Slept well but woke early. Grabbed a delicious breakfast at the dining room at Hotel Florenca. We have been very happy with his hotel; the staff, especially Vanessa (the lovely young concierge) have gone beyond the call of duty and have been very helpful.

Our TAM airlines flight took off thirty minutes late but the flight was smooth. We landed at Rio de Janeiro’s Galileo Airport an hour and a half later, collected our bags (still wrapped) and caught an expertly-driven taxi through horrific traffic to Ipanema and the Mar Ipanema hotel. Checked in, got to our 7 th floor very comfortable room and settled in.

At 2:30 we walked two blocks to Nik Sushi where we enjoyed a delicious all-you-can-eat sushi buffet lunch.

The day has been rainy, so after lunch we window-shopped around Ipanema under the shelter of our umbrellas.

The sun peeked out around 4 pm so we strolled along Ipanema beach then wandered up and down Rua Visconde de Piraja, the main street in Ipanema, and window-shopped among the many boutiques lining both sides of this bustling avenue.

Sat outside at the hotel bar for an hour or so sipping local beer and caipirinhas, the popular Brazilian drink made from limes, sugar and cachasa, a rum-like liquor made from sugar cane. The people-watching at this hour of the evening was stellar.

We have a busy day tomorrow – a private tour beginning at 7:30 am – so by 10 pm we were fast asleep after our first fun day in beautiful, busy Rio.

Next Day