Brazil 2014 - Day 10 (6/22/2014) - To Rio

I was up by 3:15 to begin getting ready to head for the airport.  We left the hotel around 4:00 and took a taxi to the airport.  When checking in for our 5:30 flight, the Gol representative told us that we would have to check in again in Brasilia for our connection to Rio.  We didn't really understand why they couldn't just give us boarding passes for both legs, but we just dealt with it.  In Brasilia I had to explain our situation to another Gol representative as well as yet another on the phone (who spoke better English) in order to have to keep from going back through security.  It turned out OK in the end, and we boarded without boarding passes.

In Rio, we were met by Raj's former colleague Luiza and her boyfriend João.  They kindly picked us up from the airport and treated us to lunch at a restaurant called Alessandro E Frederico in Leblon.  They also dropped us off at the apartment building where our Airbnb lodging was arranged.  After getting into the apartment (which was quite nice) and meeting our host, we walked down to Ipanema beach, which was only a couple of blocks away (the apartment was close to the intersection of Ipanema and Copacabana).  We walked up and down the beach, then over to Forte de Copacabana.  The museum part of the fort did not appeal much to me, but the view from the top was worth the R$6 admission.

We headed back to the apartment for a quick change, then back out to find a place to watch the 7:00 USA vs Portugal match.  After passing on a place that Luisa had suggested, we ended up at the very crowded Banana Jack's, surrounded by many other Americans.  We both had the veggie burger and enjoyed the roller coaster game, which ended in a draw.  Afterward we walked back to the apartment and plotted the next day's activities.