Taxi in Rio

Hi everyone!

Today's post will talk about taxi / cab in Rio.

Taxi may be a bit expensive but in many situations they are the best option for tourists in Rio.

Photo: What We Did in Rio

The standard taxis are yellow with a blue strip and a red plate, the regular rate, tariff 1 starts at R$ 4.70 - Monday - Saturday from 6 am to 9 pm and charges R$ 1.70 per kilometer.
Tariff 2 charges R$ 2.04 per kilometer  - Monday - Saturday from 9 pm to 6 am, and all day Sunday and holidays.

In my opinion these rates will change during the World Cup, but I will try to keep you updated.

One more thing, the prices I wrote above are not valid for airports, bus stations and hotels in Copacabana, Ipanema and São Conrado. Those places have special taxis from a cooperative that  usually charge 80% more. C'est la vie. Those taxis are from companies named Coopatur and Coopertramo.

On the Go:

If you are on the street and need a cab you call one, but the best option is to look for a stand and get one. This will be easy if you are in a mall, or in a location with many bars. So choose those ones. If you can't find one, remember to look for the ones that look like what I described above.

At the airport:

CNT

You will easily see a stand at the airport: Taxis Credenciados, you can ask the attendants to calculate the price for you, go outside, compare how much the drivers are charging and decide what is the best option for you.

Don't be scared if lots of guys approach you asking if you need a cab, don't rush, take your time and choose the best option. Of course there will be thousands of people at the airport during the World Cup, but there will be many volunteers as well, who speak many languages, that are there to help you. So, don't hesitate to ask.

Usually the taxi drivers are very familiar with the city, but it is always a good idea to have the address written down, specially because some street names are hard to pronounce.

Useful Apps and Websites:

Easy Taxi

• Easy Taxi - This app is very handy, you can choose your payment method, if you need a big trunk (port-mala grande). You will then receive information about the car such as model, and about the driver, name and phone number. You can also track the car. Cool, right?
• Tarifa de Taxi - This website calculates how much you are going to pay for your ride.
• Amarelinho Barra - This is a good option if you are at Barra da Tijuca or Recreio.

I hope this was an useful post for all the dear tourists who visit Rio.

I hope you enjoy your trip!

Tchau!

Rio de Janeiro: Places to Visit

Hello dear readers!

This week we are talking only about Rio de Janeiro, I have already written about the city, hospitality, restaurants, and today let's talk about places you must visit while in Rio.

I've pointed out few places on the map so let's start with them, but zooming in there is much more! 

 - Ipanema Beach and Leblon: Why? Because Ipanema has a cultural importance on the history of Rio. The famous song 'Girl from Ipanema' was written in a bar across the street from the beach, many other famous musicians started their career there playing samba. Also it is still the beaches where cool people go, also there is a nice bike-path from Leblon to Leme where you can bike and admire the landscape and the cariocas. Besides all that, the beach is beautiful, light sand and blue ocean. In the evening stop by to watch the sunset, cariocas even clap to show how much they appreciate nature.

   
- Copacabana Beach: There is a real beach life in Copacabana, people walk everyday at the famous black and white sidewalk, drink coconut water, natural juices, play beach volleyball, futevôlei, frescobol, beach soccer, it is fun for everybody, you also spot the famous Copacabana Palace Hotel and the fireworks at New Year's Eve.

- Cristo Redentor (Christ the Redeemer): Did you know you can go up to the Corcovado Mountain close to the statue? Yes, you can. The view from up there is breathtaking, it is one of the most beautiful scenario you will ever see in this planet. Before going up ask the tour guide if the visibility is clear (because they won't say if you don't ask). You can take a train that goes up thought the Tijuca National Park, the largest forest within a city in the world. Once you get there you can go up to the top by escalator or you can take the elevator. 

- Pão de Açúcar (Sugar Loaf): Another amazing place from where you can see the whole city of Rio de Janeiro. To go up there you take a cable car. A truly fun experience. If you are a little more adventurous ask your travel guide about hiking up the Sugar Loaf.

