The rest of the week was a blur of style, substance and—gasp—more shopping. By the end of the third day, everybody was in agreement that Rio lived up to its promise as one of the greatest shopping cities on Earth. From a personal standpoint, there was something so fabulous about taking a jeep tour to the iconic Sanctuary of Christ the Redeemer and surrounding countryside by way of the famous Copacobana Palace Hotel and experiencing the highs and lows of gem and jewelry shopping. At one extreme, there was H. Stern’s gem museum and emporium in Leblon and LEGEP (www.legep.com.br, located in the well-to-do suburb of Barra de Tijuca) on the other. Once gemmed out, Giônia spirited us into Rio Design mall, where I snagged a pair of shoes from Santa Lolla and the rest of the crew got fitted for sneakers at New Order. Though it was too rainy to wear the floor length dress I picked up at Claudia Simoes, I felt very carioca trying out the steps learned during our Salgueiro Samba School visit at Rio Scenarium (a former antique store turned restaurant and live music venue). Although we didn’t get to experience Carnival full on, we visited the Sambadrome and City of Samba to see more rehearsals, watch floats come together and try on the costumes for a couple of reals.