You can find codfish balls (bolinhos de bacalhau) as snack food at bars and restaurants all over Rio, but those served at Rosa do Adro, a far-from-pretentious botequim on Real Grandeza in Botafogo, are exceptional - piping hot, delicious, and with an ample quantity (two dozen). Be sure to ask for the incendiary pepper sauce to dribble on top (caution is advised). The service is as friendly as you will find anywhere, and the bottled beer is "stupidly cold".

NB: they are only served on Friday nights (perhaps on Saturday - call to check).

Rosa do Adro: Rua Real Grandeza 74, Botafogo — 2286-7942

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The yellow taxi service is excellent in Rio. I have never had a problem with a dishonest driver. You pay only what is on the meter - no tipping is expected (although you can round up to the next real).

If you need a taxi to the airport you can schedule one with Libertaxi (registered clients get a discount of 20% off on fares over 15 reais). If you meet a driver you particularly like you can negotiate with him for a rate for a full day of driving around the city, or even up to Petropolis (the former summer capital) and back.

Rua Cirne Maia, 100 Cachambi
Tel: 2105 0500
www.libertaxi.com.br

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Minas is famous for its excellent cachaças (if you haven't tasted cachaça yet, think of it as a Brazilian rum, distilled from sugar cane). The Bar do Beco Cachaçaria is a snug spot just downhill from Praça Tiradentes, and offers an excellent selection of delicious mixed drinks with cachaça.

Go down the main street, lined with restaurants, leading off Praça Tiradentes, and the Beco (alley) is on your left, with the Cachaçaria a few steps up on your left.

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In the tradition of Baixo Gavea, Botafogo is now developing a number of more upscale hangouts in the cultural hotspot of the neighborhood, the block of Voluntarios Da Patria between the Metro station and the Praia de Botafogo (the shore of the bay). In January the Drinkeria Maldita opened with a modern atmosphere for twenty-somethings and more elaborate drinks than you find at the usual restaurant or bar. And last month Odorico, with more focus on food but the same attention to interesting potations, opened almost across the street, next to the Unibanco cinema complex.

Voluntarios Da Patria between the Metro station and the Praia de Botafogo.
Drinkeria Maldita, Rua Da Patria 10, Botafogo, Rio.
Tel : 00 55 21 2527 2456 matrizonline.oi.com.br/drinkeriamaldita/

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Another nice place to hang out: this one is at Praça Santos Dumont, the intersection of Bartolmeu Mitre (which comes from Leblon), R. Jardim Botanico, and Marques de S. Vicente, which goes uphill into Gavea.

Two nice restaurants, at the corner of Rua dos Oitis: Braseiro, and Hippodromo.

PUC (the Pontifical University) is just up the street, so there will often be lots of students, and sometimes stars from Globo TV, just up the street in Horto.

Our favorite: the onion soup at Hippodromo.

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A large open-air space in Humaitá - between Rua Voluntarios and Rua Humaitá (which is the continuation of R. São Clemente). At night hundreds of cariocas are out eating, drinking, and being social at the four restaurants which serve the outdoor tables - Pizza Park, Galeto Mania (specializes in chicken), Espirito do Chopp (a varied menu including an excellent picanha na pedra, as well as crepes), and Manekineko (sushi). With a view of the illuminated statue of Cristo Redentor immediately overhead.

Between Rua Voluntarios and Rua Humaitá - frequent bus service.

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Ipanema beach is lined with tents selling food and drink, and renting beach chairs. We like the one run by Jorge, located between Posto 9 & 10, right in front of the Caesar Park hotel. It's called Ordem & Progresso (the motto from the Brazilian flag), and the employees wear shirts in the Brazilian colors of yellow and green. Give your name to Jorge at the tent, and you can run a tab, to be settled when you leave the beach. Until then just wave, and their folks will bring sandwiches, soft drinks, beer, caipirinhas, piña coladas... the latter comes in single (served in a cup) or double (served in a pineapple). Delicious (and huge). The sandwiches are tasty. Best of all, the folks are cheerful, quick, and honest.

Ipanema Beach, in front of the Caesar Park hotel.

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A cultural centre in the majestic building of the Bank of Brazil (built 1880), on Av. Presidente Vargas in the centre. Excellent offerings in theatre, music and the visual arts.