- Lapa: Have you read the post about appetizers? If you go to Lapa, you will listen to live samba music, and bossa nova enjoying those delicious appetizers, beer, and caipirinha. If you don't drink alcohol try the natural juices. You can take a cab and once you are there you can walk to the bars and restaurants.   

- Botanic Garden: It was created by the King of United Kingdom of Portugal, Brazil and Algarves, Dom João VI. It is the biggest Botanic Garden of the country. Usually it takes 1 hour to see everything, just grab a map at the entrance and enjoy it. You won't need a tour guide.

- Santa Teresa: This is a more cultural destination where you can visit museums, buy souvenirs, pieces of art, take many pictures, and go to restaurants. It is a very charming place to visit, the best way to get there is by cab.

- Art Museum (MAR): If you like architecture and arts you can't miss it. The new museum is very beautiful inside and has an astonishing architecture from outside. 


More links about Rio:
Hospitality
Restaurants
Other cool places to visit

Rio de Janeiro: Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner

Hello readers! Today's post is about food. This is a though post because I can't list all the good restaurants in Rio and because usually the food will be good everywhere haha so I will need your help. I will list a few and you will share your opinion too so we have more options. Deal or no deal? 

Breakfast - Many hotels, and hostels include breakfast but if you want to have breakfast somewhere else, or if your hotel don't serve breakfast you can have a delicious breakfast at a bakery. Click here to read the post about coffee.

CONFEITARIA COLOMBO - served on the second floor at Bar Jardim from 9 am to 11 am. On Sundays there's a buffet with fixed price of R$37.00 per person.
Website: Confeitaria Colombo
Location: Centro

BISTRÔ CASA DO PÃO - Sat, Sun, Holidays from 9 am to 1 pm

Website: Casa do Pão

Location: Rua General Garzon, 10 - Lagoa - Rio de Janeiro

LA BICYCLETTE - French Café, excellent coffee. I love the banana and oatmeal cake, and the whole wheat baguette. Detail: the check comes in a cute basket.
Website: La Bicyclette - Portuguese and French
Location: Jardim Botânico

CEREAL - open to public on Sundays from 9 am to 1 pm.
Website: Cereal
Location: Santa Teresa

CONTEMPORÂNEO HOSTEL - Tue - Fri from 7:30 am - 10:30 am / Sat and Sun from 7:30 - 1 pm
Website: Contemporaneo
Location: Botafogo

GRINGO CAFÉ - Open everyday from 8:30 am to 11 pm

Website: Gringo Café

Location: Rua Barão da Torre 240 - Ipanema

Lunch - In Brazil lunch is a bigger meal than dinner, so you will find nice buffets worth trying, restaurants por quilo, that means you pay for the weight of what you put on your plate.

VIENA - per kilo (self-service)

Website: Viena

Locations: Barra Shopping - Barra da Tijuca and many other locations, usually inside malls

RÁSCAL - per kilo (self-service) - Mediterranean cuisine

Website: Ráscal

Locations: Shopping Leblon, Shopping Rio Sul and Casa Shopping

PORCÃO: Steakhouse

Website: Porcão

Locations: Many locations, you can check them all on the website.

Dinner - You can always go out for dinner and later on enjoy the nightlife in Rio. There are many nice bars where you can try out greatest appetizers and beers. 

POMODORINO - Italian Cuisine, they prepare an artisan pasta and serve with meat, fish or seafood.

Website: Pomodorino

Location: Avenida Epitácio Pessoa, 1104 - Lagoa

FOGO DE CHÃO - Steakhouse

Website: Fogo de Chão

Location: Botafogo

FASANO AL MARE (HOTEL) - Seafood

Website: Fasano

Location: Av. Vieira Souto, 80 - Ipanema

PIZZARIA CARIOCA DA GEMA - Brazilian and Pizza - The Pizzaria Carioca da Gema is next to the bar that carries the same name. Ideal if you want to eat and then enjoy the nightlife having few beers with your friends or to meet new people - 18 or older. Remember to make reservation - (21) 2221-0043 / (21) 2508-6952 

Website: Carioca da Gema

Location: Lapa

Sunset by Rodrigo_Soldon via Flickr

Rio de Janeiro: Hospitality

This post will be dedicated to the hospitality in general, it's a post for you who want a nice, comfortable hotel, for you whose focus is the city, for the adventure travelers and those who want to save money. You should as well concern the location. Later on, maybe next year, I will write another post about hospitality because there are many hotels being built for the World Cup and because many people will host the travelers at their homes. But for those who like to plan the trip in advance this is a helpful post. 

