We slept for nine hours after yesterday’s full day and evening of adventures.

My “girl from Ipanema” and I sat at a shady table and sipped cool coconut water from chilled coconuts as we enjoyed some world-class people-watching.

Hungry, we decided to try a restaurant Carol had read about, Gula Gula, but they were quite full. So, we walked a bit until we found a very inviting outdoor table at Ipanema Sushi where we ordered a sushi platter with a decidedly Brazilian twist.

We wandered back to the hotel at 2 pm to rest, freshen up and called Carol’s parents to wish them "Boa Tarde” from Brazil.

Around 4 pm we wandered south, back to Ipanema beach. The main avenues have been closed to mechanized vehicles and thousands of people are out skateboarding, strolling, walking their dogs, holding hands, and simply enjoying a cool, breezy, sunny Sunday afternoon.

At sunset we sat at an outdoor stand along the beach and enjoyed the local drink called caipirinha which will make you cross-eyed in no time. In the words of Patricia, “one will make you feel good, two are like Prozac, and three are like Viagra.”

At 7 pm we sat outside at the hotel bar and enjoyed fried calamari and a couple more caipirinhas and world-class people-watching until we could no longer keep our eyes open and ended up sound asleep by 9 pm.

Next Day