During the recent Buenos Aires FT Cow Do various participants suggested having an FT Do in Rio de Janeiro. This is a preliminary survey to see whether there would be sufficient interest in an FT Do for 9-12 Nov 2012, including the Armistice Day holiday in the US. The weather is usually pretty good around that time of year, and the AAdvantage off-peak economy award is still available for 20,000 miles ow.

A word of caution about hotels is in order: the only international US chain hotels currently operating here are Sheraton and JW Marriott. Unfortunately, the Sheraton has a very inconvenient location, and the Marriott is very expensive, as covered in various relevant FT threads. There is also Sofitel (Accor), Copacabana Palace (Orient Express/Leading Hotels), Caesar Park (formerly Westin), Windsor Atlântica (formerly Le Méridien), and Fasano (Leading Hotels), all also expensive. The Intercontinental has been sold and will morph to some other brand (Royal Tulip, if I remember correctly) at some future point in time and there is no other IHG, or any Hyatt or Hilton at all. On the lighter weight side there are many hotels such as Hotel Porto Bay Rio Internacional and lots of other local and national chains that do not offer well-known international loyalty programs. A branch of Ibis (Accor) is currently under construction in Copacabana and there is already one open downtown near the local airport; there are three Mercures (Accor) in different neighborhoods. Before getting up any enthusiasm for the Rio-Wave Do it would be a good idea to check out hotel prices, as everything else here in Rio also turns out to be quite expensive when converted to USD at the current exchange rate. A cheaper alternative might be a short-term rental apartment, but that can turn out to be a disaster. You should concentrate on the Zona Sul (principally Leblon, Ipanema, Copacabana, Leme) when looking.

Here is a proposed program. Suggestions are most welcome, but I do not have contact with travel agents.

Fri 09 Nov Lunch: Frontera Ipanema (mid-scale or slightly upscale kilo restaurant, where you pick your food from a buffet and pay by weight)

Dinner: Carretăo Siqueira Campos (mid-scale fixed price churrascaria, with a salad bar and sushi in addition to a large variety of grilled meats on a spit; very popular with local families but the meat is not top-notch). Both more popular and more sophisticated churrascarias exist. The three suggested for Sunday dinner are considered the best; Monchique is perhaps on a lower level than Carretăo, but still popular with local residents. Please comment on the desired price/quality/popularity.

Sat 10 Nov Lunch: Market (mid-scale or slightly upscale garden restaurant with sophisticated international cuisine)

Dinner: Feijoada (typical Brazilian dish made from black beans and various dried meats including both pork and beef from all parts of the animal, from head to toe, inside and outside; a vegetarian version is possible if required but it will be much less tasty). This will be at my apartment, overlooking the ocean in Copacabana (no charge, but if you want to bring something to drink, that’s ok); participation would be limited to about 20 guests due to space considerations. Feijoada is usually served for lunch, so we might do it around 3pm and skip both lunch and dinner. This timing would perhaps facilitate a Saturday morning visit to the beach and a Saturday night outing to samba schools, night clubs, movies, bars, etc.

Sun 11 Nov Excursion to Petrópolis (Emperor’s summer palace, Santos Dumont museum in honor of his invention of the airplane before the Wright brothers, shopping street for clothing), Búzios (beach resort, bars, discos), or some other scenic place. As I said, I do not have contact with any tourism agencies, but once a destination has been picked out I could look into it.

Dinner: Fogo de Chăo, Porcăo, or Marius (upscale fixed price churrascaria; top quality grilled meats served directly from the spit, as well as seafood and salads; very popular with foreign tourists and the expense account crowd)

Mon 12 Nov Lunch: Kitchen and Salads (low scale sidewalk kilo restaurant).

Rio is full of attractions, such as Sugar Loaf Mountain, Christ the Redeemer statue, baroque churches (Săo Bento, Glória), museums (National, Indian, Castro Maya, Modern Art, Belas Artes), cultural centers (Banco do Brasil, Laura Alvim) and cinemas, the National Theater, the zoo, etc. I am not into night life, but there is plenty of it, both straight and gay. There should be lots to do without too much concentration on eating.

Please let me know if you think you might come by posting in this thread-- subject, of course, to the uncertainties of long-term planning. Any suggestions would be most welcome.

PS: The name Rio-Wave Do is inspired by the famous wave pattern Portuguese stone sidewalks in Copacabana designed by Roberto Burle Marx (1909-1994, the distinguished Brazilian landscape architect, ecologist, and naturalist). We do have cows here, but they are perhaps not quite as esteemed as their cousins in Buenos Aires.

Excellent idea... please put me down as interested !!!!!

Maybe the nickname for this event should be the Shrimp Do...???