By the way... while I'm writing this post I'm surprised to find out that many hotel already don't have vacancies for the World Cup. So hurry up! 

$$$$$ COPACABANA PALACE - Copacabana Beach 

Website: Copacabana

Breakfast not included

$$$$$ HOTEL SANTA TERESA - Santa Teresa

Website: Santa Teresa 

Breakfast not included

$$$$$ SOFITEL - Ipanema

Website: Sofitel

Breakfast not included

$$$$ WINDSOR ATLANTICA - Leme

Website: Windsor

Breakfast included

$$$ IPANEMA PLAZA - Ipanema
Website: Ipanema Plaza

Breakfast included

$$$ TROPICAL BARRA HOTEL - Barra da Tijuca

Website: Tropical

Breakfast included

$$ IBIS SANTOS DUMONT - Centro

Website: Ibis

Breakfast not included

$$ .OZTEL - Botafogo

Website: .Oztel

Breakfast included 

$$ CASA AMARELO - Santa Teresa
Website: Casa Amarelo
Breakfast included

$ ADVENTURE HOSTEL - Ipanema

Website: Adventure

Breakfast included

$ LEBLON SPOT DESIGN HOSTEL - Leblon

Website: Spot

Breakfast included

$ BOSSA IN RIO HOSTEL - Santa Teresa
Website: Bossa in Rio
Breakfast included

$ CONTEMPORÂNEO HOSTEL - Botafogo
Website: Contemporaneo
Breakfast included

*Dear readers, I couldn't list all the hotels located in Rio, so if you need any help please contact me and I will do my best to help you. Hope you have an amazing trip!

Maracanã Stadium: Rua Professor Eurico Rabelo - Rio de Janeiro, 20271-150, Brazil ‎

Rio de Janeiro: About the City

Hello everyone!

This week we will talk about this marvelous city called Rio de Janeiro. Let's learn about the city, the cariocas, the local culture, talk about hotels, restaurants and a lot more. Did you know that Rio awarded UNESCO World Heritage Status in 2012 because of its landscape? Well deserved! 

Rio de Janeiro is the capital of the state with the same name, located at southeast of Brazil the city is formed by rocky mountains, forests, and beautiful world famous beaches. It has over 6 million inhabitants, being the second largest city of the country. The residents of Rio are called cariocas, which are known for their lifestyle, for enjoying the beach like anyone else in the world, for their constant good mood and for the pride of their beautiful city. Among the notable cariocas who have made a difference in the world's history are: Ronaldo (football player), Tom Jobim (musician), Walter Salles (film director), Paulo Coelho (writer), Oscar Niemeyer (architect), Chico Buarque (singer, composer, songwriter), and Nelson Piquet (Formula one driver).

Rio used to be the capital of Brazil until 1960, and is the main destination for tourists, maybe that's why so many people still believe Rio is the capital. Besides the tourism, the industrial activities are also very important for the economy in Rio. The Campos Basin produces the most of the total petrol produced in the country. Important national companies such as Petrobras, Vale and the telecom company Embratel are located in Rio. The city has also many universities such as the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro (UFRJ), Getulio Vargas Foundation (FGV), Pontifical Catholic University of Rio de Janeiro (PUC - Rio), among others. 

In 2014, 32 nations will enter the final tournament with the 64 matches being played 12 different venues across this vast country. Rio will host 7 games including the finals, at Maracanã stadium, better known as Maraca. The stadium of Maracanã was built in 1950 for the FIFA World Cup Brazil and was the largest stadium in the world, it has received a crowd of up to 200,000. For the 2014 World Cup it had it's capacity reduced to less than 77, 000. In June, Maracanã will also host 3 games at the Confederations Cup. 

