2. Downtown Rio and Lapa - (must go also at night)
Since we went to the business district of Rio on a Sunday, it was completely deserted but otherwise very much reminded us to Manhattan NYC, with straight streets lined with skyscrapers (and just like in NYC, some mess down below on the streets):
But let's not forget that it only takes some speakers (well lots of them, and load ones - regardless whether in cars or stage) to transform the same place into a party scene:
Just by the business district, the Catedral Metropolitana do Rio de Janeiro is situated. Its Conical form is fairly unusual for a church,
but nonetheless impressive and with its almost 100 metres internal diameter, overall height of 75 metres and about 65 meters high windows it is very spacious and inviting (it has a standing-room capacity of 20,000 people).
The cathedral is nicely lit at night, even though the pope might reconsider visiting for the 3rd time when seeing the pink-ish colour:
*sorry for pic quality, but we decided not to take our camera here at night, so pics made with a phone
Walking around the downtown area, the view of the public about police presence and public policy was expressed fairly clearly:
Avoiding to hang around too much in this very "inviting" area, we headed to Lapa, known for its lively cultural life, concentrating many restaurants and bars where Brazilian artists and intellectuals meet. It was, and still is, famous for its many restaurants, bars and clubs where the various forms of Brazilian music can be appreciated.
The icon of Lapa is Arcos da Lapa, an impressive aqueduct constructed in the mid-18th century by colonial authorities:
However, the best time to go to Lapa is at night, preferably with a local (carioca) - thanks Bruno.
Otherwise while being very careful which street you take, it is still "doable" as a Gringo (foreigner) as well (do not pay attention to wikitravel, they are greatly exaggerating - but still do take care).
*sorry for pic quality, but we decided not to take our camera here at night, so pics made with a phone
The neighbourhood of Lapa really comes alive at night - to an extent we just could not imagine when visiting during daytime - the streets being still full of people partying even at 3AM when we started to head back to Copacabana.
Bruno was kind enough to take us out on a night as the cariocas do to the very fancy and popular (the line at the entrance was a few hundred meters long) Scenarium
We had a great time, feeling welcome regardless of us being gringos (foreigners): my mistake of taking a shirt saying "Salvador" did not go unnoticed though... several people bringing to my attention that my skin colour just (even though I already had quite a tan at the time) did not match Bahia...
Side story: Bruno - a real Rio carioca - is Fabio's brother and Deborah's brother-in-law, whom we met here in Zug, through this blog actually, when they searched google for tips on their next travel to India, and learning we are also in Zug, we went out together. Then the coincidences continued when we said we are going to Brazil and learning that they are not only from Brazil but actually from Rio. So we got a lot of useful insider tips and met Bruno as well.)
All photos from Rio de Janeiro
1 comment:
Idezet a Bede altal irt Panamericana-blog-rol:
http://panamericana.blog.hu/2012/07/20/buli_rioban
"A marcona biztonságiakkal teli klubnál jóval lazább hely Lapa, a legsúlyosabb utcai buli, amihez életemben szerencsém volt. Lapa Rio egy kis darabjának a neve, ahol egy teljesen tájidegen, rómaias jellegű vízvezeték környékén minden péntek este elszabadul a pokol. A hét többi napján is van program, de pénteken a rendőrség lezárja a forgalmat, így az úttesten és a környező szórakozóhelyeken bulizó, tízezres tömeg egyetlen masszává áll össze.
Itt az utcai caipirnha-árusok nem spórolnak, a nádpálinkás üvegekből simán egy decit is kitöltenek koktélonként, de láttam ennél extrémebb eseteket is. A közönség a bibliai csapásokra emlékeztető, rémséges bőrbetegségeket viselő, vérben forgó szemű koldusoktól a riói középosztályig terjed, és persze akárcsak a városban mindenhol, itt is sok a külföldi turista. A körülöttük ügyeskedő zsebtolvajok megfigyelése kifejezetten szórakoztató, és csak arra kell figyelni, hogy az embernek legyen elég lélekjeleléte, hogy amikor a sokadik caipirinha után mellette terem két kurva, és vonaglás közben a zsebe felé kezdenek nyúlkálni, még el tudja őket hessegetni. Mint Rióban mindenhol, itt is elég sok az erőszak, láttam például véresre vert fejű, a rendőrökkel vitatkozó embert – bár a kétméteres transzvesztita fejéhez üveget vágó kisgyerekről lemaradtam –, Lapa mégis inkább a demokratikus, össznépi bulizásról szól, mint egy egyébként tényleg borzasztó problémákkal küzdő nagyváros gondjairól."
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