Day: October 4, 2015

The name of this trip on my blog has been “The Road to Rio” because even though we had wonderful plans to see Buenos Aires, the glaciers of Patagonia and the Iguazú Falls, the main reason for this trip was to satisfy my desire to see the Christ the Redeemer statue in Rio.  You might not know this name but I know you have seen the magnificent structure any time you have seen pictures of Rio.  Christ, with his arms outstretched, standing on the hill of Corcovado looking over the city of Rio below.

Well today was the day.  When our guide, Edson, picked us up he had a look of concern. Today was overcast and visibility was awful.  In spite of the poor conditions we went to the landmark statue.  We took the 20 minute train ride to the base.  In addition to the fog it started to rain.  I was not about to be deterred.  I planed this trip for about the past year for this one day and I was not going to let some clouds and rain stop me.  The one good piece of news was that things were not crowded.  The train going up to the base had 6 passengers (looked like it could handle about 150 per car and about 4 cars were pulled upward).   At the prime viewing spot there were 4 individuals (counting Patrice and me).  I stood out there for a few minutes praying for the rains to stop and the clouds to clear.  I then went down a couple flights of stairs to the gift shop to give my prayers a chance to work.  Ten minutes later I told Patrice “I’m going up for another look”.   Patrice wasn’t going to let me go alone so we both braved the elements to see if my prayers had helped.  And much to my amazement things hadn’t changed a bit.  See my photos below.   If you want to see what this should look like check out this link.  http://www.lovethesepics.com/2011/04/christ-the-redeemer-statue-1-of-7-new-wonders-of-the-world-45-inspiring-pics/

Wet, cold and disappointed we left Christ and headed to Estrela do Sur for lunch.  One more buffet (as if we needed any).  This place takes buffet to an obscene level.  In the US you stand on line and get your food.  Typically you wait to have a person carve you some beef or turkey.  At this restaurant the meat carvers repeatedly come to your table.  We were offered a variety of beef, lamb, poultry, pork and fish.  There was also a buffet with a variety of salads, sushi, appetizers and other hot dishes.  Dessert sent you back to your table where they delivered a variety of treats.

Prior to the food I was offered the national drink of Brazil, the “Caipirinha” (see below).  The ingredients are lime, rum, sugar and ice.   Yes, this is Robert who is writing.  You know me as a non drinker but damn it I wanted to see Christ the Redeemer and look below if you need a reminder of what I saw.  The drink was quite good but not to worry, I still am not a big alcohol fan.

Tomorrow we have another tour in the morning.  If the skies are clear we MIGHT be able to arrange a quick trip to see Cristo.  Tomorrow night we return home.  We need to get home because all this food is going to kill us.  I now know why people often die soon after retirement.  I need to get home to my work outs and a much healthier diet.

Christ the Redeemer in hiding.

Caipirinha helping me forget Cristo.

Ciao, ciao,

Roberto

We started our day with another wonderful breakfast at our hotel, then our tour guide took us to the Iguazu Falls airport.  There are 2 international airports in Iguazu Falls, one in Argentina (where we arrived) and the other in Brazil (from where we departed). We went through security and boarded the plan without anyone asking us to show our passports or any form of identification.

The flight left on time (I guess not checking ID will speed up departure times) and we arrived in Rio a few minutes early.  Not sure if I mentioned it but my luggage did not make it to Iguazu Falls with our flight (they brought it the next day) so I was a bit nervous waiting in baggage claim. Both bags arrived and we were on our way.  The hotel was about a 30 minute drive from the airport during which we talked with our Rio guide (Edson) a little about the city and the plans for tomorrow and Monday.

We are staying at the Copacabana Palace which is across the street from the beach.  The hotel is amazing (a recurrent theme for this trip).  Unfortunately we don’t have a view of the beach or the pool.  After arriving we took a walk around the area and the hotel.  There is a wedding taking place here and apparently they are having two separate ceremonies due to religious differences.  We are told that the average Brazilian household income is about $25,000 (USD) but many make as little as $12,000 per year.  Tonight’s wedding families clearly don’t belong in either of these socioeconomic groups.

Dinner was in the hotel at a restaurant called Mee.  It is an Asian style restaurant and has Michelin One Star rating.  Does it make sense to trust a tire company to rate a restaurant? The answer is YES.  We had a fantastic meal.  We didn’t just have a meal, we had an experience.  We sat at the sushi bar and ordered the prix fixe menu that won them the Michelin Star Rating.  We watched the first 3 courses being made.  They were sushi dishes (yes, I ate sushi) and they tasted spectacular.  We spoke with Chef Kazuo Harada who explained that the restaurant is new and they recently received their Michelin One Star of which he is justifiably very proud.

Tomorrow is our tour of the city but tonight we devoted our attention to food (see below).

Sealed Salmon with spicy miso sauce

Scallops Truffle (that is tuna sashimi in the front).

Dim Sum: both pork, the one on the left is green due to spinach.

Sorry too busy eating, I forgot to take a picture of the Sushi Set (1. Tuna with foie gras 2. Chilean King Crab)

Duck.  The duck was then taken off the bone by the waiters and we ate it wrapped in pancakes and Hoisin sauce (like moo shu pork)

Wagyu beef ribs cooked in low temperature with kabocha squash.

Tofu Cheesecake and Raspberry Sherbet for dessert.

Patrice (“Miss Patricia” according to the waitress); Chef Kazuo Harada; and Robert (¨Mr. Richard”)

Hasta mañana,

Roberto