My home in Rio.

Rio Panorama #1--Sugar Loaf.

Rio Panorama #2--Lagoa Rodrigo de Frietas and Morro Dois Irmaos (Two Brothers)

Rio Panorama #3--Copacabana Beach

Me and friend on Copacabana Beach.

Me and my other friend on Copacabana Beach (actually--this statue is of Carlos Drummond de Andrade, Brazilian poet and journalist).

The old man and the sea ... ?

Time for a city tour--first stop: the "Sambadrome"--site of Carnaval and the parade of the Samba Schools.

A photomural of Carnaval outside a Samba School (and tourist trap)--the Cultural Center of Carnaval.

It trapped one!

Master Manoel Dionisio.

Next, Catedral Metropolitana, Saint Sebastian--the bell tower and the conical shape of the cathedral, rising almost 250 feet with no interior columns, is a striking presence.

Catedral Metropolitana, Saint Sebastian.

Catedral Metropolitana, Saint Sebastian.

It has its own radio station?!

The Cathedral interior.

The Cathedral interior.

Nearby--an office building with its own somewhat elongated cross built into the side of the structure ... the headquarters of Petrobras, Brazil's principal oil company.

A visit to Maracana Stadium--it can host crowds of up to 200,000 (for soccer and rock concerts).

And on to Sugar Loaf--a view of the Two Brothers here with Ipanema in the foreground.

On the way to the midway point (at Morro da Urca), overlooking Guanabara Bay.

The summit of granite and quartz Sugar Loaf (Pao de Acucar) looms.

At the summit, facing the curving beach at Copacabana.

Atop Sugar Loaf, a sculptural view of the scene: "Rio--Mythological Guanabara" by Remo Bernucci "The skirt--the waves of the sea; The curved waist--the beaches; The breasts--the mountains; The hair--the forests; The silhouette--the gracefulness of the carioca woman; And at the foot of the statue the ibis."

Rio Panorama #4--Ipanema/Copa 1

Rio Panorama #4--Ipanema/Copa 2

Rio Panorama #4--Ipanema/Copa 3

Rio Panorama #4--Ipanema/Copa 4

Rio Panorama #4--Ipanema/Copa 5

Me atop Sugar Loaf.

Coming down from the heights, I begin my search for the famous female from Rio ... "La Garota". Turns out the song was written here--it was at the bar across the street ...

... even though this one has the son's lyrics posted on its exterior wall!

Here's the place--the Vinicius.

So I asked around. This is where I was directed--so what's the big deal, anyway? Here she is--the "Gull From Ipanema". Looks more like a pigeon anyway ... I dunno--maybe it's a language thing. I asked again and I was sent to ...

... the "Grill From Ipanema." No, that can't be right.

This can't be right either.

Perhaps it's plural--the gigly "GirlS from Ipanema"?

Who cares?! Here's the "Guy (On The Beach At) Ipanema" with the Two Brothers in the Background. Actually the song was inspired by one Helo Pinheiro, now 63, a grandmother still living in Rio, and, I'm told, quite attractive.

Castles in the sand on Copacabana Beach.

The Rio subway is far more limited than the system in Sao Paulo--and everywhere you go, Rio's candidacy for the 2016 Summer Olympics is touted.

Rio is home to a tiny Museu Judaico, displaying a small collection of menorah and explanations of Judaism.

The Menorah ("chanukiah") collection.

The Menorah ("chanukiah") collection.

A brass menorah dating from the 16th century.

Rio's Theatro Municipal (c. 1909).

An off-the-beaten-track treat: the Museu Carmen Miranda.

Palm trees sprout at the center of the circular exhibition space.

And there they are.