Eating in Rio

If you made it through here I am certain this tip of mine won't be of any service to you but...Try trying. There are wonderful natural juice houses in Rio. Try local fruits. I am sure there are some you have never heard of. Others are not so exotic but wonderful specially in summer (pineapple is a good choice at this time of the year). "Feijoada"and "caipirinha"are not urban legends. They do exist and are delicious. In Rio, the best "feijoada"is in Santa Tereza (Bar do Mineiro). Be prepared! It is strong and not appropriate for hot weather but it would be great if you could try it at least once. You must get into "carioca's" rythm: go out with friends sit at a table and order some beer with "bolinho de bacalhau"(cod fish appetizers). When the night is coming sit at the beach and order some cocconut water.

Walking around Rio safely

Rio is one of the most beautiful cities in the world for you to walk around(I can say that without sounding too irrealistic or patriotic because Rio is not my hometown. In fact, I was born in Sao Paulo, a city that has established strong tourist competition with Rio. However, there are some precautions you might want to know about before coming here. Some days are specially marvelous and you might feel like grabbing your camera and going out for pictures. Don't feel tempted to do it. Cameras (together with IPHONEs) are thieves' most desired object and they can kill (literal sense) for it. If you are ready to risk your life for a picture, you should hide your camera in a supermarket's bag or in a discreet place. Your camera has to look like a piece of bread or bunch of clothes in order to travel safe from one place to another. Do not try to deceive us. We can tell you are foreigners from the moment you step out of the plane so you should be really careful( I am Brazilian and I am careful so why shouldn't you?).