CCBB Rio: Rua Primeiro de Março, 66, Centro, Rio de Janeiro - walking distance from the Uruguaiana stop on the Metro;
tel: (21) 3808 2020
Open: Tues-Sun, 10am-9pm;
www.bb.com.br/cultura

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Brazil Max is an excellent guide to things to see and visit in Brazil, run by an American expat based in São Paulo.

www.brazilmax.com

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If the opera is in season, don't miss the excellent productions at the Belle Epoque opera house in downtown Rio, the Theatro Municipal. Even without an opera on stage, it is worth taking a tour of the lovely building, filled with stained glass and architectural detail.

On Av. Rio Branco, directly across from the Cinelandia station of the Metro.

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Mariana, another baroque city worth a visit, can boast of the presence of the only organ by German baroque builder Arp Schitger to be found in the Americas (housed in the Mariana Cathedral). The organ is in playing condition and is usually heard in concerts on Fridays and Sundays.

Mariana is a half-hour bus ride away down a spectacular river valley.

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Rio seems to have an increasing problem with people who are living on the streets. In the case of children and adolescents this may often mean that they are sniffing glue. Some street people manage to preserve some basics, laundering their clothes and washing themselves in fountains. Others have fallen off the edge. Give them a wide berth. If you see someone with no shoes, not even rubber sandals (Havaianas), stay a good distance away. The same goes for anyone more than two blocks from the beach who is not wearing a shirt.

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The music department of the University of Rio (UniRio) hosts weekly free concerts, usually of chamber music, in the entrance hall of the nearby Museu de Ciências da Terra do DNPM. And the Federal University (UFRJ) hosts weekly free concerts just down the street at the Salão Dourado of the Forum de Ciência e Cultura da UFRJ.

UniRio
Avenida Pasteur, 404, Urca (the avenue that leads to Sugarloaf).
Mondays, at 6:30 PM during term (March-June, August-November).
URRJ
Av. Pasteur, 250, Urca, Thursdays, at 7 PM.
Bus Service from the Botafogo Metro Station.

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This is an eating/drinking place for the young and modern - a casual restaurant catering to the twenty-something set. Good food, inexpensive, relaxed atmosphere, well-chilled beer. Try the Frango à Cubana (Cuban chicken, with palmito and banana).

Rua Capitão Salomão, 50, Botafogo, Rio de Janeiro; tel: 21 2286 0699;
www.oplebeu.com.br

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Sometimes you need a dentist right this instant - it might not wait till you get home. If you need a dentist in Rio, the team at Odonto Consulte is highly recommendable. Dr. Jose Jorge speaks English. You can tell them Tom the Gringo sent you. Theyre at two convenient locations: in the centre, and a block from the beach in Leblon.

Rua do Rosario, 151, Suite 603/4; tel: 2509-7710
or
Av. Ataulfo de Paiva, 1079, Suite 910, Leblon;
tel: 2529-8670

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A comprehensive website listing classical concerts in Rio - many more events than you will find in the limited space in the newspapers

www.vivamusica.com.br

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Once you get up top at Corcovado you will find that there are no cash machines (ATMs), and that none of the eating places accept credit cards. And that there is not a single drinking fountain (so that in slaking your thirst you spend a few more shekels). Remember that this being a tourist destination, prices are steep (or you might say, sky-high). So be sure you are well-supplied with the necessary before ascending.

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Botafogo:
Osteria Policarpo, an intimate spot (about 20 seats), with excellent appetizers, pasta courses, main courses, and desserts, and reasonable prices. If I remember correctly the owner is Venetian. Close to Cobal, an open-air gathering place to drink and socialise into the early hours of the morning.

Tijuca:
Il Nonno, slightly larger (80 seats), and easy walking distance from the north end of the main metro line in Saens Pena. Pasta in various flavours (our last outing was squash and spinach). They also specialise in galeto (small chickens).

Osteria Policarpo
www.osteriapolicarpo.com.br/
Largo dos Leões, 35 - Humaitá (this is the continuation of R. São Clemente in Botafogo)

Il Nonno
Rua Conde de Bonfim, 601, Tijuca
2208-5189

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Cine Clube São Clemente - a little family-run video rental spot with an excellent selection of international films on DVD. Reasonable prices, and friendly service. They will deliver and pick up rentals within Botafogo.

Five minutes walk up R. São Clemente (away from the bay) from the Botafogo metro station
R. São Clemente 172
telephone: 2526-2506
www.cinecultclube.com.br

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There are many Rio photographers contributing their work to the flickr database. You can use the tags to search for pictures of virtually anything in the city, even for historical pictures from past centuries.

www.flickr.com

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