What winter looks like in Rio

I spent an exhausting week working in Brazil. Our base was Rio, but we flew to different cities for just a couple of hours almost every day.

However, I did find a few seconds for some beach time, and it was glorious. If this is what winter is always like there, I'm moving.

Some observations made on this trip:

1. Every person in Rio seems to have a Golden Retriever.

2. Drinking more caipirainhas than you can count is maybe not such a good idea.

3. Brazilian food involves the following things: cream, desserts and sandwiches for breakfast, eggs for lunch, and gelatin in most of the dinner desserts.

4. Apparently I look Brazilian/have a really Brazilian name. I lost count of how many people asked/assumed I was Brazilian and/or spoke Portuguese. I'll take this as a compliment.

5. Drinking straight from the coconut is amazing. That bottled coconut water we get here is crap.

6. Brazilians are serious about their protests, though we only saw 1.5. The .5 is the time we had to turn around and find a different way to the office because we saw in the distance that protestors were setting fire to things.

7. Brazilian men are aggressive and have to be told NO many, many times.

8. Brazilian women don't give a whaaaaaat about their bikinis and how they look on them. Very liberating.

9. Inventive drinks are plentiful, and not just the alcoholic kind. Fresh juice is EVERYWHERE.

I'd very much like to go back to Rio in the summer [when it's not as cloudy] and just lay around on the beaches all day. If you like water and the cafe lifestyle, this place is for you.

And if you find yourself in Rio and are looking for something other than meat and sauces to eat, I highly suggest the following two contemporary restaurants: Zaza Bistro and Miam Miam. The meals I ate there were some of the best I've had!