Exchange in Rio

I've had occasion this week to go to Rio for a work exchange back in September.  It's a great way to see how another post operates and to learn about their best practices and see what can be brought back to Recife.  It's also great to meet other officers that are stationed in Brazil.

And of course - it's also wonderful to get to be in Rio.

What a beautiful, wonderful city!

Since the exchange is just for one week, I want to see as much as I can, as well as get ideas of what to do when we come back as a family.

I got to stay in Ipanema which is a wonderful neighborhood between the beach of the same name, and the beautiful lake.  It's got some wonderful restaurants and sidewalk cafes.

The grocery store is just amazing - it even has a piano player for ambience!

The buildings are nice and charming - I even got to walk by the house that Tom Jobim once lived in!

The first afternoon, I checked out the Jardim Botanico - it was just beautiful!

And then I took the bus over to the Copacabana Beach.  I got an acai to enjoy on the beach.  The fruit is turned into a sort of sorbet and then has guarana syrup poured over it and comes with granola and bananas.  Pretty tasty.

I strolled the Copacabana beach  - it's just wonderful.    The undulating black and white tile is very Rio!

There are many kiosks along the beach that serve food and drinks.

And some have interesting names!

I checked out the famous arches of Lapa and the nearby Escadaria Selarón.  

The artist has been tiling these stairs since 1990 and they are just beautiful.  I love this type of public art - in many ways it reminds me of the Watts Towers.







And - speaking of art - got to visit a very cool and interesting jewelry - art store.  Not only do I love their jewelry, but they also have many other interesting pieces for the home.

I'm saving for this for my guest bath!