When my baby smiles at me I got to Rio.......de Janeiro......

Summary

• Ever wondered where all the budgie-smugglers went? Go to Rio!
• Can't escape Carnival in Rio - we had an amazing ride on the tram from Santa Teresa
• Christ the Redeemer was covered by clouds most of the time but we did get to see it

Copacobana and Ipanema
Of course the first thing to do in Rio is go to the beach. After hiring a couple of chairs and an umbrella we claimed a piece of Copacobana beach. It was beautiful and full of people, mostly tanning and exercising but it was great to see.
If you ever wondered where all the budgie smugglers went, just head to a beach in Rio. The disturbing thing being that they are worn by young and old.......the women's swimmers were equally skimpy but that was as expected. We were a little disturbed to see pre-teens in g-strings......anyways, each to their own. I was, of course, the most covered up person on the beach on account of my sun protection obsession and milk bottle skin......

Santa Teresa
The tram to Santa Teresa is the best 60 cents you'll spend in Rio. Sata Teresa is a beautiful old part of the city high on the hill above the city. It's so pretty and notorious for the artists and intellectuals of the city. We had a lovely lunch at a funky little cafe where our sandwiches were served on plates made from melted wine bottles - very cool.
The tram down the hill was hilarious. We heard the tram coming before we saw it on account of the mass of people on the tram singing and chanting. Evidently they had been at Carnival all night and at the after party which was passed on the way to the tram in the morning. Mark and I grabbed what space we could - me standing in between two Brazilian women who were lovely and Mark hanging onto the side of the tram. The group chanted and sang all the way back down to the terminal - crazy.

Christ the Redeemer
The most famous site in Rio is, of course, Christ the Redeemer. Unfortuantely, it was so cloudy most of the time we were in Rio that we couldn't really see Christo Redento. Luckily, the day we went up sugar loaf mountain (the vantage point from which  most pics are taken) as well as the day we went up Corvocado to see the monument, the cloud cleared and we were able to see Him and get a few shots. Just like all the pictures (although slightly smaller than I imagined).

Other
I have to mention that I finally did some shopping in Rio which resulted in 4 new pairs of Havaianna's........sounds completely crazy when you think it'll be winter when we get home. Oh well!!!