What to do if you had only 48 hours in the Marvelous City? The options are limitless, but the Independent (UK) offers up some nice options for readers this week as part of its ongoing “48 Hours” travel series.

From shopping to dining to beaches to hiking the series offers some nice options for those planning a trip to Rio de Janeiro. One of our favorites was this section entitled “Cultural Afternoon” focusing on some nice cultural hot spots as well as new places on the horizon:

• In anticipation of the 2014 World Cup and the 2016 Olympics, Rio hums to the sound of regeneration – that’s to say, demolition and construction. Copacabana is aiming to shake off its seedy image with a new Museum of Image and Sound which New York-based architects Diller Scofidio + Renfro (responsible for the Big Apple’s new High Line park) began work earlier this year. Until that is unveiled, make for the Instituto Moreira Salles at 476 Rua Marques de Sao Vicente in Gavea, where the modern garden and ceramic fresco were designed by Roberto Burle Marx, responsible for the city’s iconic mosaic pavements. The house was built for the father of acclaimed film director Walter Salles, and now homes engaging cultural exhibitions, from film to music and visual arts. Open daily except Monday: weekends 11am-8pm, from 1pm on other days, admission free.

And “A Walk in the Park” also sounds like a must if you have only two days in Rio. Where else can you hit the beach, admire some cosmopolitan culture, and walk through a rainforest – all in the same city?

• Why settle for a walk in the park when there’s a rainforest on the doorstep? The precipitous folds of Tijuca Forest form a verdant national park harbouring waterfalls, wildlife, leafy trails and, of course, that statue. The crowning glory of the 710m-high Corcovado Mountain, Christ the Redeemer, was clad in scaffolding until earlier this month when a £2.7m restoration was unveiled. If the walk up is too daunting, take the train that climbs through the rainforest from Cosme Velho train station; be prepared to queue; daily 8.30am-7pm.

If you had 48 hours in Rio, what would be that one must-see location you would have to visit?

Sun, sand, … and food. Brazil’s grilled chicken counters offer some of the best quick meals around – and at a tiny price.

From hot dog stands in New York to taco stands in Mexico City to barbecue trailers in Texas, some of the best cuisine around the world can be found right on the street. It’s blue collar food, sold by regular folks taking an artisan’s touch to their offerings. Street food is a key part of a city’s culture – with smells of yucca or plantains wafting over a Latin-American plaza or a cold ice cream on a hot afternoon.

Rio de Janeiro is no different, and its famous galetos (from the word galinha in Portuguese for chicken) are popular for their scrumptious grilled chicken with Cariocas and visitors alike. The usual setups have diners sitting at stools or chairs, as whole chickens are charcoal-grilled behind a counter. The chicken is then sliced on a plate for customers. Many galetos also now offer grilled beef entrees, and sides for your meal include: salads, fried, French bread, and diced onions and tomatoes. The prices are low and the tastes are succulent.

Fast, cheap, and tasty, these simple food counters are perfect for grabbing a bite on your way to the beach or sacking up a meal for takeout. Just the thought may make you think of breaking out the grill tonight.

Have you visited one of these restaurants? What was your experience?

Opera … in the Amazon? You bet – a bit of culture off the beaten path.

One of Brazil’s more unique edifices is the Teatro Amazonas (Amazon Theater) in Manaus. This exquisite opera house was completed on New Year’s Eve 1896 during the country’s rubber boom as companies extracted rubber from trees deep in the Amazon jungle. This “jungle opera” is an exquisite piece of architecture and while all wood used came form the Amazon, all other materials were imported from Europe. Imagine the challenge of building such a structure in the middle of the jungle? Truly amazing. The building’s Renaissance style and mauve elegance is a contrast to the ruggedness of Brazil’s jungle rainforest, which challenged many an explorer, tycoon, and adventurer.

The Teatro Amazonas houses 660 seats and boxes, and everything in the theater is part of the original construction except for the chairs. The ballroom was constructed of 12,000 pieces of mahogany, and a wall mural depicts Amazonian Indians saving a group of Europeans in a scene from the Brazilian opera I Guarani. The theater remains in use and is the host theater for the Annual Festival of Operas. The theater is also open for tours year-round.

Have you visited the opera house? What did you think?

All aboard! Cruising has become one of the biggest attractions in travel – and now there is a bit more of an adventurous option, cruising the Amazon.

Early-20^th Century explorer Percy Fawcett explored the Amazon and detailed the many challenges tackling the rainforest on foot – extreme heat, lack of food, and an endless stream of pain-inducing insects constantly on the attack. Fawcett’s account can be read in the best-selling Lost City of Z, and now wanna-be adventurers can live out their fantasies on cruises down the most famous river and jungle in the world.

