2009/11/02

TIJUCA FOREST PARK WITH SUSAN STOCK FROM CANADA



The Cascatinha Tunay is the first attraction of the Tijuca Forest - the largest urban forest in the world and  the green that dominates the landscape of Rio de Janeiro.Access is by road the  Barra da Tijuca, entering through the Praça Afonso Viseu  in Alto da Boa Vista . It has a parkinglot , bar, shop for handicrafts and ,  best of all, tranquility . Taunay was a French painter who was part of the mission of artists with   D. John VI in 1816 .His family owned the property where there is a waterfall down the road. Going left or going down the trail parking lot, you get to a garden where you can see the waterfall beneath a very beautiful old bridge .





After the waterfall you reach The Matrink Veiga little Chapel ,  very known by the Brazilian high society where they still celebrate nice weddings .
This is us inside the church.

Restaurante ¨Os Esquilos ¨ The Squirrels it´s a unique restaurant in the middle of the Forest preferred by  Rio´s Society . The building that houses the restaurant was formerly the home of the Baron de Escragnolle  , one of the administrators responsible for the reflorestation

FULL DAY TOUR FOR 1 TO 2 PEOPLE - U$200 DOLLARS IT TAKES FROM 6 TO 8 HOURS

2009/10/25

SANTA TEREZA ,SUGAR LOAF,CANDELÁRIA CHURCH A SPECIAL TOUR WITH MARISA AND DANIEL FAVRE FROM ARGENTINA

SANTA TEREZA TRAM



Santa Teresa is a district located on the hills close to the city center . We can walk on narrow streets and see the old buildings with a charming neighborhood dated back to the 18th century. It feels like time  has stopped and it preserves aspects of the old River and there is  history in every corner . Writers  and artists have been always been attracted to Santa Teresa .It has an architectural and rich culture seen in the eyes of the heart .

SUGAR LOAF


                                      THE VIEW OF GUANABARA BAY FROM SUGAR LOAF


URCA NEIGHBORHOOD                                                       URCA MOUNTAIN
CANDELÁRIA CHURCH


2009/10/20

HIPPIE MARKET IN IPANEMA


The Flea market  is open   every  Sunday  from 7:00am to 9:00pm  without exception since 1968 , it is located on  General Osorio Square at the end of "Visconde de Pirajá" street , where it intersects with "Teixeira de Melo" street
on  this fair you can find typical food from Bahia


Bahia (Portuguese pronunciation: ¨ baˈi.a ¨  is one of the 26 states of Brazil, and is located in the northeastern part of the country on the Atlantic coast.
It is the fourth most populous Brazilian state after São Paulo, Minas Gerais and Rio de Janeiro, and the fifth-largest in size. It is also one of the most important states in terms of history and culture in Brazil, and is comparable to Pernambuco in Brazil's Northeast Region.
Bahia's capital is the city of Salvador, or more properly, São Salvador da Bahia de Todos os Santos, and is located at the junction of the Atlantic Ocean and the Bay of All Saints. The name "bahia" is an archaic spelling of the Portuguese word meaning "bay" and comes from All Saints' Bay, first seen by European sailors in 1501.



It was in Bahia, the region of Porto Seguro and Santa Cruz de Cabrales, the fleet of Pedro Alvares Cabral arrived in 1500, marking the discovery of Brazil. On 1 November 1501, the Genoese navigator Amerigo Vespucci discovered the Bay of All Saints. The village formed in these banks became the first seat of the government-general, Tomé de Sousa arriving in 1549 to fill the position.  Known as the "Land of Happiness", that because of its gay population and festive events that contribute to its high tourist potential, which has been little explored by its coastline, the largest in Brazil, Chapada Diamantina, Recôncavo and other natural beauty and historical and cultural value.







ACARAJÉ:




1 pound black-eyed beans
4 onions
salt to taste
water palm oil for frying


SAUCE:
1 onion
200 grams of dried shrimp
palm oil
salt and pepper to taste
Preparation:
ACARAJÉ: Let the black-eyed beans soaked in water until tender (about 6 hours). Drain water and leave the beans in stone with the roller. Then remove the peel and black dots. Pass in the blender with the onion and a little water. Remove from the blender and place in a bowl beat with a wooden stick. Season with salt and fry by spoonfuls into oil palm hot.


SAUCE: Beat in a blender pepper, onion and a little water, then add the dried shrimp turning the blender to mix only, without dissolving the shrimp completely. Take fire for cooking and drying. Finally, add the olive oil. Cut tamales in half without separating the two halves, fill in and serve hot, immediately after removing from the fire.
on the hippie fair you will find pictures of the most diverse painters, each with its characteristic some of them  are pictures of Copacabana, other from fishermen, painters from Bahia , ones are from the  Brazilian Indians, the slums



I even tried to play some Brazilian instruments made of coat of coconut wood

this is a place where the native  jewelry are made from annatto seeds, beans, bark typical of Brazil,tourists can by all sort of things from t-shirts to jewelry, handicrafts, musical instruments, belty purse, suitcase,hats

