OUR
10TH ANNIVERSARY IN RIO
BRAZIL TRAVELOGUE - DAY
10 - RIO DE JANEIRO BRAZIL
Boarding the Sailboat in Rio de Janeiro. |
Today is
our 10th wedding anniversary - a very special day.
Kicki and Bertil take us out for a late breakfast at
their new favorite breakfast spot (as with most places,
their "favorite spot" was the only place they'd tried),
Cafeina
Ipanema. We make the mistake of both couples
ordering the "big breakfast" which is listed as for
2 people, but is more like for 4 people. We have
to pull over a second table just to fit all the food
on! Very good items, though - tropical fruit,
a variety of breads, granola and yogurt, coffee, and
several items we aren't sure what they are.
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After breakfast,
Marcelo picks us up to take us to the yacht club for
a day of sailing. The weather is overcast at best,
and Luiz has called us already two times the previous
day to make sure we still want to go. As we drive
over to the club, he calls again, but we're determined
that we're going to make the best of it. The Yacht
club is a beautiful place, and Marcelo tells us stories
of Arabian princes that he's taken there. The
sailboat pulls up to the harbor, and we meet the captain,
Renaldo. |
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As the
sailboat arrives, we see the deck is decorated with
rose petals (Sandra's idea), and Luiz emerges from
the lower hold with a bouqet of flowers (my idea).
Marcelo accompanies us on the ride, and as we leave
the dock, rain starts to fall. Luckily we
had all brought jackets with us. The bay is
rough, so we don't venture into the ocean as we
had planned, instead we cruise the shores of Niteroi
and see the world's third longest bridge connecting
it to Rio de Janeiro.
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Popping the champagne cork in the wind and rain.. |
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After
a few minutes, Marcelo disappears down below deck,
only to return with champagne, cheese, and crackers.
We pop the cork, and enjoy the goods as Renaldo,
the captain, fills us in on some of the history
of the area. Soon, however, it starts to rain,
and the wind picks up, driving the cold rain and
drenching us. We try to make the best of it,
but eventually, we're just too miserable, and we
ask Renaldo to turn back. Soaked and freezing,
Marcelo escorts us back to the apartment, for a
shower and a nap to recover from our ordeal. |
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Copacabana Palace, Rio de Janeiro Brazil. |
Too bad,
too - imagine sailing off the coast of Rio de Janeiro,
the sun is shining, all the beautiful mountains surrounding
us, the blue water reflecting the sunshine, while we
sip champagne and nibble on exotic cheeses. Could
you be more romantic on an anniversary? Oh well,
let's say we'll never forget it...!! After we
rest and freshen up, Marcelo returns to take us to dinner.
At this point, I haven't told anyone where we're going
to eat, and both Marcelo and Luiz have done a great
job of keeping the secret.
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I had hoped to secure
a limosuine to take us there, but unfortunately, there
are no limos in Rio. Nobody figures out where
we're going until we actually pull in, which is fun.Cipriani restaurant is an amazing place, overlooking
the beautiful pool and courtyard of the palace, while
beautiful live piano music plays in the background.
The restaurant exudes class, and the service is the
best we've ever experienced. There is absolutely
nothing I can say negative about the experience we had
at the
Copacabana Palace - it was simply magical. |
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Sandra, Bertil,
and Kicki all choose the Lobster (a cool $50), while
I, not being a huge fan of Lobster, opt for a Lamb Pasta.
The pasta is quite good, while the Lobster is outstanding.
We opt for a Brazilian wine (since this is Brazil, after
all), a Miolo Reserve which we had many times throughout
our vacation - our favorite of the many varieties we
tried. They serve us a first course of Tuna -
absolutely fabulous. The other three try a
bowl of soup, which is also great.
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Preparing to blow out the
candle at Cipriani. |
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After
dinner, they surprise us all by bringing out a cake
with a candle and playing "Happy Birthday" on the
piano. Luiz
set that up for us - we were all quite taken.
A lovely touch. After dinner,
we sit out by the pool, relaxing, and enjoying some
excellent espresso. Marcelo has scoped out somewhere
to take us afterward, but we're all tired and it's a
good end to a perfect evening. Besides, we have
to get up early tomorrow - we're going to Buzios!
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Tired from
a full day of touring, we decide to stay in and make pasta at
home that evening. Tomorrow is our anniversary, so we
want to be fresh.
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to Day 11 - Too Much Gluten
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