Rio de Janeiro
The city of Saint Sebastian of  Rio de Janeiro

There are numerous ways to spend the day in Rio:

For instance, as a beach day, on Copacabana beach or the exclusive beach of  Ipanema, where the handsome and well built “Cariocas” (locals of Rio) meet for their muscle building, where they stroll and jog, or enjoy drinking fresh coconut juice at one of the beach kiosks, or an ice cold beer, “Cervejinha”, with the traditional fried fish.

The Botanical Garden (Jardin Botanico), created in the 19^th century, is definitely worth a visit, with it’s giant water lilies (Vitoria Regia) and its exuberant orchid pavilion -, can be reached in  approximately 25 minutes by taxi from Copacabana.

Or, a short cab ride will take you to Praça Quince ( the square of the 15^th of Nov.) , where the ferry docks are located, for the various ferries that cross the Guanabara Bay to Niteroi. You have the option of the regular ferry which departs every 30 minutes and takes about 30 minutes for the crossing, or the modern catamaran which takes you across in only 10 minutes.

You can visit the Plaza Shopping mall in Niteroi , 5 minutes from the landing docks. Here, in this modern air conditioned building, you will find on 7 floors , shops and boutiques for all shopper’s tastes, as well as various restaurants and snack bars.

Or you can take a cab to the Niemeyer museum , situated (in Niteroi) at the Mirante da Boa Viagem. The world renowned architect Oscar Niemeyer , who also designed the new capital city Brasilia,  designed this futuristic building, in the shape of a flying saucer, which dominates the view of the bay. It houses the famous museum of contemporary art. (visiting hours: Tues.-Sundays from 11:00 a.m.-07:00 p.m. , Saturdays from 01:00 p.m.-09:00 p.m.) At night you have a spectacular view of  the skyline of Rio on the opposite side of the bay.

For the return trip you should take the catamaran which will take you across in 10 minutes, and leave you in the middle of the historical center of downtown Rio, with all its shops and restaurants.

Close by you will find the world famous “Confeitaria Colombo” , a palace style café,  built in, at that time capital of Brazil, at the turn of the century in “Belle Epoque” beauty. It has always been and still is the meeting point of the high society for their 5 o’clock afternoon tea, where intellectual trends were born. – Lifestyle of the old Europe - !

Here, one should indulge, in a glamorous atmosphere, the fabulous 5 o’clock tea buffet, with its abundant assortment of cakes, pastries and sandwiches.

You are near the “Avenida Branco” the main thoroughfare of  the centre of Rio, at the “Teatro Municipal”, a replica of the Parisian opera, where Caruso performed in 1910 at the grand opening. Nearby are the representative buildings of the museums of  “Museu das belas Artes” and the “Real Gabinete Português das Leituras” , an old, eight floor library building, constructed in a Portuguese , gothic style - , an organized labyrinth with turned pillars and “floating” filigree wrought iron floors. Every title in Portuguese is archived here, - in thousands of leather bound books.

Arrangements can be made for a hang glider or para glider flight with a professional instructor in São Conrado, from the Pedra Bonita rock, down to the beach of São Conrado. The flight duration is approximately 15-20 minutes , and costs between $75 - $100

In the evening: Rio by night: you will dine in a typical Brazilian style steak house , “Churrascaria”, in other words, all the meat, of various types you can eat , including unlimited beer and soft drink consumption.

 Afterwards: The world famous Samba show at the “Plataforma” Theatre, - a cabaret of folkloric dances and exhibitions from various regions of this immense  country of Brazil. Samba dominates of course,… as well as the  various samba schools of Rio with their magnificent, splendorous costumes , which normally participate in the impressive, world famous carnival parades.