, Christmas Day. I woke up at 3am throwing up. I thought it was nothing so I went back to sleep. When everyone woke up to go to breakfast, I was feeling a little nauseous but didn't think anything of it, so I went to the beach. I started tanning and suddenly, like the sun became a thousand pounds heavy, it weighed down on me as I was laying down and I couldn't move until I turned my head towards the sand and threw up more. My family came over worried, shocked that I was as white as a ghost. I tried to stand up and I fell. A Brazilian man was nice enough to run over and check on me, as he realised what was happening he picked me up like a princess and ran across the street to bring me to my hotel. There, I thanked him, "Obrigada" and he handed me over to one of the hotel staff. It was funny, I felt like I was a parcel he delivered. I was put in my room and left with lots of liquids bought by my two siblings studying to be Doctors, lucky me! Then it dawned on me, I was stuck there on Christmas during a beautiful day in Brazil. Merry Christmas Julia. I tried to not let it get me down and just remembered how much fun I had and how much more fun I was going to have when my sickness was over. I don't blame the food in Brazil for the food poisoning because it is normal when you travel and your body is not used to the food customs.

I love Brazil and can't wait for my next visit!

This is not the last post I will have about Brazil. After Rio, I went to Foz do Iguaçu!

To see more photos, check out my Instagram, "Juliaquis"!