Lara Dunston 
If you only take home one souvenir from Rio de Janeiro, make it swimwear – a pair of teensy Brazilian bikinis for her, and low-waist, hip-hugging, wide-brief sunga for him. In Ipanema, where we had our ‘home away from home’ in Rio for two weeks, there are countless swimwear shops with mannequins posing seductively in the chic … Read more
“It’s going to be an interesting game tonight,” our guide Luis tells us with a grin, as he scans the score table and list of players he has on a sheet of paper in his hands. This is good news, because if you’re going to watch football in Rio you want it to be interesting. We’re … Read more
Drinking a freshly-squeezed juice from one of Rio de Janeiro‘s juice bars, known locally as sucos bars is as much of a daily ritual for Cariocas as sipping coconut water beside the beach. There seems to be a juice bar on every block in Ipanema, their glass counters crammed with stunning displays of fruit and their … Read more
We meet locals in many different ways when we travel. Sometimes the people we connect with are friends of friends, sometimes we meet them in restaurants or bars, occasionally we meet them through the owners of the places we’re staying, and at other times we connect through social media channels such as Twitter. That’s how … Read more
Okay, so not everyone can afford to sponsor a child or make a donation, but it costs very little to purchase a small souvenir or a gift for loved-ones and you know the money is going direct to the artisan, designer or artist. Here are our favela finds, great souvenirs to buy while touring Rio’s … Read more