Our South America Adventure - Day 14 Copacabana

 

Today we had a free day in Brazil. We have no plans. We used this day to enjoy our hotel and the surrounding areas. The weather wasn't looking great, but it also wasn't terrible. We thought we might spend some time on Copacabana beach. We let the day develop and it developed into a great day. 

We slept in a little bit and ate breakfast at the hotel. The Hilton on Copacabana has a great breakfast. It is a buffet, but it is one of the best breakfast buffets we have had. They make a mean omelet and have quite a spread of tropical fruits, but our favorite part is the fresh Pão de Queijo. This cheese bread is so good - at least half of our breakfast each morning consists of this cheesy delicacy. 

After breakfast, we looked outside the window and saw the sun peaking through the clouds, and decided to go for a morning walk along the beach. It was such a pleasant way to spend the morning. At first, we walked along the walkway of Portuguese stone - we love the wave design, but eventually, we made our way down to the water. The sand at Copacabana beach is so soft. It is easy to see why this beach is so famous. It is beautiful. 

We timed our walk perfectly. Just as we were getting back to our hotel storm clouds were rolling in. We have been watching the weather so we expected it to be a little more stormy/cloudy in the morning. We booked a couples massage and spent some time enjoying the sauna and steam rooms in the hotel. By the time we were done relaxing the clouds were clearing and the sun was coming back out. 

We headed back out to the beach. This time we walked toward the large rock on the east end of Copacabana. This was a nice spot to snap a few photos and it was close to our next objective. 

I wanted to go to a really good Churrasco place while we were in Brazil. Our guides, Marcelo and Rafael both recommended we try Restaurante Marius Degustare. This is the place they go when they want to eat good Churrasco and it is located across from Copacabana beach, right up the street from our hotel. They also recommended that we go for lunch and that we block out a few hours for this experience. 

This was a fabulous dining experience. We arrived a little before they opened for lunch, but that was no problem. They sat us at a table, brought us a US flag so that people would know we spoke English, and got us some drinks and bread to get started. About 20 minutes later they were ready to open and we hit up the buffet/salad bar. They had some delicious items here. We each ate one plate full and then we waited for the meat and seafood. They began bringing around the meat and seafood and it was so good. They brought out octopus, white fish, shrimp, shellfish, lobster, and more. They also had all kinds of steak. It was all cooked to perfection. We spent a couple hours sitting there indulging in a great meal. When we were finally done and thought we could eat no more they brought out a couple of complimentary desserts and drinks. What a great place. 

After lunch, we stopped by a nearby grocery store to buy some Paçoca to take home. This peanut-based Brazilian treat is delicious. Marcelo brought us some on our second day in Rio and we loved it. We bought some to take home to our family. Then we took a short break back at our hotel to relax and digest. 

These Copacabana views never get old

When we were feeling ready we headed back out to Copacabana and walked to Ipanema. It was a surprisingly long walk from our hotel. It doesn't look that long, but it takes almost an hour. Fortunately, the walk is along a beautiful beach so I can't complain. 

We sat at Ipanema and watched the sun beginning to set. This was another beautiful locale. When we finished soaking in the view we slowly made our way back to our hotel. I stopped and bought this little wooden whistle from a street vendor - I knew Skylee and Anna would love to play with it and it would always remind me of this trip. We had a great day hanging out at Copacabana.