Watch the video made by FIFA to show what Rio has been making to host the Confererations and World Cups.

2014 FIFA World Cup Brazil Magazine - Episode 1

By the time the video was made Mano Menezes was the Brazil's national coach, but in November 2012 he was substituted by the 2002 World Cup winning coach Luiz Felipe Scolari, known as Felipão, right after assuming the national team he declared: "We have no choice but win this World Cup".

Come to visit us! We are waiting for you!

Beach Culture: Futevôlei

The story of futevôlei is quite interesting, it tells a lot about the Brazilian culture, specially the carioca culture. Carioca is how those born in Rio are called, they were the ones who invented this sport and are the ones who play the most. Futevôlei is present in carioca's daily routine, it has everything to do with their way of life.

In 1965 the police decided to forbid playing football at the beach in Copacabana, so Mr. Otávio de Moraes decided to play it at the volleyball court, with the net, which was allowed. 
Even though it was invented in Rio, cities like Santos, Guarujá, Florianópolis, Recife, Brasilia, and Goiania also enjoy practicing this original sport. Recently futevôlei spread among other countries, such as USA (Florida, California and Virginia), Paraguay, Australia and many countries in Europe.

flickr/portalpucrio

Usually futevôlei is played with two players on each side, but it can also be played with only one person on each side. Basically futevôlei is a beach volleyball played without using the hands, each team can touch the ball the maximum of three times and the minimum  of one, including when the ball touches the player by chance. Also one player cannot hold the other to reach the ball. The ball can be touched with any part of the body excluding hands, arms and forearm.

Well, of course watching is much more fun than reading, so I included here a video where you can watch people playing this beautiful sport in Rio.

Comparing the balls:

Beach soccer: 68 to 70 cm (same measurement as the regular field ball, but lighter).

Beach volleyball: 65 to 67 cm

Futevôlei: Size 5, is water proof and some brands have the FIFA Aproved quality mark.

Have you played or watched futevôlei before? Tell us what you think.

☼ Climate

The weather in Brazil is kinda tricky... Brazil is a large country so the temperature varies a lot from north to south. Check the weather before traveling and while you are here. In São Paulo, for example, the weather changes very fast, it can be super hot and super cold on the same day.

June and July are our months of winter... but of course I'm talking about a tropical winter! Not only the temperature matters, but also how humid and how dry some cities are. 

Be aware...

Manaus: June is a pretty hot month, around 32C / 90F and it rains almost every day. July is even hotter, doesn’t rain as often, but when it does, it’s a very strong storm that lasts only few minutes.

Cuiabá: The temperatures can vary between 32C / 90F and 16C / 61F. June and July are usually months with few chances of rain.

Pantanal MT
comoplanejarsuaviagem.com.br

Curitiba: Curitiba can be very cold between June and July, it can even drop below zero / 32F but usually it stays between 19C / 66F and 8C / 47F.

Porto Alegre: This city is down in the south of Brazil, the temperatures are very low during the winter, considering that Brazil is a tropical country, but there won’t be any snow unless you travel to high places. The temperatures usually stay between 19C / 66F and 10C / 50F, but there’s a possibility to be even colder, close to 5C / 41F.

Foto: Marcelo Curia

Brasília: This is very dry city. It is so dry that they had to make an artificial lake called Lago Paranoa to increase the air humidity. 24C / 75F  and 8C / 46F.

Rio de Janeiro: In Rio you don’t have to worry about weather. It can be super hot during the summer but in June and July you are good to go! Temperature stays around 24C / 75F, and there are low chances of rain.

São Paulo: I would say don’t trust the forecast for São Paulo! You never know... just be prepared. It may seem a beautiful day in the morning but suddenly the temperature drops. Yes, sorry but the opposite may also be true. Usually during the winter the temperature falls between 21C / 70F and 11C / 51F. Low chances of rain.

Centro Cultural Banco do Brasil - São Paulo
dasartes.com

Belo Horizonte: The chances of rain are very low and the temperatures vary between 25C / 77F and 13C / 55F. 

Salvador: In Bahia you gotta smile! The temperature is great! Between 26C / 79F and 21C / 70F, but there are chances of rain.

