Rio Day 3: The Girl from Ipanema

"Tall and tanned and young and lovely..."

Sunday morning Laura and I woke up around 9:30 after going out to dinner and hanging out with all the Deloitte interns stationed in Rio for July. It was great to get to know them and talk about the similar experiences we've had getting ready and coming to Brazil. Laura and I made it down to breakfast before it closed at 10 while the boys peacefully slumbered after going out the previous night. After breakfast the two of us took a small walk in one of the parks located near our hotel and then went back in order to get ready for the beach day we had planned. The boys were going to go hanggliding instead.

Laura and I were both really interested in doing some shopping so it might have been best that the boys weren't with us. We hoped to find a "feira livre" or open market to go to in order to buy souvenirs and handicrafts but when we went to the front desk the women was less than helpful and informed us that there were none of those around on a Sunday. Lucky for us, I never leave home without my trusty guidebook and Fodor's helped me locate the perfect market in Ipanema. Laura and I took a risk (I never trust the guide book entirely) and told a taxi cab driver where we wanted to go and sure enough we pulled up to a giant market called the Feira Hippie.

Laura and I spent quite a bit of time shopping and had the boys been with us I have no doubt they would have mutinied before that, and then wanted to head to the beach. Our plan was to find a food stand on the beach and eat there but it seemed the stands were only selling drinks and snacks so we headed to a grcoery store and bought some sandwiches and drinks to eat on the beach. I love a picnic so you can imagine picnicking on Ipanema was unbelievable.

For the rest of the day Laura and I took turns going in the water (someone had to watch the bags and defend against thiefs), reading, relaxing from our packed day yesterday, and catching some Brazilian rays. I even bought a coconut and tried coconut water for only R$3 ($2).

After a day at the beach we caught a cab home that was playing the soccer game on the radio (the speed those broadcasters talk is unreal) and met Danny at the hotel room where he was packing in anticipation of his flight back to Curitiba. Our flight wasn't until later but after he was done we headed out to dinner with him where we talked about the last two days and even did our "peaks and pits," a throwback to my days in Ireland and Europe.

All in all, it was a perfect weekend that I wouldn't have changed anything about. Beautiful city, beautiful nature, great friends- who could ask for more?