Walking Rio Centro -

Last week while in Rio Camillo and I decided to attempt a visit to the Navy History Museum.  This is like the 3rd time that we set off to walk through this museum and once again we had a great time but never found the museum. 

[I tried inserting an interactive map from Google Earth but the map itself wouldn’t insert in Windows Live Writer, only the address – so opted for a map that you can click and see larger that has 6 markers pointing to what I’ve written about before, what we saw this walk and one showing the subway station were we began our walk and the farthest point out. ]

We caught the subway in Ipanema at the General Osorio station and exited at the Carioca Station (little pink marker lower left corner) in the downtown area.   This trip took about 15 minutes, no parking issues and the streets downtown were quiet.  We were able to cut across the main streets and walk across the parks without moving around beggars or illegal kiosks selling all sorts of junk that clog this area during the work week. 

This map helps you see how close the small airport (beginning of runway lower right corner), the ferry port, Navy cultural center and Ilha Fiscal are to each other and their relationship to this weekend’s walk.  From the ferry port you can get to both Niteroi and to Paqueta. and from the Navy Cultural Center to the Ilha Fiscal.  When we visited Fiscal Island last month one of the Navy guards pointed to a building across / the other side of the freeway and said, ‘that is the Navy Museum.’  only he said it in Portuguese and Camillo translated to me because as usual I didn’t understand what he said and, the bottom line, the building we thought he was pointing out was not the Museum.  After playing with Google Earth to get a map for you, I realized that the museum is across from the ferry port not the cultural center – But – the whole area is an outdoor museum of Rio’s history and well worth exploring. 

I will try to insert photos in this order – streets of old houses now restaurants and businesses but nicely restored.  Random old churches in which this time around we did not go into but are now on my list.  Universidade Cândido Mendes which I am dying to go inside.  The Paço Imperial, and the Centro Cultural Correios Rio de Janeiro which we went into and are FANTASTIC.  [Please note the hyperlinks which give you addresses and other information.]   

Photos in order.

       

       

   

      

    

Great show of art inside both The Paço Imperial, and The Centro Cultural Correios Rio de Janeiro

    

Ginger’s walk on the Moon (3rd floor Centro cultural

We walked around for over 3 hours plus had a decent lunch in one of the antique buildings, then walked back to the same subway station and home again.  Even with cloudy skies - all in all a great day.