In the Washington Post, Lauren Myrick detailed her recent trip through the Amazon, and here are a few of her more interesting notes about the trip:

• THE TRIP: We departed from Manaus on the Tucano, a motor yacht run by Ecotour Expeditions, and cruised through the Arquipelago das Anavilhanas, the world’s largest river archipelago. After visiting the Waimiri-Atroari tribal reserve, we headed up the Rio Jauaperi, and then turned around. On the return, we saw where the black water of the Rio Negro and the cafe-au-lait-colored Solimoes (Amazon) parallel each other without mixing.

• IT MADE IT ALL WORTH IT WHEN . . . it started to pour hot rain the first night, and everyone in the restaurant pushed their tables together, so we enjoyed caipirinhas with our new Brazilian friends. . . . Meeting the other guests on the boat and realizing these people are cool! . . . Hot yoga on the top deck, led by Sandy.

• BEST SCENES: It was a tie. The giant sandbar near the confluence of the Negro and the Jauaperi, which had beautiful straw-colored sand and scarlet macaws, toucans and parrots flying overhead. And the hunter-gatherers in their small wooden houses, looking to trade fish and plants for cooking oil and clothes.

• UNFORGETTABLE SIGHTS: Giant tarantulas, many different kinds; an Amazonian boa wrapped around the canoe; and the tiny, sharp teeth of the piranhas. We also were chased by an angry spider monkey, which threw branches at us.

From sharing drinks to dodging crazy spiders – it sounds like a great time.

By Sean Chaffin, Editor/Senior Writer

Last Updated: June 1, 2010; 8:15 pm CT

This is no weekend at Bernie’s. Instead, actor and writer Andrew McCarthy has found his perfect beach town –fittingly in Brazil.

The actor famous for such ‘80s classics as Pretty in Pink and St. Elmo’s Fire, among many, has also become a fine travel writer in recent years and in the June-July issue of Men’s Journal, he spotlights the beach town of Canoa Quebrada (Broken Canoe), located along Brazil’s northeast coast, 100 miles south of Fortaleza.

McCarthy says this tiny fishing village was discovered by hippies in the 1970s, and its beaches and spectacular sand dunes have attracted adventurous travelers ever since. The quaintness of the place and its desolate feel is what attracted the actor to the spot, and years after his first visit he decided to return to see if his memories held up to the vestiges of experience in his mind.

“When I arrived in the mid-‘90s to film a movie best forgotten, the place’s lonely inviting quality got under my skin,” he writes.

“Like many supposed paradises, Canoa seems to attract people who have no ties – or at least people who like to think of themselves that way. But rather than let the place live on as a kind of festering fantasy, I wanted to see if Canoa’s particular kind of paradise still existed – or whether it, or I, had changed enough in the meantime to put it out of reach.”

McCarthy does a great job of capturing the feel of Canoa – traipsing through backstreets, paragliding above immaculate beaches and wind-swept sand dunes, and the feel of the sand on a lazy beach afternoon. McCarthy comes away revived and continued fond memories of his own little piece of paradise. Like many of our readers have uncovered themselves, Brazil has that effect on you.

While Americans eagerly visit Brazil each year, according to a new report Brazilians are also making their way to the U.S. in record numbers.

PRWeb.com reports that the number of Brazilians visiting the Unites States will expand to 2.2 million by 2015. The number of visitors from the country is expected to surpass France and Germany by 2014. The report notes the following about Brazil-to-U.S. tourism:

According to the U.S. Department of Commerce, the number of Brazilians visiting the U.S. is expected to exceed 2.2 million in 2015, a 152 percent increase over the 893,000 that traveled here in 2009. Annual double-digit increases in visitation from that country in that timeframe will out-pace the growth anticipated from all other overseas markets, including China (1.3 million visitors forecasted in 2015, a 151 percent increase over 2009). That forecast combined with continued improvements in Brazil’s economy has a number of tourism interests taking a closer look at that market.

“China is emerging, but Brazil is hot right now,” says Ana Donato, the CEO of Imaginadora, a Sao Paulo-based strategic marketing and event firm that specializes in the Brazilian travel market. “By 2014, Brazil is likely to move past both France and Germany in the number of people visiting the U.S., and American businesses with an eye on the future are making a smart investment in this market now.”

Donato says a rising gross domestic product and expanding consumer class (the same factors leading to Brazil landing the 2014 World Cup and 2016 Olympics) have enabled more average Brazilians to include the United States in their vacation plans. Brazil’s GDP is expected to rise from 4.1 percent in 2010 to 5.5 percent in 2011 according to IMF forecasts, and a stabile Real – are also great indicators for continued growth in visitation to the U.S., Donato says. She also notes that improvements in processing U.S. visa requests have also enabled easier travel.

When Brazil is mentioned, most people instantly think of Rio de Janeiro or São Paulo. But Brazil’s capital city of Brasília gets a bit of the limelight on April 21 when the city celebrates its 50^th anniversary.

And organizers have planned an extensive series of concerts and shows to coincide with the anniversary celebration. This modern city was built 1,000 miles form the coast and designed by Oscar Niemeyer and Lúcio Costa. To many, the city’s construction signaled the country’s emerging modern industrial dynamism.

