Aha, it did NOT take me a month to write this one! Go me.
My recap of the AMAZING trip to Rio de Janeiro I had with my boyfriend in November. If you’re interested in the budget details, click here. Enjoy!
Thursday, November 23rd
Tell me how, we got to Pearson at 3:30am today. Yes. Early as fuck.
My boyfriend was trying to get his walk-in Nexus interview today with the Americans. We got lucky, he was able to get it! Arriving so early ended up being worth it for that.
Our actual flight wasn’t until 7:30am – YYZ to JFK.
Now, look at the date. Do you know what Thursday, November 23rd was in the US of A? Thanksgiving. I planned this terribly, I did not want to be traveling on the busiest day of the year to be in Murrica. But, that is how it happened. Oh, and did I mention, the day before there was a whole explosion on the bridge between Niagara and Buffalo? It was looking crazy the day before our flight.
We landed at JFK on time and had a NINE HOUR LAYOVER IN THAT HELLHOLE NAMED TERMINAL 8. It is absolutely my doing that we have a nine-hour layover, because I wanted the good flight deal. However, never again. Not only was it freezing in the terminal, the food is absolute garbage. Why did three ‘different’ restaurants have the exact same menu? New York is one of the most diverse places on the planet and the options were burgers and an overpriced breakfast. Terrible. Thankfully because it was American Thanksgiving, there was NFL on. This at least kept me slightly entertained while I paced back and forth to keep warm.
When we boarded the flight from JFK to Sao Paulo – the Dallas Cowboys were winning though. At least I boarded with a happy thing in my mind. (we ended up winning)
Friday, November 24th
The flight from JFK to Sao Paulo was and felt dumb long. My whole body was in disarray. Then, another layover. We had three hours between the flights and I didn’t understand why it would be like that since getting to Rio was only another hour? I understood once we landed.
It took one hour to clear customs and enter Brazil, along with the hundreds of Swifties arriving. Then we had to walk damn near 30 min to get to another domestic terminal and then wait in another line to go through security, again. Those three hours were absolutely needed. Got our steps in this day, which wasn’t so bad after how long we had been sitting on the previous flight.
The flight to Rio was really quick and we didn’t have to go through customs there since we ‘entered’ in Sao Paulo. Super.
We arrived in SDU airport (Rio has another airport, GIG) at about 1pm.
Let me tell you something about this airport, they have a small claims court in here. I don’t know why that was the first thing I remember about the airport, but this caught me off guard and made me giggle. Also, made me wonder why? Fascinating.
When you land, if you want to take an Uber you need to walk over to where it says UBER LOUNGE, towards the mall – that is where they all arrive. Taxis and personal pick ups seem to be in a different area.
We hopped in our Uber and made our way over to our first hotel in Rio – Casa 48 Guesthouse.
As you will see in the photos below, we arrived while it was raining and let me tell you, that walk up to the damn hotel? Whewwwww. I am fat. This was a lot.
There is a pathway by where the Uber drops you off that you have to walk up + some stairs + another incline and then you finally arrive at the hotel. I don’t scare easily, but, not sure I’d recommend staying here alone as a woman. Coming home and having to walk up this area in the middle of the night after clubbing would be very scary. For me, at least. I wouldn’t do it.
However, I was with my big, strapping man so this was all fine and dandy (although I was probably wheezing a little after the walk).
The hotel is very basic, but it is clean, there is hot water and the view is spectacular. This was perfect for us because we planned on just napping and being outdoors a lot for the first couple of days in Rio, so didn’t need anything particularly fancy. Trust me, this is not fancy at all.
After a WELL needed nap, it was time to go gallivanting in Rio.
We had a 7pm reservation for a Michelin Star rated restaurant called CT Boucherie.
I didn’t pick it because of that, my boss had actually suggested this place and we figured we’d try it out.
The place is very plain, but the meal and the service was a 10/10.
I am not a big steak eater, so this sadly wasn’t in my wheelhouse of food things, but they had octopus! My boyfriend I think went for the striploin after they brought out all the cuts and explained them to us.
