6 days in Rio

My 6 days in Rio are over. I am now in Ilha Grande, a paradise island with no cars. Nature, nature, nature... Rio has been great:
- Ipanema beach house: the hotel was excellent. 3 blocks from the beach in the heart of trendy Ipanema. The interior patio including a bar and swimming pool were the best things to meet new people and start the night with a caipirina or two.
- Corcovado: no comments, you all have see the pix. Maybe the best view in the world.
- Copacabana: a bit seedy, a real tourist area now with prostitutes walking around looking for customers. Was very disappointed by this part of town.
- Leblon: one of the richest area in Rio, where Francoise and Yannick live. An expatriate hang out with a real village feel. The Guanabara pizza is where you should have a pizza around 5AM after a good night out.
- Lapa: the area for a night out. Walking around the streets of Lapa at night is a bit dodgy but that´s where you get a real feel of the city buzz. Samba, forro and other Brazilain sounds, it is all in Lapa. The samba club we went to, Carioca da Gama is highly recommended: great singing and dancing.
- Feira de Sao Cristavao: a weekly festival set inside a sport arena where immigrants from Northern Brazil relive their culture and feel at home. Entering the feria is like changing country: forro, forro, forro everywhere, food and craft from Northern Brazil. A lot of noise, dancing, eating, drinking. I liked the sign outside the arena: 'people carrying firearms will not be allowed in'.

On my return to Rio in 3 weeks I should not miss the following: the Sugar Loaf mountain and the favela tour which I heard was wonderfull.