Rio

We just came back from a terrific short trip to Rio. We left early Friday morning and came back on Saturday evening. We were gone for about 37 hours (almost 13 of those hours were in the car.) In light of the time spent in the car, the kids were wonderfully behaved almost all the time.  We really fell in love with Rio.  We can see why so many people speak so highly of the city.  The mountains rise like tall steep mounds of sugar throughout the populated city.  We suppose that why one of them is actually called Pão de Açúcar (sugarloaf).  The city seems to have a grittier feel than São Paulo but its size is much more manageable. We knew with such a short trip we would not be able to see very much so we decided to focus on the beach and Cristo Redentor (Christ the Redeemer). We plan on returning to explore more of what Rio has to offer.   

 After checking in to our hotel early, we were off to a fort at the end of Copacabana beach. We walked down the sidewalk along the beach and spent some time walking around the fort. There were spectacular views of the beach and city from the fort. On the way back we planned to walk down the beach and dip our feet in the water (keep in mind it’s winter here). Our feet dipping turned in to some splashing which turned in to AJP and BLP both falling in the water. They loved it and now want to live at the beach.

We woke up on Saturday to get an early start for the Christ the Redeemer statue. We ate breakfast at the hotel.  It was good with traditional breakfast bar fair.  However, the juices were very memorable.  They offered eggplant juice, watermelon, honeydew and açai alongside the more traditional juices.  TSP’s favorite was the açai.  We read sometime earlier that it is one of Oprah’s favorite things. So a few days before we went to Rio, TSP bought the frozen concentrate at the store.  She tried to make it only to be underwhelmed.  (It was actually really gross!)  We hesitantly tried it at the hotel and it was incredible.  We asked our waiter and found out that adding banana is the key.  He even shivered when TSP told him she just added water and sugar.  He thought that would be disgusting as well.  The whole family now has a new favorite juice. 

After breakfast we quickly took a taxi to the bottom of the Corcovado (hunchback) Mountain where we could ascend to Christ the Redeemer.  We took cog railway to the top. After hiking up some stairs we saw the statue looming above the city.  It is really rather moving to see this icon and think about the devotion of those that built it.  It also has some of the most spectacular views of the city. Rio earns its reputation as one of the most beautiful cities in the world. Our guidebook said that many people think that this trip makes going to Rio worthwhile. We agreed. After returning to the hotel we quickly changed into some beach gear and played in the waves for a little while. We had a quick lunch and then it was back to the car.

If you get the chance, go to Rio. It is a spectacular city. The people are wonderful and the city is beautiful.