Quinta da Boa Vista

I confess, to my shame, that I have only now discovered this great place. Well, I had been to the zoo already but not really to the park or the museum.

The museum (Museu Nacional) is now a museum of natural history, though it used to be the palace of the Portuguese king Dom Joao VI and the home of our emperor's.

Unfortunately none of the rooms is furnished to show the splendor of the court (to see that you would have to go to Petropolis), On the right is the ceiling of the throne room.


There are plenty of dinosaurs, meteorites and indian scenes to enjoy.

The surrounding park is beautiful as well. However, the sign below tells you specifically that it is forbidden to wash your clothes in the lake.

chorinho na praça

Should you happen to go up to the Corcovado by the little train which leaves from Cosme Velho (it is suggested that you get tickets in advance, especially in the summer, as the lines can be quite long) and it is a Saturday, you might consider going down the Avenida Laranjeiras a bit more and turn into Rua General Glicério. Soon you will get to the open market (feira) and in the square there will be music, chorinho to be precise, a type of Brazilian popular music. Chorinho means ´little lament´ but in fact the music is quite happy.

This neighborhood is off the usual tourist track and quite charming. Make sure to try a pastel, a deep-fried pastry filled with usually cheese or meat or hearts of palm

The market and entertainment happens every Saturday until about 2pm

Need to add pics

La Gondola

A long-time favorite restaurant, I finally decided to add it to the blog as it really is an experience and delight.

 Right by the Lagoa in the Parque dos Patins, right next to the helipad, if offers great italian food, great Brazilian music (singer Jorge Guedes plays Wednesdays, Fridays and Saturdays) and a great view over the Lagoa.

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The restaurant continues to be one of our favorites, the food is consistently good, and so is the music, now with Daniel Lemos

Next to the restaurant is a lawn that stretches sort of along the pathways.

It is fascinating to observe the road system that the ants have established from and to their home and how hardworking they are. They carry all kinds of material on their backs, often many times bigger than they are themselves.

Go have a look and admire

Arpoador, the happening

So, Monday I got back into town. Tuesday I went to Arpoador and believe me, the place is hopping.

Not only were they filming a commercial for TIM with the Blue Man Group,  but a couple was taking their wedding pictures and a model was running thru the blue waters, a flowing bright green dress, long blond hair. Too bad I only thought of taking a picture of her toooo late. But here is the dress drying the sun, while she went off with a yellow on.

What else can one ask for on a beautiful afternoon

Nova Capela

Nova Capela is a traditional hang-out for artists and bohemians
It is in operation since 1923 though it used to be at the Largo da Lapa.
Today is is at the center of a very revitalized Lapa, nightspot par excellence.
The specialty of the house is roasted kid with broccoli rice, truly delicious, melts in your mouth.
Av. Mem de Sá, 96 2232-1907

You can find many examples of old Portuguese architcture in Lapa, beautiful old houses fortunately now being restored to accommodate, probably, yet another hot night spot. Right next to A Nova Capela there are these two:

Mirante da Paz

Well, who would have guessed that a great lookout tower would be constructed right in Ipanema.
Of course, I am a bit late with this information, after all, it was inaugurated in July of 2010, but I am sure that a lot of you don´t know anything about it yet.

The tower serves not only as a lookout (more about the views later) but also as an entrance to the subway (Estação General Osório), and as an access to the Comunidade do Pavão-Pavãozinho/Cantagalo, a pacified community. The whole is called Complexo Rubem Braga and is situated at the corner of Rua Barão da Torre and Rua Teixeira de Melo.

Taking the elevator to the top of the first tower you will find the Mirante da Paz, you go up some steps and will see a lovely view over the islands in front of Ipanema (Ilhas Cagarras), the Lagoa on the other side and a close view of the favela. There are also some nice paintings

And, if you are into a game called geocaching, here you will find something.

Mercado CADEG

This is just as much fun as it was when I first posted it, and the food at BARSA is just as delicious.
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The Mercado CADEG is the big distribution center for vegetables and flowers for the state of Rio. Early in the morning, around 2 am, trucks start arriving filled to the top with produce and flowers in a riot of color and confusion. The picture on the top is how the flowers are sold in the feira, the local markets, at at least, three times the price as in CADEG.



If you actually go at that ungodly hour make sure to be careful, these people are working and they are rushed. The market is open until 5pm so I would suggest a later visit.
However, then most of the flower and produce stalls will be already closed.

Of course there are not only produce and flowers, the huge indoor market has little shops selling anything imaginable, fish, meat, clothes, paperware etc. There are also a few restaurants, we only ate at one: BARSA. We really don't eat very much but what we had was delicious: one of their specialties - Bruschetta was the best I have ever had.

Rua Capitão Felix, 110, Benfica.