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Friday, February 27, 2009

THE NEWEST ENGLISH INVASION - PART ONE








Yes!!!! They are coming...and England always give me special people and wonderful friends!!! After one year of very intense conversations, negociations and ideas...I had an orgasm (actually multiple orgasms) with their presence here!!!!


This tour I had to share with my RIGHT ARM AND IMMEDIATE ABSOLUTELY SPECTACULAR Marcone Lima!
We made this tour together and made such a great experience for our English friends and guests Glen and Marion.
THIS COUPLE MADE HISTORY IN BRAZIL and we are already preparing the second brazilian adventure!
Glen and Marion had prepared this trip for one year and since then we were in touch...Finally they got here and the weather was so honored that the SUN WAS PRESENT ALL THE TIME!!!!
The unknown wetlands of Marapendi, the hidden treasures of Niteroi and the best parties of Copacabana and Ipanema, and some other incredible dinners in the best restaurants in the city!
They brought JOY to our Carnaval and we gave them HAPPINESS!!!! We welcomed TWO FRIENDS HERE and we took OUR BRITISH FAMILY TO THE AIRPORT!!!!
The pictures show such GLORIOUS PLACES and big smiles in our faces!!! We had fun and we are sure that Marion and Glen have Brazil in their mind!!!!
Thank you my INCREDIBLE FRIENDS to make my work even more special!!!! And wait until more stories in this blog, because we did a lot!!!! :))))))
Rafa and Marcone







Saturday, February 21, 2009

PARTIES IN RIO - CARNAVAL!!!! YOOOPIE!!!







Nothing better in the World than get all the family together and have fun!!!! It is a time in Rio where the biggest concern for a native is HAVING FUN!

And fun we did in the streets of OLD RIO!!!
Very seldom I have free time to enjoy but you have to agree that the best of life is forgetting about all the committments and allow you to be with the people you love!!!
And last night, it was special!!!!
All my relatives...I mean, two aints, my god daughter, 5 cousins, one cousin's girlfriend and Marcone. We went out and danced in literally all over the streets of Gloria, Lapa and the City Center at Cinelandia and the Finantial Center in Rio Branco Avenue!!!
LOADS OF PEOPLE!!!! LOADS OF PEOPLE WEARING ODD AND ABSOLUTELY FUNNY CLOTHES...and you just pay one thing: YOU'VE GOT TO BE THERE WITH HAPPINESS!!!!
And this is the time where we forget the problems, we forget our busy life and we explode of gladness and everything is real party!!!!
Among thusands of people. I, Marcone, Gleice, André, Glauce, Luciana, Luli, João William, Rafaela, my Aunts Zezé and Anna!!!
WHAT A LOVELY TIME!!!!
And you can go there as well, you can be part of this magic and set your soul free!!! :)
I usually say that during our Carnaval, you do not belong to anyone and noone belongs to you!!!
SO JUST HAVE FUN!!!!
The weather is hot!!!! THIS IS HIGH SUMMER!!! But way hotter will be your heart when you find out that Rio is not only a destination, it is a HOME far from home!

Tuesday, February 17, 2009

GREAT NEWS - A BRAND NEW GUIDE IN RIO


Each tour he gets more and more experienced...Now he developed his own style and he helps our visitors to really feel the vibe of Rio de Janeiro. Marcone is one of the most different tour guides in Rio because just like I do, he wants to visitor to experience everything in the city and he is interested to make our visitors happy in the city and he provides incredible memories that we can carry all life long!!!
Marcone makes life in Rio easier.
This time he had great guests and travellers from Florida, Ann and Alex. They got to Rio for such a few time and Marcone's function was to make TWO WEEKS in just two days!!! And believe me, he made it. With his natural charisma and absolutely caring way to lead a tour in Rio, Marcone turns Rio into one of the most interesting destination in the World.
First day he introduced Rio that only CARIOCAS know how to enjoy...The Christ was a blast, the forest of Tijuca he made it into a CHILDREN GAME and he introduced some hidden jewels of our Coast Line.
Guiding with Marcone is simply a great event for those who really knows how to enjoy life!
On the top of my 9 years of intense career in the Tourism Business, I strongly recommend Marcone. He is part of my team and my immediate "spare" tour guide!!!
Once you are with Marcone, you will be with me...It is quite the same!!! This kid has future in this so fascinating and complicate art of guiding!!!
And you know exactly like I think...Much more than a guide, my guest has to feel that he/she has a friend in Brazil
To get to know more about Marcone or even to experience a one day tour (or more) with this lovely Rio's friend, you can contact him at marconelima@yahoo.co.uk