Now, here is the fun part. When you order any of the main items on the menu – you get UNLIMITED sides. I am so serious.
Every 3-4 minutes, someone will come up to your table and offer you a different side dish. You can get as many as you want. Risotto. Mashed potatoes. Veg. Rice. Pasta. Beans. Etc. It just kept going.
I fell in love with the mashed potatoes, personally. They were unlike any mashed potato I’ve ever had before. Delicious.
This restaurant was on the pricier end of things, but for the amount of food we had and also numerous caipirinhas? Yeah. Worth it.
After dinner we took an Uber over to some bar too meet our ex-pat pal, Nigel.
All you need to know is that a good amount of shots and more caipirinhas were consumed here. Yes.
After that we walked over to some bar that played a lot of Beyoncé and Rihanna. Score. I like them both.
Then we took an Uber over to the Lapa area and ended up seeing a sound clash? So sick. Rio de Janeiro has a never ending amount of things to get up to at night. Music for everyone. Events for everyone.
More caipirinhas were had here, and the gentleman who made mine I think was trying to unalive me. It was STRONG.
The Lapa area is popping at night. So many nightclubs and bars with music blaring. We walked into one called AGYTO.
This place had an $18CAD equivalent cover, I thought that was expensive for here? But whatever, I pay more than that in Toronto for some nonsense regularly, no problem.
Boy, were we in for a fun surprise inside this club.
That $18CAD cover charge? Yeah, this place was OPEN BAR. We did not know that when we entered. I had gone to the bar to order some drinks and they gave them to me and when I went to pay, ‘no no, it is open bar‘. YES. Marvelous.
I got my face painted with some glow in the dark paint, my boyfriend danced on the stage by the DJ, yes, more caipirinhas and eventually we went home. Very intoxicated. Perfect first day.
Saturday, November 25th
Remember how I said drinking is good? It is not. Do not fly a million kilometers from home and then go drinking and then have a tour after for 7:40am pick up. Terrible decision making. I should have known better than to do all that before a tour.
Ah well, probably make the same mistake again one day. I am not a responsible adult.
The tour we booked was on AirBnB Experiences and you can find the link to it here.
Thank goodness that we were the first pick up and got to rest our eyes until everyone in the car was picked up, about 14 of us from all over the place. I loved our group of people, made friends with lots of them and exchanged IG’s. Really good vibe.
The first stop on the tour was a big deal – Christ the Redeemer.
It is beautiful up there, but it is also crowded. Prepare yourself. The selfies there were epic.
This is where I will mention that there were an exorbitant amount of stairs to make it to the statue, and I found out ON THE WAY DOWN that there was a whole escalator on the other side. Yeah. If the stairs are too much for you, just use the escalators. I sure wish I had.
After Christ the Redeemer we drove over to our next stop, these beautiful waterfalls at Tijuca National Park.
This place was beautiful. I wish the stop here would have been longer, there was a lot to see and feel. Very peaceful, the natural surroundings were perfect. I really liked this part of the tour.
We had a quick stop at the famous Maracanã stadium after the forest. But, I was going to a soccer game here later in the day, so more about that later.
Next was a VERY important part of the tour – the food stop.
I don’t remember the name of the restaurant, but it was yummy.
It was a big buffet and the options were endless. The price of this was not included in the tour, I believe we paid $25CAD equivalent per person. Worth it. Food was so good.
Following the meal we went to this crazy looking cathedral (Catedral Metropolitana de São Sebastião do Rio de Janeiro). From the outside, it looked like a bunker from the USSR or like a funky spaceship, but once you entered? I mean, it was stunning. Make sure you sit down and take it all in for a little bit.
During this stop I felt very calm and peaceful. The inside of this cathedral will transport you to somewhere else, I am so serious. Just a happy and calm moment to have.
If you ever listened to Snoop Dogg or Pharrell, you knew the next stop well from the music video for ‘Beautiful‘ – Escadaria Selarón.
