By Dave Guenther, President of Roadtrips Inc.
Finding great food experiences is one of the key elements to most people’s travel. Everyone has different tastes and varying levels of adventure in their palette, but more and more food can be a primary driver in destination decisions. Great food can go a long way to making a great holiday. I’m no different. I look forward to exploring the food culture of the places we go and I love seeking out favorite restaurants and making recommendations to our guests, friends and staff.
Rio De Janeiro has a vibrant and quickly growing restaurant scene. There is a lot of money here and where there is money, good restaurateurs follow. As of my travels to Rio to date, here’s my best of Rio favorites (alphabetically). Continue reading
Tag Archives: summer games 2016
Rio Part 3: The Best of Rio Hotels
By Dave Guenther, President of Roadtrips Inc.
Rio De Janeiro is an amazing place that is used to attracting huge crowds. During this year’s Carnival the world once again descended upon the city. Millions filled the streets to engage the festivities or start some of their own. There were, of course, all kinds of VIPs and celebrities including Kim and Kanye, Will Smith and squeeze and many Brazilian actors and athletes unrecognizable to me. Visitors were estimated at more than 500,000+ and who knows where they all stayed. Rio is a world-class destination without a lot of world-class hotels.
As a luxury travel guy with clients that have very high standards, knowing the city’s accommodation inventory and visiting a lot of hotels is essential. My current trip is the first time that I’ve stayed in the city without staying in a hotel. Being with my family and here for a month we’ve rented a villa in Joatinga, a hillside enclave just before the southwestern suburb of Barra, where the Summer Games will be headquartered. However, on my other visits, I’ve sampled some of the city’s best hotels and on this trip, as with all others, I’ve spent significant time in each of the city’s best properties either eating, lounging or being toured around.
With that introduction, here’s my take on Rio’s best accommodation options. Continue reading
Rio Part 2: A Little Portuguese Goes A Long Way
By Dave Guenther, Roadtrips Inc.
Rio De Janeiro is a world-class destination that regularly captures headlines because of its glamour, stunning beauty and exotic vistas. However, it is not a place where you’ll find much English spoken. The language of Brazil is Portuguese and outside of the major hotels, it can be a challenge for visitors to communicate. Many restaurants have only one or two English-speaking employees and after your introduction to the hostess they will be quickly summoned to practice their halting ingles with you.
Of course, this doesn’t mean you won’t get by. It’s amazing what grunts and hand gestures can accomplish. Plus you’ll be thrilled to see how much your party skill charades achieve when accompanied by whatever you remember of high school ‘Spanglish’. Personally, I only learnt introductory French in high school and when misunderstood I like to add a foreign accent and repeat again in English; often with extra volume. While not effective, at least I’m entertaining and appear determined! Continue reading
A Month in Rio – By Dave Guenther, President of Roadtrips Inc.
We’ve pulled the kids out of school (again!), escaped the harshness of winter and have moved to beautiful and exotic Rio De Janiero, Brazil for a month of adventure, family together time and site familiarization.
What we’re doing might be a different take on ‘product education’ but our previous family experience of moving to Cape Town for five months ahead of the 2010 World Cup proved not only invaluable but also one of the best family times that we had ever experienced. The takeaways from that time away go on and on. Learning how to live in a new place is bonding. New activities, fresh tastes, completely different ways of doing things bring surprising joy and shared experience. Continue reading
