Hotel Casa de Praia

THE WOMAN WHO KNOWS ALL THE SECRETS..

by janaina

She knows all the secrets of this work,because,since she was a small girl,she seat with her mother and,step by step,she saw how the lace is done,and so as her mom from her mom,and she understood the meaning of this art:love & dedication!

Christ the King Catholic Church "Cristo Rei"

by CactusJim

This is one of the most beautiful churches in town it is also the church that my wife and I got married in. This church is a must see if you are in Fortaleza. It is very beuatiful and very colorful and it is very well maintained.

The walls are covered with every saint that you can possibly think of and there are alters in every possible corner.

The doors are open all day long to come in to visit and pray or they have mass everyday
Monday - Friday 6:30 AM & 5:00 PM
Saturday and Sunday 6:30 AM, 8:00 AM, 5:00 PM and 7:00 PM

It is located on This is one of the most beautiful churches in town it is also the church that my wife and I got married in. This church is a must see if you are in Fortaleza. It is very beuatiful and very colorful and it is very well maintained.

The walls are covered with every saint that you can possibly think of and there are alters in every possible corner.

The doors are open all day long to come in to visit and pray or they have mass everyday
Monday - Friday 6:30 AM & 5:00 PM
Saturday and Sunday 6:30 AM, 8:00 AM, 5:00 PM and 7:00 PM

The church is located on Rua Nogueira Acioli across from the city square.

The best way to get there would be by taxi cab. The squre across the street is always full of cabs.

Fortal

by SoccerGirl09 about Beira Mar

I don't know what I was thinking leaving this tip off of the list. Fortal is a big event that happens every year at the end of July (it is usually the last weekend of the month) and it lasts about 4 days... A lot of tourists come to town just for this event. It is like an out of season CARNIVAL. Various bands go down Avenida Beira Mar playing songs - these bands play on top of trucks with huge speakers "trio eletrico", and they are divided in "blocks". Each "Block" has a name and the people usually choose the block to go depending on price, or most of the time, depending on the band that is playing. If you don't have the picture on your mind yet... Fortal usually has 400.000 people a night and in it's 4 days about 2 MILLION people go out to celebrate in the Avenue (inside and outside of the blocks). GET THE PICTURE??? It is the biggest out of season Carnival in Brasil. Usually we have about 6 oficial "blocks". Fortal started in 1992, so, this will be it's 11th year. And if you don't like to go down and dace in the Avenue, following the "trio eletrico" you can always get in to a hotel, a club, or a "camarote" (kind of a VIP place with food, drinks, seats).

Anyway... When you go, you don't want to have lot of pricey things on you. Don't take a lot of cash, just enough to get drunk, and make sure you take an ID. Cameras, only take them if they are disposable. There are plenty of photographers there, they will put your pics on the web and everything.

Oh, almost forgot... The only bad thing about this is that it is a bit expensive to go in the blocks. They range from R$200.00 - R$400.00 (BRAZILIAN CURRENCY). But $1.00 = R$2.85 (it changes everyday). So, if your currency is the American Dollar, yout money is worth almost 3 times more in Brazil... so it is worth it!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Oh my Gosh... People wear all kinds of stuff. You are not going to dress up. You probably want to put shorts and a bathing suit on (when you buy the ticket to fortal, you get "abadas" (which is kinda like a shirt) so the people know which block you belong to). Plus, it is hot, by the beach, so you are going to sweat for sure, or get a beer bath, or get wet even when the firefighters come and "give" the people some water. So, bathing suit and shorts are the best option.

Shopping at the Beira Mar

by CactusJim

The craft market at Beira Mar is open every evening from 6 to 10 PM and is filled with all kinds of great crafts for sale. They have a little bit of everything there for sale. They have foods, clothing, wood carvings, linens, paintings, etc. etc.

When you find something you want to buy... do not buy it right off.... ask the vendor the price then move on. 99% of the time you will see your item again at other stands and it might be of better quality or you might like it more that the first one you saw, do not worry you can always go back to the first vendor later. Now ask the prices of the item from some other vendors... are you ready to buy now? Alright, offer the vendor at least half of whatever they are asking... seriously, these guys buy these craft good from markets in the interior for a fraction of what they are selling them for. Anyway you get the general idea... have fun at the craft market you should be able to leave there with some unique treasures and have a story about the shopping experience to remember.

Oh and remember that this is a area full of tourists... so guess what else it is full of... yeah thieves... if you stay in the well lit areas and do not flash your money you should not have any problem. The police there will not help you, so just be on-guard yourself, the cops know who the thieves are and get a kickback at the end of the night.

Oh take your money in small denominations and separate it in small amounts in different pockets. Leave your purse or handbag at home.

Do not go there with a load of 50 Reis bills and then broker a deal with a vendor.. just in time to hand him a $R50 to break.

Fortaleza, Brazil

by TMPDAN

"Fortaleza, Brazil 2005/2006"

My wife and I were invited to join my brother, his wife, and a few friends in Brazil for the holidays. It was the greatest, and warmest Christmas vacation we celebrated. We enjoyed every aspect of our trip to beautiful Brazil. The Brazilians were extremely friendly and helpful. The local restaurants provided delicious and affordable meals. The beaches in Fortaleza were warm and captured the beautiful scenic views along the coastline.

"Christmas & New Year's Eve In Brazil"

Fortaleza celebrates Christmas & New Years in style. The streets, shopping malls and a few shops are decorated with lights and decorations. If it wasn't for the beautiful hot weather, I would have thought I was back in Toronto. While celebrating New Year's Eve you can experience a great fireworks show on the beach or in the surounding neighbourhoods.

"Our Beach House"

We rented a spacious and beautiful beach house in Portas Das Dunas, about 20 minutes away from Fortaleza. The House was walking distance from Beach Park. We discovered this rental house on the internet (www.go2fortaleza.com) and had a great time in the pool and relaxed in the hammocks provided.