Praia do Flamengo is a nice middle class area, and although I did go to Copacabana, and to other parts of Rio (avenida de rio branco) and downtown area where the main banks, the Teatro Municipal, etc were located, I mostly explored areas where I could go inexpensively on public transport. I was told to avoid buses so I took the metro and an occasional cab. The sad thing is that this restricted my explorations. I never went to the beach, except for a couple Sunday afternoons along the Praia do Flamengo, enough to discover how polluted Guanabara Bay is and to hear the vendors hawking Biscoicos do Globo. I got addicted to telenovelas as I didn't venture out much in the evenings. The Fioresta di Tijuca is beautiful, though and I paid a local guide to take me for a hike there.
I'll keep an eye out for that book. It looks pretty funny.
I stayed in a decent 3 star hotel (Argentina) for the three weeks of my stay with short stints in Brasilia and São Paolo. If I had the money, I'd be back there in a heartbeat.
