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H. Stern shop

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SHOPPING IN RIO:

Gemstones are the main thing to buy in Brasil, and particularly in Rio since the headquarters of the famed gem dealer H Stern is located in Rio. While there are many H Stern shops, mainly located in hotel lobbies or next to major hotels, start by making a visit to the headquarters - any H Stern shop will provide you with complimentary  roundtrip transfers. You can take an "ear muffin" tour (you wear headphones and follow along via a recorded guided tour) and then visit its souvenir shop or its jewelry showroom where private cubbyhole seating, personalized attention by gem expert and assistant and plenty of free flowing strong "cafezinho" (coffee) can make for a very pleasant buying experience.

Next thing to buy that you can really only find in Brasil: the "tanga" - that "dental floss" or "band-aid" size swimming suit that we see in all the advertisements for Brasil. If nothing else, taking one home is a great reminder that we probably need to get back on the treadmill.

Sunday is the Hippi Market in Leblon. Here in the square are hundreds of stalls selling art, carvings, sculptures, some leather furniture, costume jewelry, clothing and souvenirs of all kinds. It's easy to spend a couple of hours wandering through the maze of stalls.

Nightly on Copacabana beach there is a small artisan market strong out along the road's median.

Rio Sul is a huge, multi-story shopping mall with hundreds of stores and even a collection of fast food restaurants.