Saturday, February 7, 2009

BACK TO MY "WRITING LIFE" WITH WAYNE MACKEY





After so many days without writing, after a long period of so many difficult moments I just got through.
Well..I am back!!!! And I have to register that this 7th OF FEBRUARY was special!!!! And Wayne, this adventurous great photographer who lives in California was here to see everything. He just happened to be here when I finally had my car back, after so many long and sad days of so much waiting, so many doubts and so many hard moments.
I had the help, comfort and understanding of so many spectacular people that I gladly register here; MY BELOVED MOTHER, my great RIGHT ARM Marcone, Corina (my dearest PEPA); Marta (the hoster of Copacabana and the HOSTER OF MY HEART!!!!), Doreen, Karen, Gleice, André, Jakob, Diana (whose writing skills produced an ocean of tears in my eyes!); Cedric, so many wonderful people who shown lots of friendship, care, trust and love; and finally WAYNE!!!! Right in our second day tour…he saw RAFAMOBILE…brand new!!!!
But we did a lot and I have to tell to anyone that the World now has a great photographer with very accurate eyes and a GORGEOUS DIGITAL CANON!!!! Wayne is a well traveler person who visited amazed places in the World. He is the one who never stops…he wants to see everything and experience the local taste of our society everywhere I take him and it seems to work very well!!!
My mission here is to make RIO one of the best destinations among such incredible trips!!! Well, I welcomed a guest and now I have a good friend….and since he came here we did…
THE FIRST DAY:
We went to a view point, actually my plan b when the Christ is cloudy, but we did both places... SO THE VIEW POINT IS CALLED MIRANTE DONA MARTA, from there you can see all the views of Rio without the crowd! Then we went to the hill of Corcovado and we saw the Christ After the Christ we drove through the road of Paineiras where we saw the NATURAL SHOWERS with spring waters of Carioca River! We went to the main point of the Floresta da Tijuca to see the gorgeous waterfall CASCATINHA. Then we went back to Copacabana driving around the west part of the city with an unusual stop at the channels of Marapendi Lagoons, a very nice and different place where some CARIOCAS live, in island all spread out in a wetland place! LOTS OF WILD LIFE, NICE HOUSES AND MAIN ISLANDS!
THE SECOND DAY:
We went straight to the Sugar Loaf, also known as PÃO DE AÇUCAR!!! Then we drove to the Centro (downtown area) where we saw the MONUMENT OF THE DEAD SOLDIER and we stopped at the São Bento Church, the oldest church in Rio dated in 1576; genuine barroc sample and they belong to the same order of the Montserrat Monastery in Catalunya, Spain. After that we parked the car by the Ferry Boat Area and we walked in the narrow and old streets of Rio, we walked in Ouvidor and Telles Str, we visit the Cultural Center of Banco do Brasil, an impressive building dated 1856; then we went to Candelaria, another gorgeous spanish-portuguese church in our downtown, contrusction of 1727. After such a pleasant walk under a fierce hot afternoon we drove to another city...the unknown city of Niteroi right at the other side of the Bay. We had such a short time, so we stayed at the Bayside. We saw the CONTEMPORARY MUSEUM - MAC - a arquitecture project of Oscar Niemeyer, the popular criator of BRASILIA; then we continued driving in Niteroi passing through Icarai Beach, Montecarlo Road and finally São Francisco beach and Charitas Beach, we ended our driving in the lovely fishing village of Jurujuba, and in our way back we visited a gorgeous viewpoint of PARQUE DA CIDADE, a very strategic point where you can see all over Rio and the oceanside of Niteroi.
We had lunch at A MINEIRA!!!! :)
AND THIS SATURDAY 8TH FEBRUARY 2009 We will do…..
THE THIRD DAY
We will have our third day, but I can tell you in advance what we will see… Wayne is in COPACABANA, so he has to know much more about the place that he spent such a great time in my city, and we will see the Fort of Copacabana, then we will continue walking to the scenic rocks of Arpoador right at the beginning of Ipanema beach and we will walk around the famous neighborhood where we had once the best composers of Bossa Nova, a district with full of beautiful people ready to party. It is the land of THE GIRL FROM IPANEMA where the GIRLS FROM IPANEMA are still very charming and deliciously beautiful; not to be bad with the boys, our female visitors and OTHERS DEAREST VISITORS can also enjoy the company of very cute boys…what really matters is that everywhere you go..you will feel the positive vibe, and you will find all the people with just one very important concern: BEING HAPPY and almost often, another concern: ENJOYING LIFE!!!!
Ipanema is one of the territories for FREEDOM and a place where you can simply live your life! So my friend Wayne will experience the spirit of Rio simply by walking in Ipanema. After that we will continue walking and we will visit a gated community…WHAT A HACK ARE WE GOING TO DO IN A “GATED COMMUNITY”…I will not tell you…but it is one of the most unknown and amazing places of Rio (only when you meet me you will know exactly what I am talking about); after such a weird visit we will continue driving west to the beaches where just CARIOCAS know…names like Barra da Tijuca, Recreio, Prainha and Grumari will be quite common for those who visit Rio in my company!
RAFAMOBILE STRIKES BACK and we will report how great our adventure will be!!!!
KEEP TUNED!!!
Rafa