Santa Teresa

A great day up the top of the town in the Santa Teresa bairro of Rio de Janeiro. It’s very different in character from Zona Sul where the beaches are - narrow, windy cobbled streets with traditional small houses and some grand villas (many with great views over the bay) and an arty bohemian feel. The down side is that it is quite a hike/taxi trip into the centre or the beaches, adding cost and time (30 minutes each way on a good day, if you avoid rush hour or garbage lorries doing their slow collection rounds!).

However, we fantasied with the idea of just basing ourselves up here for a month and never leaving and it had a certain attraction, including characterful bars to hand, and one or two top end restaurants.

We had our weekly feijoada in Bar do Mineiros which won the award for best feijoada in the city last year…unfortunately, it got a six out of ten from both us and our Brazilian table neighbours. They had come with high hopes and found out from the owners that they had started two new chefs this week and they were still learning the house’s feijoida ropes…perhaps not the best continuity plan to have! Still, the bar itself was confection enough for the eyes and we had a great time people watching and lapping up the atmosphere, as well as making a few craft purchases for us and Mum in her new care home bedroom.

More in extras…