Seeking breathtaking moments

Experiencing carnival in Rio de Janeiro, is on many bucket lists for very good reason! At the end of Ipanema beach, filled with millions of partying people, is a rock outcrop to take amazing panorama pictures from! There would be a view of Sugarloaf from there, but that cannot be seen at night during carnival, with all the beach lighting. Take a dirt path down to a nearby stage where dancing among locals to Brazilian tunes and drinking generic warm beer is really a blast!
A bar I picked out to visit, from the Lonely Planet guide, was called Shenanigans and would not be where to go if you are looking to pick up on local culture, other than to learn they really like NHL hockey in Brazil. The night before carnival started they gave us first beers for free! There was a cover charge and definitely no free beer once carnival started, but rock music in English and people watching from the slim patio was still fun. Do one night of carnival completely with the locals, stroll through the streets, parading behind the floats, drinking and hugging, singing and dancing, culminating on the beach of Copacabana!
One should really not miss Buzios, after going all the way to Brazil. There are bus options to get there from Rio. Or, only for the brave, one can rent a car. In the city driving is fast and regulations are not strictly followed or posted clearly and overall blinkers are not used. There were also huge delays for what turned out later to be nothing more than a lane merging. It must be a normal occurrence, as there were vendors selling snacks and coconut water from carts on the side of the road there. It was about a three hour drive, lacking in picturesque scenery, but the end point, Buzios, is beautiful! Sunset from a restaurant patio, on the gorgeous boardwalk, was breathtaking. I booked a room at Pousada Vila do Mar using hotels.com after hearing from everyone that everything was completely sold out, to be expected, as it was still within carnival week. There were ants in the bathroom, and the in-room refrigerator was broken, and there were even bugs crawling in the free breakfast, the next morning. The small jungle growing in the courtyard of the hotel, quaint old fashioned furniture in the lobby, a pretty pool and the hammock on the private porch of the room, more than made up for it! Staring at the stars, while swinging in a hammock, listening to music on a patio, realizing you are in Brazil for carnival; MasterCard commercials have nothing on this!