Quite true.

It is the same experience in Europe: Order a bottle of California wine to your dinner, and the tab skyrockets.

Personally I'll take a Caipirinha anytime, anywhere. In North America a bottle of Pitu or Ypioca is $30 USD, and in Europe the same is 30 Euros.

Completely true! ^ Just a bottle of wine in European restaurants could substantially increase the dinner bill. It is common when you dine out in Amsterdam that a simple bottle of wine costs EUR40. There are plenty of Brazilian restaurants with top range wine list from Argentina, Chile and Uruguay, and quality Brazilian wineries (such as Miolo, which have carved out markets in Europe now) whithout mushrooming you dinner bill.

Also in Brazil you have a wide range of restaurants for cheap/moderate eating out like in "per kilo or self-service restaurants". Of course, you compare top of the range Brazilian restaurant with a Michelin-strarred European restaurant the bill could be somehow similar, but the same does not apply for cheaper or moderate priced restaurants, where in Brazil you have plenty of option. Look simply at the issue of restaurants serving meat, like churrascarias. In Ipanema for example, you could have an expensive (Esplanata Grill), a moderate (Porcão) and a cheap option (Carretão). In Carretão you can eat executive lunch-time midweek all you can eat meat for R$40...you cannot find this in Europe or the US...sorry.

As for capirinhas, the average price of a glass (not bottle), in Europe is between EUR7 and EUR15, depending on venue, in Brazil you would pay R$5 (?).

Rgs,

In light of all the news and alerts I'm getting from my InternationalSOS app on the situation in Rio, can I ask for your opinions on whether safety there:

1) has become better or worse during the Olympics than usual
2) has become better or worse compared with 2012 (when I was last there, when the economy was humming along fine)
3) will most likely become better or worse after the Olympics, bearing in mind the upcoming impeachment?

Thanks!

2) Worse.

1) Olympic effect is mixed - lots more police about, but also the enticement of lots of international tourists and athletes. It's also possible the norm is just getting more attention.

2) Much worse than 2012. Crime was at an all time low at that point.

3) I don't see the impeachment having any impact, the real influencing factor is economic opportunity for the bottom part of society and funding for enhanced policing (e.g. pacification of favela). During the boom the bottom did very well but the recession has hit them and police budgets hard. It's possible that Rio's economy takes a turn for the worse after the Olympics as pre-construction work dries up. However, macro forecasts are for the recession to end next year (albeit no-growth rather than shrinking) so it may get slightly better.

You could lose millions (in endorsements) if you're not careful.