Last Day at Ipanema

Of course, any souvenir shopping must include a paseio (stroll) along the boardwalk of Rio's beaches to check out the local vendors' wares.

This was the view at the beach that day - if you look at the far left of the picture, you can see a couple of people para sailing!

Suco de Açai

Our last day in Rio, Megan and I bee-lined for a juice bar during our shopping adventure to try the acclaimed açai berry, which is originally indigenous to the Amazon interior of Brazil. Megan and I both ordered a suco de açai (açai juice), and the waiter you see in the pictures transmitted our order to the kitchen in a sing-song tone. Quite an interesting experience, I must admit!

Maracatu Brasil

For our last day in Rio de Janeiro, Monday, June 15th, Megan and I decided that some good old fashioned retail therapy was in line. Because we had been so busy with the conference, we hadn't had a chance yet to buy souvenirs.

Everywhere I go, I always try to bring Brian back some sort of instrument. In Rio de Janeiro, Maracatu Brasil is a world-renowned store specializing in percussion instruments in particular - it seemed like a mecca for a gift for Brian!

Suco de Abacaxi com Hortelã

Again, we're back to talking about food. One of my favorite things in Brazil was the abundance of juice bars and the variety of fruit juices that you could order. Per Clarice's recommendation, I tried the suco de abacaxi com hortelã (pineapple juice with mint), which was an instant success.

After our long day of visiting the Cristo Redentor statue and Pão de Açucar, we stopped off at a sandwich bar for a quick bite to eat. To accompany my suco de abacaxi com hortelã, I had a chicken, tomato, and cheese sandwich seasoned with oregano. I have to say, by the time we found dinner that night, I was starving, so everything really hit the spot!

Pão de Açucar

Once we took the cable car up to Morro da Urca, we took another one from there to Pão de Açucar (Sugarloaf Mountain), another one of Rio's primary icons.

From the top of Pão de Açucar, you can see spectacular views of Rio's gorgeous shoreline and the green peaks throughout the city.

We began the ascent in the later portion of the afternoon so that we would catch the sunset before we had to begin the descent.

Graffiti - Rio de Janeiro

Because Brian is always scouting out good graffiti when we travel together, I suppose he has rubbed off on me. While I was in Brazil, I couldn't help but pay attention to the graffiti scattered throughout the city.

Crab-stuffed Scallop Shell

Again, we are returning to the same theme - food! At lunch after visiting the Cristo Redentor, my first course was a crab-stuffed scallop shell.

I apologize for not taking a picture of the main course itself. I ended up meeting someone with similar research interests, so we spent lunch talking more than we were paying attention to what we were actually eating!

A Praia

One of the most captivating aspects of Rio de Janeiro is the juxtaposition of rich and poor within the city.

On the one hand, there are numerous favelas in which people live in condemned building in impoverished conditions. On the other hand, there are some of the most beautiful beaches in the world that attract the world's affluent population.

Directly after we drove by the favela, Rocinha, we hit a stretch of highway that ran along the city's beaches on the way to Leblon.

Rocinha

After we left the Cristo Redentor, we took a bus across town to go to lunch. Along the way, we passed the favela, or squatter town, Rocinha.

For me, it was particularly interesting to get to see Rocinha because during the school year at KU, I work with KU2Bros and BRASA, two student organizations, to raise money to send to the non-profit organization Dois Irmãos which provides children that live in favelas with educational opportunities.

Cristo Redentor

The Cristo Redentor Statue is one of the most famous landmarks along Rio de Janeiro's skyline.

The 38-meter tall statue lies at the top of Concorvado from where all 1145 tons of the Christ statue gazes out over the city, specifically directing its focus at the Pão de Açucar (Sugarloaf Mountain).

Its left arm points to the Zona Norte of the City and the Maracanã football stadium while beneath Christ's right arm is the Lagoa Rodrigo de Freitas, Hipódramo de Gávea, Jardim Botânico, and the neighborhoods of Ipanema and Leblon.