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November 2001:
Four must-see sights: off-the-beaten-track Rio
Burle Marx Estate
The home of landscape architect, artist, opera-singer, gourmet cook, Robertó Burle Marx spans 350,000 square meters and is covered with more than 3,500 plant species ranging from the rare lacquer palm of Malaysia to Rio's famous ironwood. The estate includes the original home filled with a collection of paintings, glass, furniture and ceramics, a studio, chapel and a long, low building reminiscent of a Frank Lloyd Wright construction which is used for barbecues. Estrada da Barra de Guaratiba, 2019 Barra de Guaratiba; phone: (5521) 410- 1171

Grumari, Prainha, Recreio Beaches
Although Cocacabana and Ipanema are best known, these three beaches in the Western district of Rio are the most beautiful. Favored by surfers, pristine, and uncrowded, they make an ideal spot to take the tropical sun.

Bira do Guaratiba Restaurant
Arranged in trees overlooking the Atlantic Ocean, the alfresco dining room is infused with the scent of tropical blossoms and the presence of marmosets skittering along tree trunks to the balcony railings hoping for a taste of the excellent seafood. Caminho da Vendinha, 68-A, Barra de Guaratiba; phone: (5521) 410-8304

Casa do Pontal
More than 4,500 folk art clay figures once owned by obsessive collector Jacques Van de Beuque, are on display in his former home set between Prainha Beach and the Serra do Mar coastal range. The figures are cleverly grouped by occupation or event and many of the larger works — a piece made up of scores of celebrants at Carnival, another a full-tilt circus — move when a button is pushed on the outside of the glass case. There's even a locked room of pornographic statues the staff felt uncomfortable letting a woman in to see. Estrada do Pontal, 3295 — Recreio dos Bandeirantes; phone: (5521) 490-3278

The four CDs you must bring back from Rio:
1. "Djavan Live" (Epic)
2. Bebel Gilberto, "Tanto Tempo" (Universal)
3. "Songbook Noel" — Top samba singers and musicians such as Antonio Carlos Jobim and Caetano Veloso (Luminar Discos)
4. "Cássia Eller" — Modern Brazilian sound on an acoustic guitar (Universal)


If you go

Rio Visitors Bureau Rua Visconde de Pirajá, Tel: 5521- 259-6165 www.rioconventionbureau.com.br

Chapéu Mangueira favela tours Admilton dos Santos (Mido); E-mail: mido1@ig.com.br

Emporium 100 Rua do Lavradio, Tel: 2505-9144

Confeitaria Colombo Rua Goncalves Dias, Tel: 5521- 232-2300

Carioca da Gema Rua Mem de Sá, 79, Lapa, Tel: 2221-0043

Petisco da Vila Rua 28 de Setembro, 238, Vila Isabel, Tel: 2576-6321

Cobal de Botafogo Rua Voluntários da Pátria, 448 — Botafogo

Carmen Miranda Museum Parque Brigadeiro Eduardo Gomes — Aterro do Flamengo Tel: 5521- 551-2597

Copacabana Palace Hotel Ave Atlantica 1702, Copacabana Tel: 5521-545-8705, Fax: 8706


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If you’d like to read the article, click on: Newfoundland, Where Landscape Defines Literature
Awarded Second Place for Internet Travel Reporting by the Society of American Travel Writers Central States

–for John Ostdick’s story (June 2004): Acapulco Revisited: A New Look at the Poster Resort
Winner of the Canadian Tourism Commission's 2002 Northern Lights Award

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