JUST TO CLARIFY - RAFA IS IN RIO

Good Morning Dear Reader!!! So good to write to you in this lovely Thursday Morning. I noticed that a lot of people are thinking that I am in Argentina right now. 

Noooooooooooo.....I am in Rio de Janeiro where I live and where I have my whole life; I just write about my TRAVEL THOUGHTS, so I can write about Venezuela today and not being in Venezuela; I can mention Trinidad and Tobago and not being in Port of Spain...or I can just be in a place and write from this place.

My blog is here to make you know way more about me, my blog is also a result of so much love for my work, for my land and also about something that I most love doing: TRAVELING and also being with so many different people and make so many friends!

When you read this blog, I will probably be strolling around in Santa Tereza, our oldest neighborhood. Very charming hilly district of Rio that reminds Lisbon in Portugal with its cobbled stones streets and beautiful colonial portuguese homes...also one of the few places in Rio where you can find the best of graffitti and street arts; a place with fine cuisine because of various traditional restaurants like Marco, Portella and Bar do Mineiro. It is also the neighborhood where I like to take pictures with street arts and you took part of a gallery that you can find on my facebook, please add me there exactly how I explained you to do it. 

Here in this blog,  you can read more about Santa Tereza and also see the some cool pictures, here is the link - http://donrafaguestsinrio.blogspot.com.br/search?q=santa+tereza - when you open this link you will see some pictures of the tram that now no long exist; the city has plans to bring the trams back in the end of 2014.

I am always in Rio and I will always let you know where I am, so do not worry, if you need a tour you will have a tour! :)

But I can also write about Maranhão without being in Maranhão, just to let you know about super wonderful places in Brazil that you must visit. Thanks to that my wonderful friends in Italy, Cinzia and Luca are visiting the State of Maranhão with me in August; and Francesca, another wonderful italian friend who lives in Chicago with my other great friend Bejan are also interested to see this different and fascinating side of the country. Brazil has so many faces and it is a pleasure to me allowing you this chance to see real brazilian stuff; to have a marvelous authentic experience. 

By the way this is one of the most interesting places in São Luis, Capital of the State...the historic center called Reviver. It is a place where pace of life is measured; this a place where you can really feel the past and the present of such a magnificent capital in Brazil that hardly any visitor knows.

This is me and my windows....here I make you see the tradition of portuguese tiles that make São Luis famous, you can see how a very simple neighborhood grocery looks like (this people have this business for over 100 years and it still resists and you can see the photos that I have to be the director, when I am not taking the photos, hahahaha :) When I ask someone to take a picture of me, it is a whole speech, I have to explain everything, I am very lucky to find people with PATIENCE around myself!!!

So this blog is to inform you about everything that I am doing, to tell you the places that I love not only in Rio, it can be about any place in the most distant corner of Brazil; it can be anywhere in my spectacular South America and it can be even in your home towm. 

I AM ALWAYS WRITING ABOUT WHAT IS GOING ON IN MY MIND.

We can just be in Trindade, a wonderful village over the mountains in Paraty with gorgeous beach and you will be reading more about this wonderful region. I am an enthusiastic brazilian and it is always a pleasure to write about my own country. This land that had given me so wonderful things and provides me so many different adventures in life.

Sometimes I simply turn on my notebook  and start writing about a super funny moment that I am having in the biggest open public market in Rio, our incredible FEIRA DE SÃO CRISTOVÃO that takes us to a journey through the deepest Brazilian folkclore and you will know many curious details of our diverse culture.

No matter where I am...here in this blog you will always find out many different places, you will read about people's behavior, you will get to know much more about my personal life. 

So read this blog forever, show this blog to every one you know...JUST KEEP THIS BLOG ALIVE.

That is much love in these words.

Rafael Torres Lopes
Tour Guide and Travel Planner