One of my favorite days was exploring the Santa Teresa and Lapa neighborhoods located north of where we were staying at Ipanema Beach. It was about a 20 minute taxi ride but definitely worth the fare! First we went to the Lapa stairs, which were a unique wonderful piece of art.
Next we attended a concert surrounded by food and beverage carts. The concert was was in support of less energy and water use, so all electricity was turned off for an hour. We got great hotdogs, tall cans, and caipirinhas! One of my favorite things was all the topping to put on your hot dog. First they are served in bags and you can put everything from peas and corn to tiny hardboiled quail eggs on them. A famous samba band that plays in Carnival played and it was really fun dancing around with everyone.
Ipanema Beach was also a beautiful there were small "watering holes" located along the beach, along with various "work-out stations", and a run/biking located adjacent to the wide side walk. On Sundays they close down one of the sides of the street so that that masses of people can walk freely. There are bands, food carts, and a lot of people having a great time. We got some beautiful sunset pictures.
The last few days of our trip we went to Caioba which is an hour away from Curitiba, where our friend Suellen is from. The beach reminded of what Mexico in the 70's would have looked like. It was completely different from Rio and was deserted because of the time of year (mid-fall). The town was made up of old hotels and a few small restaurants and the water was really warm. I've come to the conclusion that an dip in the ocean is the perfect hangover cure :)
