Recap: Weekend in Rio

So, I had a little getaway to Rio this weekend. I won't lie - it was awesome. Weather was awesome, being a kid-free adult was awesome, doing whatever we wanted was awesome. Ben travels a lot for work, and doing the single-parent thing while he's gone is rough. It helps to make up for it, though, when we get the rare opportunity to recharge on our own. The Recap...

When I arrived (Ben was already there), I was amazed at the view from our room - Copacabana Beach.

Ha! That would've been more than rad - that was the view from the restaurant.

THIS was the view from our room - not shabby - see the full moon rising?

We toasted our weekend with a starter of pineapple and berry caiprioskas (caiprinhas made with vodka)

...and proceeded to get just toasty enough to brave a (dark and fuzzy) pic of the zealous couple next to us at dinner

Saturday morning, we walked all along the famed Ipanema beach and its charming neighborhood. I think we walked for more than two hours, so I justified the whale's worth of sushi I ingested for lunch.

Later, we took a tour of Pão de Açúcar (The Sugar Loaf) mountain via one of these...

The views of the city and beaches are great...

(Someone knows how to live well - I need them as friends)

...but I'm much happier on terra firma, with a mid-afternoon espresso

Saturday night: Date Night. (We'll forgive Ben his shoes...this time)

Dinner overlooking the city. I think he was trying to seduce me ;)

...by ordering drinks

The food was as good as the view - dessert, phenomenal. I'll be working off the food from this weekend for the next two weeks. *sigh*

Sunday morning was all about the Ipanema Hippie Fair - an art, artisan, and craft show. It's always a must-do when I visit Rio. I considered this cowhide, but it wasn't quite right...

Totally bummed I forgot to go back and buy one of these leather cuffs

The folk art scene is always interesting and lively

We've eyed these chairs the last couple of times we've seen them. They have a large selection of leather or hide "inserts," and they're amazingly comfortable.

We couldn't decide on a pattern, or where we'd put the chair, so we passed. All in all, it was a very uneventful shopping trip. We didn't even bring home a small painting, but that's fine by me, since I finally snagged this Michelle Armas this morning.

Relish "Graphite," but don't covet - she's spoken for.

And, your weekend was????