                                   The artisans made these dolls one by one painted with their  hands



2009/10/17

SUGAR LOAF , GIGÓIA ISLAND , TIJUCA FOREST PARK WITH ANASTACIA





Sugar Loaf is one the most visited tour attraction in Rio de Janeiro from  the cable car you can see a wonderful view it was inaugurated on 27 October  1912 has became a trade mark of the city in all those years the cable car has received personalities  from all over the world like Einstein in 1925 , John Kennedy , actors like Roger Moore , Brook Shields , Gina Lollobrigida and others .
Augusto Ferreira Ramos imagined an aerial way to the Sugar Loaf in 1908 and in 1910 the construction of the first Brazilian cable car was iniciated now in 2009 the company decided to install a new and modern cable car holding 75 passengers
Adeulina enjoyed a lot our full day tour starting  at Sugar Loaf



the climbers choose this  Mountain to enjoy the view of Guanabara Bay and the Yach Club



After Sugar Loaf  we went to the Cascatinha on Tijuca Forest Park  to see the great waterfall with fresh water

FULL DAY WITH ONE PEOPLE -U$200 DOLLARS IT TAKES FROM 6 TO 8 HOURS

2009/10/14

PRAÇA XV , SANTA TEREZA , LEBLON WITH KENNETH HILL AND HIS WIFE COUPLE FROM IRELAND



The tour was on Independence Day we went to downtown at Praça XV to see the ferry  leaving to Niterói , it was not too sunny but a pleasant day for a  tour 
The fisherman with their boats at the entrance of Guanabara Bay byside de habour in downtown area

 

The Albamar Restaurant on Praça XV , they serve nice seafood and Internacional Cuisine and has a very old construction

The niciest couple I have  met from Ireland in  a picture with the
Sugar Loaf Mountain


This is me Diana
                                                               


SANTA TEREZA AND CATHEDRAL
 
Mirante do Leblon The area is leblon with a very nice beach

Kenneth Hill said :
My wife and I recently spent 11 days in Rio de Janeiro. All the sights were beautiful as expected, but the thing that was best of all was the friendliness of the people. None more so than our licensed tour guide Diana Persi, with whom we went to Santa Teresa, Sugar Loaf etc. She is honest, experienced, a safe driver, speaks English ,French, Spanish ,punctual and nothing is too much trouble for her. A laugh is never far away when you are in her company. So if you need a guide when in Rio and the surrounding countryside I could highly recommend dianatoursinrio. Also if you need any fresh fish- no problem.....she knows all the fishermen!.

Thank your Kenneth -

FULL DAY TOUR WITH TWO PEOPLE -U$200 DOLLARS IT TAKES FROM 6 TO 8 HOURS


2009/10/12

DOWNTOWN RIO DE JANEIRO CHURCHES WITH A NICE ENGLISH VISITORS

Together with my friends I went for a walk in downtown area and we passed by the Tirandentes Palace , downtown Rio ( it´s the home of the Assembléia Legislativa do Rio de Janeiro -The Rio de Janeiro Legislature building it was built in 1922 has several politics elements as the Tiradentes Statue - a Brazilian Independence hero
The Arquicheture of the first Centro Cultural of Bank of Brazil in Rio de Janeiro built in 1880 and in 1989 was converted into a Cultural Center that today consists of two Theaters , four exhibition halls a computerized library with over than 100.000 volumes , an auditorium , video rooms and has a wide variety of cultural offerings we had a wonderful Brazilian coffee in one of the greatest coffee shop in the area where we could read many interesting books












we walked to see many beautiful churches dated from the 19th Century


These marvelous couple from England contact me when they were cruising the Brazilian waters and  landed at the Port of Rio de Janeiro they  had a day off here in Rio so they send me an e-mail asking about the full day tours ,so I pick them at the Port of Rio de Janeiro  and we went to have a walk in downtown  and I showed them all I could in one day ,two or three days would be  better to see the beauty of the city so I took them with my confortable to show them all.

we head to Niterói bridge to go to the city of Niterói to see the National Park with this awsome view



their testimony :
Diana this is just to let you know that we now have returned safely to England after our trip to S.America .One of the highlights was our trip to Rio on 17th March with you , you are a brilliant guide and got the balance just right for us , it was a most memorable day that we will treasure always it was a pleasure to meet you and spend the day with you .



Regards Wolsey and Merril Jameson
Barney & Phil


Very many thanks !
 Thank you , I was honored to tour with you , God bless England !
Diana Persi

FULL DAY TOUR WITH 4 PEOPLE -U$250 DOLLARS IT TAKES FROM 6 TO 8 HOURS




2009/10/11

FLEA MARKET ON PRAÇA XV







  A Flea market at  the streets of downtown  to be visited on Saturdays from 6:00am to 3:00pm , If you arrive early you can by the  best local hadcrafts , they sell ceramic, paintures  ceramics , coins , statues , very different things , it´s one of the old Markets in Rio , this place  tells a lot about our history , located on Praça 15 de Novembro , If you come to Rio de Janeiro you have to visit this  Market .





In the Center of the Square you find a fountain built by the Famous Brazilian sculptor Mestre Valentim
this square has the name of our first President Marechal Deodoro da Fonseca
Alfonso and I at the Flea Market

you can enjoy the architecture  of old buildings some dated from the 19th  Century


Fiscal Island located on Guanabara Bay was entrusted on the 19th Century was famed  as the venue of the last ball hosted by the Brazilian Empire on November 1889 , the castle underwent an extensive restauration