Rio de Janerio (prior to Argentina!)

Arrived from London at 8pm local after an 11 hour flight. Body clock, certainly for me totally out of sync, though David coping better. Windsor Califórnia hotel exceeded expectations, I crashed out and David hit the roof bar (nothing new there) overlooking Copacabana beach. Had to be up to watch the Rugby World Cup final at 6am – less said about that the better! After devouring a huge breakfast – we met our guide Daniel, for a whirl wind tour of Rio! Up to view Christ the Redeemer statue, which initially was shrouded in mist but due to a prevailing wind we got occasional panoramic views of this stunning city. Onto a local market and then various sightseeing points including Rio’s main modern cathedral- not great from the outside but definitely wow factor internally. Then to the amazing carnival parade centre that holds 70,000! Learnt a bit about the Favelas (or shanty towns as we might call them) – over 2 million of Rio’s 7 million population live in these areas. Admired street art in an area called escadaria selaron made famous for it’s steps covered in various tiles from around the world. Visited the older parts of the city viewing the Portuguese colonial influences. Lunchtime, we ate in a buzzing fun eating area in the financial district, a local fish stew, washed down with a Bohemia beer or two and a caipirinha. An excellent after lunch coffee was then enjoyed at a famous coffee house “Colombo” dating back to late 1800’s that perked us up. Then onto cinematalia, an area originally full of cinemas that included the beautifully restored Opera house, a stunning French architectural building, the National Art Gallery and others sympathetic to French designs and built during the Belle Epoque era. Somewhat exhausted back to the hotel for a rest!