Thomas and I have just returned home from nearly 3 weeks traveling in Brazil. It was our first time there. We spent the first 5 days in Rio de Janeiro at Claudia's two bedroom apartment. Safe, clean, cozy, and centrally located between Copacabana and Ipanema beaches, and close to markets, restaurants, and shopping, it was the perfect place to begin our adventure. Claudia, (who by the way, is multilingual) was so warm and helpful. She made us feel right at home. She was also very helpful to us when we returned over our last couple days to the city. This is a person who went out of her way often to make our stay special.