Just a heads up, it is very unlikely you will get a good shot here with the hundreds of folks walking up and down. There are people EVERYWHERE. It is very busy. Worth the visit, but for you perfect selfie people, good luck. It is rammed.
This was the end of the tour and we went back to the hotel to take a quick nap and rest our feet before the evening festivities.
We made our way back to the Maracanã to watch a footy match: Coritiba vs. Fluminense. I believe Fluminense and Flamengo are the home teams here, so it is very fucking lit there. Couple days before the Argentina vs. Brazil game was here and people were wrecking the place and fighting. I was really excited, my boyfriend and I are both big footy fans.
Prior to the game we met up with the other people on this tour at a bar, and then we all walked over together to the game with the guide. Fun fact, there is no actual seat # on your ticket? You just sit in an area and at halftime we ended up moving up even closer. Fun.
Fluminense ended up winning, so even more fun!
This is a pretty amazing experience for all soccer/football fans and I would really recommend it. We booked this on AirBnB Experiences as well, you can find the link here.
After the game we walked over to some random bar to have a snack and, yes, another caipirinha. I don’t know what this awesome salty fries and melted cheese concoction is in Brazil, but I loved it. This was perfect drinking food.
I want to make a note about the Ubers in Rio de Janeiro here.
We took them A LOT in the city and it was great.
You should know, especially at night time? Do not expect them to stop at red lights. Some of them honk and then proceed, while most of the ones we had just went right on through.
Also, our first hotel was up in the hills of Santa Teresa, which is all cobblestone. On more than three occasions, as they tried to drive us home, the car would stall and we’d literally start rolling backwards on the hills. Never seen hand brakes used so much! You could smell the rubber burning. Sheesh.
They were also very good priced, the most expensive Uber we took for the entire six day trip was $17CAD and that was 45 minutes to get from our next hotel to the airport. A hell of a distance.
Oh and one more thing – no one speaks English. Or, I guess, barely anyone does.
Not the folks at the restaurant, not the Uber drivers, nada. Do not expect English anywhere, the Portuguese is running hardcore. At the hotel? Yes. They spoke English. But the restaurants, bars and taxis? They DO NOT. Have your Google Translate ready at all times. Good tip.
Sunday, November 26th
I know this is the part folks have been waiting for. Not even on any cocky stuff, but I have been posting videos of this specific hotel on my IG and TikTok (go follow those) – and trust me, it’s something special.
We woke up today and left Casa 48 and moved to the whole opposite side of Rio de Janeiro to check into La Suite by Dussol.
I knew this place was going to be different because 1) no cobblestone on these streets and 2) there is a whole security checkpoint you have to go through to even get to the area of this hotel. FANCY PANTS.
Taking this moment to shout out Daniel!!! He was our favourite at the hotel, he checked us in and took awesome care of us for our entire stay. If you are Daniel’s boss and reading this, he deserves a raise.
After check-in we went to our room – The Green Room.
Superb room, clean, spacious, the bathroom was huge and the view from the balcony was totally worth the price of admission.
As we explored the hotel, we made some friends. Shout out to the group of Americans from Chicago, New Orleans and DC. Then we had some shots, of course.
They mentioned that there was a party (Everyday People) happening that day so we bought tickets, because, why not? We didn’t have any actual plans for today so we may as well go party with the new friends we made.
Before it was time to get ready to party, because this was a afternoon/evening party, I decided to get some food at the hotel. I’m not sure what this fish was? But oh my goodness. One of the yummiest fish I’ve tasted and again, these magical mashed potatoes they have in Brazil. Of course, I finished it with this cake filled with Nutella and some ice cream. This hotel was making a heck of an impression on us.
Views? Friends? Food? I mean, the trifecta.
We got ready and headed over to Faro Beach Club, where the party was taking place.
If you wanted a picturesque place to shake some ass? This is the place for you.
It overlooks the beach and there is a pool in the middle. Also, there was an abundance of gorgeous human beings everywhere in this party. Sheesh.
