Rio de Janeiro...fantastic place..We are staying at the Sheraton which is pretty cool, a big step up from the Days Inn thats for sure...the down side is that everything comes at a cost when you stay at Posh hotels..but I guess this is the Home run so kick back and enjoy it..Day one was just hanging at the hotel. We have lovely views down the coastline and there is a beach down below us but the water is freezing here. There are a few pools and I think they are heated as they were quite warm, there are hot tubs and Massage beds overlooking the beach..very beautiful.
That evening took the bus over the Sugarloaf Mountain . That involved 2 Cablecar rides to eventually get to the top. What an amazing view over Rio...Spectacular. They also had the best souveneirs I have ever seen I reckon. Of course made of ceramic so I cant buy so I have just taken photos.
After the sunset we sat and had some local coctails for an hour..Some were good , others not so good. Generally everyone just got to know each other a little. Dinner back at the Hotel restaurant after which was wonderful with fantastic pastries... A very nice evening.
Day two in Rio saw us bus up to Corcavado.. Christ The Redeemer Statue. Quite spectacular except for Christ seemed to have his head in the clouds !!! Darn.. I walked up to 200 odd stairs so managed to get 1 photo relatively cloud free, we waited for 45 minutes but the cloud just got worse..Never mind I just had to settle for photos from the pictures on the wall outside the Latrines...lol
After that we were dropped off at a Gem Factory and saw all the gems they mine here. Very beautiful but very expensive..so cleared out of there pretty quickly .. We dined in the back of a Supermarket on Pizza & coke.
A spot of shopping in the afternoon then back to the hotel.. We all went out to dinner last night at a BBQ Restaurant. The meal was terrific, buffet salads then continual meat which was bought around by waiters on big spikes and they carve it directly onto your plate. Steaks in every shape and form, lamb, chicken, Ribs,and I forget what else. Melt in your mouth. Its a good way to BBQ actually and I look forward to trying it at home. After dinner we went to see a Carnival show, where they do the traditional dances and wear the most amazing costumes..beautiful to see.
Today day 3 we drove up to Petropolis about 90 minutes from Rio..This is the old town where the Royal Palace was. The Pink Palace was wonderful and in mint condition. Beautiful furnishings.. I would tell you the story of the Royal Family but I fell asleep on the Bus when Fernando was telling us about them. What I do remember was one of the Princesses...Carlotta was a bit of a whore...hence only one small picture of her in the Palace ...
We took a walk around the downtown, which had a nice shopping area, found a man selling Churros in the park and had them for lunch, damn fine too as one was infused with Caramel...
Found a Haviana shop and bought a pair for Lachie and some socks..They seem to be about half the price here as this is where they are made.
This afternoon when we got back , Peter and I went by Taxi down to the shopping area and I found a shop that I had seen yesterday that sold Leather shoes & sandals made in Brasil..I could have bought half the shop but restrained myself to 2 pairs and a small purse..Peter bought another pair of Sandles, it then took about 40 minutes to get through the traffic back to the hotel. Dinner at the Bistro tonight with Pat & David, very good too...So much for losing weight in South America !!!