The wonderful city of Rio de Janeiro

This wonderful city is known in Brazil as "a cidade maravilhosa", it means the wonderful city, and certainly it is.

Wonderful, because Rio de Janeiro has many wonderful things. Possibly its beaches are the reason that makes it more special, those movie beaches, with such famous names and always crowded. Either because of its images or because of the famous Brazilian song "The Girl from Ipanema" (by Vinícius de Moraes) in which they talk sweetly and melodiously about that girl who went along that Ipanema beach. How many versions of this song have you heard?

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There is also another famous beach, when you hear Copacabana, what do you think of? in summer, vacation, party and even glamour. Here is a classic hotel in which many celebrities will have enjoyed the beauty of the horizon and the animation of its people, because there are always people.

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People sunbathing, people bathing, talking, dancing, drinking a caipirinha or playing soccer or foot volleyball. It may be that imagining a Brazilian on the beach playing some sport is one of the most iconic images that we all have in our heads.

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But there is more, the most wonderful thing may be those views from a small magical mountain called "Pão de Açúcar" (or Sugar Loaf), and from the cable car we can see how the city integrates, accommodates and adjusts to the topography of this almost fantastic environment. It looks like the scene of an imaginary place or an animated series...

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And people get excited more than ever when the days of **Carnival **arrive! (and now almost in February there is little left). And beyond the colorful feathered and shiny dresses on the Sambodromo (the big stadium where parade and competition is hold), the other citizens and tourists get up early to party, yes , the street parties start already in the morning.

They are called "blocos" and you have to find out where they are located and go in good spirits and have something to drink, sunglasses and a swimsuit, because it is already very hot and sometimes they spill water. And so the day passes until night falls and in the Arcos da Lapa area, an old aqueduct continues the animation, street food and always lots of music. How do you like their music? Samba, bossanova, sertanejo, forró... and more styles that you discover.

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And something that is easy to discover and one of the best-known wonders is Christ the Redeemer, that great statue of Christ that watches over the entire city from above, and that can be seen practically from anywhere in the city. Even from there we can see something that all Brazilians consider a wonder or almost a sanctuary, the Maracanã, the most famous football stadium of all. How much passion and devotion for their favorite sport!

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There are so many favorite things in the city that it takes a long time to talk about all of them now, we aren't mention the Botanic garden the old train, other areas of the city, or other beaches like Botafogo.

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As well as its architecture, because not all of them are beaches, we find official buildings, European-style theaters, like an old Portuguese city, modern churches, colorful houses and avant-garde buildings. Everything intermingles while we look for a metro stop, in a recently renovated and expanded metro, very up-to-date, and although not very large, quite efficient.

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But it is clear that, after several walks, what we most want again is to order a caipirinha at one of the stalls on the beach and lie there on the sand, enjoy the views, the sea, the intensity and joy of its people that create a different atmosphere, very lively and without a doubt, wonderful. Because this is "the wonderful city".

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