Recife: Winter? No, we don’t know what it means. Temperatures will stay between 28C / 83F and 21C / 70F.

Fortaleza: Soak up the sun! Looks like caribbean, but you are still in Brazil. The temperature will stay between 29C / 85F and 23C / 74F.

Natal: Breath! Natal has the purest air in the American Continent according to NASA. The temperature doesn’t change much during the year, it will stay between 28C / 83F and 21C / 70F all year round. Natal is a windy city and there are chances of rain.

Natal
viageaqui.abril.com.br

Churrascarias - Steakhouses

I bet many of you have heard of Brazilian Steakhouse and many of you have tried this delicious way of appreciating a good meat. The Brazilian barbecue, churrasco, is made with pieces of meat, chicken, pork sausage, lamb, and some other variations. 

http://garfoebombacha.blogspot.com.br

Churrascaria is the type of restaurant where the meat is fired roasted and served in slices.  Before starting you can serve yourself some salad and appetizers... then just wait for the fun to begin! 
In some restaurants the waiters, are dressed in a typical gaúcho outfit, they go from table to table offering a large variety of meat to each customer. In Brazil gaúcho is how we call those born in the state of Rio Grande do Sul, where this process of roasting the meat placed on a skewer over pits of open fire began. 
Once you sit by your table you will receive a disk which one side is green, the other side is red. While your disk is turned with the green side up the meat will keep coming... if you wish to stop, just turn the red side up.  
If you wish for a specific type of meat, you can ask the waiter, you don't need to wait until they bring it.
Here are the best steaks you will find:

• Picanha: a prime cut of the top sirloin
• Alcatra: top sirloin
• Filet Mignon: the most tender cut
• Costela: ribbs
• Linguiça: pork sausage
• Cordeiro: lamb
• Vitela: veal
• Frango: chicken
• Porco: pork

Where do I find the best churrascaria?

Rio de Janeiro

Porcão Rio's -  located in one of the most beautiful places in Rio, where you have a view to Guanabara Bay, Corcovado e Pão de Açúcar. There are other locations such as Ipanema and Barra.

São Paulo 

Fogo de Chão - there are 4 locations in São Paulo: Moema, Santo Amaro, Vila Olimpia and Center Norte Mall.

Curitiba 

Batel Grill - it was recently renewed and now fits 480 people, they serve meat from Brazil, Uruguay, Argentina and Australia. Its wine cellar has over 1800 bottles.

Porto Alegre

Galpão Crioulo Churrascaria - very traditional, you will watch a typical dance performance while enjoying an amazing meal in a nice ambient. 

Belo Horizonte

Fogo de Chão - amazing meat and great service.

Brasília

Fogo de Chão - capacity for 500 people, there you will be seated close to very important people such as diplomats, magistrates, and judges. 

Salvador

Fogo de Chão - besides being located in Bahia they don't serve sushi, or seafood. Their speciality is meat, good meat!

fogodechao.com.br

FYI: Ronaldinho Gaúcho received this nickname because he was born in Rio Grande do Sul. The capital Porto Alegre is one of the host cities for the 2014 World Cup.

Please share your opinion with us!

SONGS: Girl From Ipanema

Play the video and enjoy this post.

Garota de Ipanema was written in 1962 by Vinicius de Moraes with music by Tom Jobim. The song came to public in 1963 and soon became famous worldwide, it’s said that this song was recorded 170 times and it is one of the most recorded songs in the world.

By Layover Guide

http://goo.gl/nVvXs

Ipanema is a famous neighborhood located in Rio. 

Heloisa Pinheiro, a 19 year old girl would pass everyday in front of the Veloso Bar where Vinicius and Tom wrote the song, towards Ipanema Beach and also in her regular routine, giving them inspiration for this beautiful song. Nowadays that very bar is called Garota de Ipanema located at Rua Vinicius de Moraes, 49 in Ipanema. 

In 2004 the Library of Congress selected Girl from Ipanema as one of the 50 songs to join the list of National Recording Preservation Board as a song of cultural and historical importance for the United States of America.