As the anniversary approaches, the Wall Street Journal offers up some sights and sounds of this famed capital city and Brazil as a whole in the coming months:

In addition to the arresting architecture, Brasília is a gateway to the north of the country. The scenery surrounding Brasília is spectacular, and the Chapada dos Veadeiros National Park is a must see.

Another Brazilian highlight mentioned is the Barretos Rodeo from Aug. 19-29 near São Paulo. Brazil has become a hotbed for rodeo due to its gaucho culture, and many Brazilian cowboys have made the transition to being top contenders on the American Pro Bull Riders circuit. The Journal notes this about this exciting event:

Most people don’t associate Brazil with rodeos. But the Barretos Rodeo in rural São Paulo is one of the world’s biggest. Brazil’s country culture rules the roost for the 10 days in August when 800,000 visitors descend on this agricultural city 265 miles west of São Paulo. It’s half state fair and half carnival, with rodeo competitions, agricultural displays and stage shows featuring some of the most popular names in sertanejo, Brazil’s country music.

What are your thoughts on the Brazilian capital?

This year marks the bicentennial of several Latin America countries’ fight for independence. In anticipation, the Telegraph (UK) offers up a primer for those heading to South America – and especially Brazil – for the first time.

Ahead of this year’s events, the Telegraph offers a brief synopsis of Brazil’s own independence, which culminated with a proclamation of independence on Sept. 7 1822, on the banks of the River Ipiranga near São Paulo. The article also offers up some top attractions in the land of samba and sun including this about a must-see to visit: “Salvador’s carnival, which is far more of a people’s party than Rio’s commercial extravaganza.”

And what vacation would not be complete without some souvenirs? “Havaiana flip-flops are cheaper here than elsewhere, as are bikinis,” the author notes.

Havaianas are a cultural phenomenon in Brazil, and now known throughout the world. These often brightly-colored flip-flops were designed in the 1960s, and recognized for their comfort and sturdiness. The shoes seem like a natural invention of such a beach society. Sounds like a great trip – wake up in Rio, grab some bright, new Havaianas, and head for Ipanema Beach. Sit back and relax – you’re in a Brazilian state of mind.

Music is still king in Rio and the UK Guardian touched last week on the importance of the Brazilian sound within the city and how it continues to attract musicians from around the world.

The article notes that many Brazilians still dream of making it big, heading off to Rio at a young age to live their dreams. The Guardian notes this about a young musician still in his teens hoping to make it big:

When Luis Barcelos, a fresh-faced mandolin player from Brazil’s deep south, touched down in Rio de Janeiro for the first time in May 2005, he came in search of his musical heroes; revered samba and choro maestros he worshipped as a child.

“Most of the musicians I listened to were in Rio and I’d always wanted to live here,” said Barcelos, who was born in the small southern coastal town of Rio Grande but has now set up camp in Gloria, a historic neighborhood near Rio de Janeiro’s bohemian downtown that is home to many of the city’s top musicians.

Rio has long been known as a mecca for music lovers and musicians alike. However, the beginning of the 21st century has brought an influx of musicians from around the world “breathing new life into Rio’s traditional sounds and spawning some innovative if unlikely musical genres that infuse Bossa Nova with hip-hop, samba with Rio’s favela funk music, choral music with rap and north-eastern dance music with punk,” according to the newspaper.

What are your feelings on Rio as a music mecca? What are your musical experiences in this energetic city?

As Carnival approaches this weekend, New Zealand Stuff offers a great article on the annual festival’s polar opposite – the quiet side of Rio. And yes, it does exist.

Among the sites mentioned is Buzios, a small Atlantic seaside fishing village until the 1960s until French actress Brigitte Bardot vacationed there with her Brazilian boyfriend. Word spread among her friends and acquaintances and the site is now one of Brazil’s most glamorous resort areas. NZ Stuff notes this about Buzios:

Affluent Cariocas (Rio city folk) have second homes here and flood in for weekends and public holidays, filling many of the peninsula’s 20-plus beaches, up-market seafood restaurants and trendy clubs such as Pacha and Privilege.

When I arrive midweek, however, it’s gloriously quiet. Buzio’s main cobbled thoroughfare – the Rua das Pedras (Stone Street) – is packed with chic fashion boutiques and establishments where Bardot is, seemingly, everywhere.

The article lists some other notable Rio-area destinations including:

• Paraty – a Portuguese colonial town of cobblestone streets known for its natural beauty and brilliant architecture.

• Ilha Grande – A small village now known for its beaches, hotels, hostels, restaurants, cafes and tour agencies. Its coastal trails offer plenty of adventure with hummingbirds, monkeys, toucans, sloths, waterfalls, and mangroves.

These definitely sound like some nice – and quiet – getaways. Have you visited any of these destinations? What are your thoughts?

(The photo at left is of one of Buzios’s many fine beaches.)