Due to it being so packed, my boyfriend and I decided to pay for a booth that came with two bottles of alcohol. This was a great decision because then we got a whole area to ourselves and our new Murrican friends eventually showed up. It was a lot of fun and great music.
Also, note the photo below of the Uber we took home below. That was his ‘side mirror’. I love it here.
Monday, November 27th
Today I was finally going to do the most IG-Girlie thing – the floating breakfast.
I didn’t get to do this in Bali, so I was going to finally do it here, in Rio.
Breakfast was included in the cost of the room, but for just an extra few bucks they would set this up for you at the pool. It was really cool!
While the breakfast came out, so did some lemurs. Never seen those in person before and that was pretty neat. Make sure to share with them whatever you don’t want to eat. They are soooo cute and there was a whole family of them.
During this time I also was able to take a mixtape-cover-worthy photo at the pool. Probably one of the best photos of me, ever!
Finally, I wanted to show you another amazing thing at this hotel.
When you check-in they take your phone number and add you on WhatsApp. For the remainder of your stay, you can always talk to someone on staff at the hotel via WhatsApp.
One great use for that? Ordering food and drinks to wherever you are in the hotel. I messaged them screenshots of food items from their menu and asked them to bring it to the pool and voila. Here come some delicious shrimp and a beer for my boyfriend.
I love this hotel.
So, fun fact – even when it is overcast, you can get burned.
I really should have known better, but I was too busy taking selfies and indulging in all the food by the pool. Terrible decision. I got burned pretty badly.
We had planned on going out with our new friends again this evening, but I was so messed up that this was not going to happen.
My boyfriend and I decided to take an Uber over to Copacabana beach and get some food.
Copacabana is beautiful at sunset. I am sure it is beautiful at all times of night, but at sunset it was something special. Happy we had time to go see it.
We found a random beachside restaurant and sat down to get some drinks and food. The shrimp I got was so good and seasoned to perfection. It also began pouring rain, not so awesome.
I had to go to the bathroom at one point and the restaurant did not have one, but they told me there are public bathrooms along the beach, but you have to pay for them. Not that it was expensive, but I suddenly found myself going into some basement where a man was taking money to enter the stalls. I don’t know, it was strange but I got to go. I was happy I got to go.
After dinner we just went back to the hotel because my skin was still on fire and hurting.
Tuesday, November 28th
Naturally, for our last morning I had to do the WhatsApp messaging again.
We opted for room service today and it was wonderful. Great end to a great stay.
Later in the day we left for the airport and this is when we took that $17CAD trip. For 45 min in an Uber? What a deal.
The trek home was different than the one here because it went SDU – Sao Paulo – Dallas – Toronto. The flight from Sao Paulo to Dallas literally felt like it was never going to end. Why is this soooo far? Holy. Thankfully there was no nine hour layover this time and we eventually made it back to Toronto in one piece.
Rio de Janeiro is absolutely top three for my favourite places I have ever visited now. I hope to return to this city many times in my life. I think if I spent six months in this city, I still wouldn’t get to seeing everything it has to offer.
The place has so much to do, things aren’t expensive, the locals are really friendly (even with the no English) and the weather is great.
If you can, try to stay for a portion of your trip outside of the typical Copacabana and Ipanema. Our first hotel was in a pretty trendy area and our second hotel, I mean, you saw it. Gorgeous. Both were not in these main touristy areas, but were a $6-$9 Uber ride away. It is very worth it.
Also, regarding safety. I can’t say I ever felt unsafe during this trip to Rio, but the locals will keep giving you a heads up about where to go and not go. We obviously were not heading into the favelas. We did drive by one of the favelas in the middle of the day during the tour and the tour guide was like ‘please put your phones away right now.’ During the Fluminense game there was more security than I had ever seen in a sporting event in my life. When we were walking near Copacabana we saw a guy with an automatic rifle walk into a church. I mean, you know there’s dangers, but I really can’t say that either of us ever felt unsafe.
Take that how you will.
I can’t wait to go back!
- Mirna
