Our Last Night In Rio de Janeiro
It has been a very long week. My body quit a few times. My eyes saw many things my mind won't soon forget. Sensory Overload. Sensory Overload. We wanted to spend the last night in an extravagant way. We planned to have a nice meal then party untill sunrise. The only thing new about this plan was the nice meal. No more cheeseburgers by the Metro.
Herb thought it might be a good idea to eat at the Copacabana Place, but Marcio had another idea - Porcão. Marcio works the front desk at Botafogo Easy Hostel. He is really sarcastic, and we didn't like him at first. Once you figure out his antics, he is a funny dude. Porcão is a typical Rio Churrascaria. A Churrascaria is a steakhouse that features a full buffet. Kilograma is the same style of restuarant, but Porcão is much nicer. We made reservations for their Ipanema location.
Upon arrival, Herb realized this is where he watched the super bowl. Funny. The entrance way opened into a hallway. The hallway lead into the very open dinning room with a large buffet in the center. To the left, a bar was almost empty. To the right, was a framed World Cup 1994 Brazil Jersey. They won that year, and the whole teamed had signed it! Romairo. Ronaldo. Cafu. What a sick team. There were also pictures on the wall of restaurant patrons that included Pele, Romairo, Magic Johnson, Bono, Heidi Klum, Gisele, and McCartan 3 times.
A head waiter showed us to our table and the drinks were presented. We could choose from a variety of Caipirinhas like strawberry and kiwi. I had kiwi. They were potent. The head waiter explained the process. We had a circular card on our table. We turned it to a green side if wanted meat to red if we didn't. Waiters walked around the floor with skewers of various meats including Lamb, Pork, Roast Beef, Steak, Chicken, Sausage, and more. The buffet was downright astonishing. We could choose from sushi, seafood, vegetables, salad, fruit, fruit salad. So many choices. Eventually, the dessert tray was shown with Flan and a vairty of pies. McCartan and I shared a peanut butter chocolate type thing along with a cream chocolate thing. The waiter also gave us a traditional Brazilian liquor named Tropical. We polished off the meal with Espresso. Cost? About $40 US. Crazy.
After dinner, we planned to find Zero Zero in Gávea. The cabby gave us the round-a-bout, but we made it before midnight. The place was very posh and still serving a dinner crowd. The bar area was dimly light and featured a downtempo and funk dj. He was playing some amazing tracks. Our Australian friends from my room met us there - Brooke and ?. We hoped the place would pick up in pace after 1am. Unforunately, the crowds never came. The Aussies suggested we try Bunker 94 in Copa. A change was a great idea.
Bunker 94 was a wise choice. This place had a short line, and was packed with two dance floors. The main room featured more of a pop sound intermingled with a band. The smaller more industrial room was slamming progressive. Just what we needed for the last night. The bar setup was interesting. You waited in line to purchase a ticket. Then your ticket acquired you a drink at the bar. We proceeded to dance into the wee hours in the smaller room. Even McCartan and Herb got crazy. The late night dj was tearing it up. We heard the mix of the week - California Dreamin' Remix. So Fun. The Aussies found an afterparty, but Herb, Matt, and I needed the beach.
We exited Bunker 94 sometime between 6 and 7. Just like every night, the beach was only a few blocks away. We made it out to Copacabana just in time for another sunrise. I tell you, this never gets old. Herb had a desposable camera so, we got a few shots with shirts off on the beach at sunrise. We then retired to a small dinner for some pizza. Some local got into it with Herb. He had been making fun of us in Portuguese. He threatened to call the cops, but the cook came out from the back to calm him. The whole place was on ourside. We apologized and he accepted. I began to clap and the entire place followed my lead. We love Brazil. We come in Peace.
We traveled back to Botafogo on the bus. What a long twelve hours, but I would have not had it another way. We needed one last banger before catching a ride home. We love Rio de Janeiro!
