Where do we start? At 6:00 PM we boarded a bus for a nighttime tour of Rio de Janeiro. We traveled along miles of beautiful beaches on Avenues Atlantica and Vieiro Souto. Our travels took us to through infamous Copacabana and Ipanema areas of the city, including the intersection where the actual 17-year-old girl inspired two guys to write the “Girl from Ipanema”. She is now in her 67 and probably doesn’t walk on the beached anymore. However, our guide told us she was recently featured on a TV show.
After a short tour we went to dinner at a restaurant that was really different. We all were seated in a large and very crowded dining room. We were then invited to go to the salad bar/buffet to fill up our plates. There were many strange foods that we didn’t recognize. The line around the buffet was beyond description. Picture a few hundred people who have no idea what the food is all working their way around a larged salad bar size buffet at the same time.
After we sat down again, men would come around with huge skewers of meat. Every one had tongs to use to grab the meat as they cut it. Men also came around with skewers of lamb, sausages, steaks (tiny), chicken, and gizzards on the skewers. They just kept coming around with them until you were finished.
Once we finished dinner we went to a Samba show called “Vai Brasil 500 Anos” which reenacted the history of Brazil through dance and song. The theater was designed with many long tables around three sides of the stage. The crowd was horrendous and it was almost impossible to find a seat where you could see anything. There was a balcony that the ushers indicated (they only speak Portuguese) nobody could use. But, Jane worked her way up to the balcony and grabbed three seats right above the stage. By the time Linda and Deedee came up the balcony was packed. We did have a great view of the performance which was very interesting and colorful. The dancers all wore colorful outfits, some very sensuous.
After a short tour we went to dinner at a restaurant that was really different. We all were seated in a large and very crowded dining room. We were then invited to go to the salad bar/buffet to fill up our plates. There were many strange foods that we didn’t recognize. The line around the buffet was beyond description. Picture a few hundred people who have no idea what the food is all working their way around a larged salad bar size buffet at the same time.
After we sat down again, men would come around with huge skewers of meat. Every one had tongs to use to grab the meat as they cut it. Men also came around with skewers of lamb, sausages, steaks (tiny), chicken, and gizzards on the skewers. They just kept coming around with them until you were finished.
Once we finished dinner we went to a Samba show called “Vai Brasil 500 Anos” which reenacted the history of Brazil through dance and song. The theater was designed with many long tables around three sides of the stage. The crowd was horrendous and it was almost impossible to find a seat where you could see anything. There was a balcony that the ushers indicated (they only speak Portuguese) nobody could use. But, Jane worked her way up to the balcony and grabbed three seats right above the stage. By the time Linda and Deedee came up the balcony was packed. We did have a great view of the performance which was very interesting and colorful. The dancers all wore colorful outfits, some very sensuous.
By the time we got back to the ship it was well after midnight. We had to be up by 6:30 to be ready to get on the bus by 8:00 for another 8-hour “Best of Rio” tour.
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