We arrive at 18.00. The ship leaves at 20.00 the next day. We had a six hour transit tour of the city called Art Deco and Coffee tour. About 30 of us walked from the terminal with our Italian guide looking at street art and graffiti. Went past the museum of the Future which we had visited in 2016. After that concentrated on Art Deco buildings, the phrase originating in 1926, and saw many good examples. Also saw examples of the earlier established Art Nouveau, covering natural, non geometrical, shapes.
Boarded the bus for the journey to Copacabana where we continued our tour. Also heard about the birth of the Bossa Nova and the girl at Ipanema. Lunch in the Giuseppe grill, very good, chatted to the artist Yvonne for the first time. And coffee at one of those classic old world cafes that have somehow survived intact over the ages.
Interestingly we were supplied with a bodyguard the whole time. A bulky, shaven headed gentleman wearing sunglasses, who looked as if came straight from central casting. They assured us that Rio really was safe, and that he was only there to make sure nobody got lost.
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Our afternoon tea was taken at Confeiteria Colombo in the centre of Rio. It was recently chosen as one of the 10 most beautiful cafes in the world. It was founded in 1894 by Portuguese immigrants Joaquim Borges de Meireles and Manuel José Lebrão. Its architecture and atmosphere allow one to have an idea of what the Belle Époque would have been like in Rio . Between 1912 and 1918 the rooms inside the confectionery were renovated, with an Art Nouveau touch, with huge glass mirrors brought from Antwerp, embellished by elegant friezes carved in rosewood. The wooden furniture inside was sculpted at the same time by the craftsman Antônio Borsoi. In 1922 its facilities were expanded with the construction of a second floor, with a tea room. An opening in the ceiling on the ground floor allows you to see the skylight of the tea room, decorated with beautiful stained glass.
We enjoyed the atmosphere of the art nouveau 1894 Cafeteria Colombo where we had fantastic gateaux amidst the surrounds. Some of us perhaps might have over-indulged on the selection of cakes
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Back on the ship we enjoyed the sail out of Rio from the back deck. The statue of Christ the Redeemer could be clearly seen illuminated in the night sky.
And .... Chris got Silverseas Bear from Jonathan as her ’ very disappointing’ prize from Trivia points. Silversea Bear came out of of a cupboard in the Panorama lounge, where we suspect he had been lurking/hiding for several years
