Toca do Vinicius

The best place for purchasing Brazilian music is Toca do Vinicius on the street of the same name, rua Vinicius de Moraes. The street runs from Ipanema Beach to the lagoon in the middle of the southern part of town (zona sul).
Vinicius de Moraes was a composer and is best known for "Garota de Ipanema" (the Girl from Ipanema). In addition to being composer, he was also singer, diplomat, poet and playwright. You can find a lot more about him elsewhere.
But visit the Toca do Vinicius. The owner is very helpful. He also often produces mini-concerts in front of the store, people bring chairs and sit or stand on the sidewalk. As you can see in the picture, in 2009 we all celebrated the 100 years of Carmen Miranda.

Teatro João Caetano

The oldest theatre of Rio was inaugurated on the 12th of October, 1813, by D. João VI, prince-regent, son of the queen of Portugal, D. Maria I.
The front is covered in beautiful white marble.

Some very well known actors and actresses have played on the stage, including Eleonora Duse e Sarah Bernhard.
Even today, the productions are of the highest quality. Well worth a visit.

Praça Tiradentes ,s/nº
Centro
2332-9257

Mosteiro de São Bento

The monastery is a beautiful place of peace and quiet. Building of the church started in 1633 on land given in 1590 to Benedictine monks at the request of local inhabitants. In the historic part of town, it is one of the main monuments of the colonial period.
Its main attraction for us regular people is the Sunday mass with Gregorian Chants. The mass is very well attended by locals and tourists, so it is well worth getting there at least half an hour early.


The image (taken from Wikipedia) is part of a painting by Jules de Sinety.

Igreja da Candelária

An example of baroque colonial architecture the church was built from 1775 to about 1877. As all important structures of the time it faces the bay of Guanabara, as that was the main entry into the city. Being in one of the busiest areas of the city these days it faces constantly a lot of traffic flowing from all parts of the city into the center.
It is still popular however for high society and celebrity weddings

Open 8a-4p M-F, 8a-noon Sa-Su

Praça Pio X
Rio de Janeiro, RJ 20040 Brazil

21 2233 2324

Caldinho de feijão

Isn't he the cutest???

This nice gentleman works in a kiosk on Ipanema Beach, almost at the corner of ...... During the winter months, July thru September, he will serve you a cup of caldinho de feijão, a delicious black bean soup, to warm you up as you stroll along the wide sidewalk watching the people still enjoying the beach in the evenings.

Try it, you'll like it

Coconut water

A very popular and very refreshing drink is the water from a fresh coconut. You will find they are sold all over town, the picture shows a kiosk along the beach. As you can see you could also have a glass of rum or whisky but the coconut water is very nice.

Brazilians also believe that it is a cure for all things, from a cold to a toothache.

Try it, you'll like it.

Bijou

When in Rio you will find a lot of vendors wanting to sell you all kinds of stuff, each time the car stops at a red light someone will offer you something.
My favorite is a sort of very light cookie, called bijou.
Try it you'll like it, and it only costs R$2 for one package, or R$5 for three packages.

Try it, you'll like it.