Before all those tourists descend on Rio for the 2016 Olympics, Lonely Planet guidebooks in hand,…read moreI'm putting this out there: Despite what the Rio book says, Feira de São Cristóvão is NOT "not to be missed". First things first: Lonely Planet refers to this place as "Feira Nordestina" but this listing, the outside of the structure which houses it, and their web site make clear that Feira de São Cristóvão is the actual name. Still, if you ask your cab driver to take you to "Feira Nordestina" you'll be taken here so perhaps the monikers are interchangeable. Essentially, you're asking to be taken to that giant swap meet with food, drink, music, and tchotchkes; the one that's open non-stop from Friday morning until Sunday evening plus a lot of additional hours Tuesday thru Thursday. There's a small per person fee to enter and just inside is your first cachaca tasting booth. Not a bad way to begin. After that, there's row after row after row - over 600 stalls in all - of shops, bars, restaurants, and music. The fair, apparently, showcases Brazil's Northeast, meaning that the food and live and canned music are largely Bahian. As a tourist, I have these observations: * The stuff for sale here is not, by and large, the stuff you want to bring home with you. There's a lot of everyday, utilitarian products (e.g. children's backpacks) that hold no tourist appeal. * At one place, in the center, people sit on benches watching televised bullfighting. Okay then... * Come hungry and find a restaurant near to the live music on the perimeters. Interesting people-watching. * Walk the interior rows and spy some couples dancing in poorly lit bars or friends doing the karaoke thing (in Portuguese). * You're definitely in a different part of Rio here (Zona Norte), more gritty and not catering to tourists. I didn't feel uncomfortable here but I also didn't feel like I fit in. I took a cab here and back (available just outside the gates) and felt glad to get back to the part of Rio that was a better fit for me. If you want to see an authentic slice of Zona Norte and maybe get a taste of Brazil's Bahian culture you might enjoy this. To me, it was just a giant swap meet and I beg to differ with Lonely Planet. I could've missed it without regret.

I love outdoor markets! Fiera de São Cristóvão is a nice place to refuel before partying during…read moreCarnaval. There are plenty of shops with souvenirs and other miscellaneous items, so keep your eyes peeled for that gifts for those back home that are not blessed to be there with you. I had my first açaí here and it was great. If you are a fan of live music, there were at least 3 different stages where bands were playing and people were dancing. If you enjoy people watching, this is a great place for that as well. I only bought a few items and did bargain with one of the vendors, I don't know if that's expected but did save a few reais. If you go during a busy time, and when isn't it?, expect crowded stores and it being hard to walk through. Keep your valuables protected as pickpockets are probably in this place. Plan on paying to park your car nearby.

We haven't been back out to Zona Norte in a while and last time we checked out Norte Shopping. This…read moretime we went directly out of the metro station into the Nova America complex. We heard that it had a serious fire that burnt down a majority of the mall last time we were out here, nearly three months ago but they must have done a good job repairing most of it because it was unnoticeable. It has a strange layout of segmented levels and the food court with movie theater inside made a huge traffic jam when trying to get between the two sections of the mall. The food court also has a unique covered outside patio area where there are fancier sit-down restaurants which look quite nice. We were so hungry we just grabbed something inside before exploring our options outside. The shops here are a little different than in other areas. It seems that they have quite a few outlet stores (Nike, Adiadas, Mizuno/Timberland) and other adorable local brands. The discounts were decent, depending on what was on sale. The mall was very crowded and most stores had their winter sale on. At one of the bigger department stores, Riachuelo, the lines for the cashier were so long and the attendant became so rushed that for our purchase, he forgot to take out the magnetic security tag and we didn't discover it until we got home! The ATM near the metro exit was miles long! It seems some the restaurants in the food court were cash only and the food stands (like for nuts) were also cash or debit card only. Of course, (we learned the hard way) the metro is also cash only too! And despite waiting in long line for the cash machine we were unable to withdraw anything. In effort to get a couple of reais that we were short on for the metro fare, we offered to buy a lady's purchase on our credit card so we could get some cash for the metro ticket home. Luckily she was a Good Samaritan and helped us get home. So all in all we had a good experience in Zona Norte.

If you're going to watch a soccer's game in Maracanã, São Januário (Vasco da Gama's Stadium) or…read moreEstádio Municipal João Havelange (Engenhão/Botafogo's Stadium), here's a good place to park and take a bus/taxi/metro.

Este shopping era um dos meus favoritos. A decoração de Natal está maravilhosa mas não tem mais a…read moreEnjoy que era uma loja que eu adorava, a Folic não tem mais também e a Maria Filo mudou de andar. Não cheguei ao 3o andar dessa vez mas fiquei sabendo que muito Mudou ali também.