Our plane back from Peru stopped in Rio so we extended the layover to spend a couple days here. We arrived early and checked in to our hotel at 6:30am so we could get an hours sleep before our time slot to see Christ the Redeemer. I was irritated that I had booked the night before at Hotel Novo Mundo not realizing we got in the next day, but it came in handy when we could check in that morning. We snapped a quick pic of the sunrise, slept an hour then grabbed a taxi.

I must admit. I was disappointed with Christ the Redeemer. I had in my head that I’d get that famous shot, the one from behind Christ, with the beautiful city and Sugarloaf Mtn. in the background. Well, news flash, that’s from a helicopter. Sooooo, I didn’t get that shot. 🙂 It was foggy while we were up there so we also couldn’t see Sugarloaf Mtn. I think having taken a red eye flight the night before also didn’t help my mood. We arrived just at the end of our “tour window” on our ticket, they let us in but I’d recommend you get there earlier when you visit. We rode the tram up the hill, squeezed our way through the tourists and took our pics, then went back the hotel.

That was really all we had planned before we arrived. We were still exhausted so we set an alarm for a few hours later and took a nap. Again, making it less annoying that I had accidentally booked an extra night at the hotel. When we woke up we googled what we should do while in Rio. We decided to grab a taxi and take the cable car up to Sugarloaf Mtn. Now THAT was amazing! The fog had cleared and it offered great views of the city, and even Christ on a far off hill. We got some snacks and sat for a bit, enjoying the view.

From there we took a taxi to Copacabana Beach. We got some popcorn with BACON in it, and a corn on the cob as we walked the beach. There were great waves and tons of tourists. You could people watch for hours.

We grabbed a taxi back to Flamengo Beach and walked down the beach before we head back to the hotel. We hadn’t realized it was Carnival when we booked our two days here, but other than seeing people dressed up, and hearing the parade while we napped earlier, it really didn’t seem like a big thing. Until we went out for dinner. Then it was more “glitter only” outfits, and definitely more drinking. We scooted around the throngs of partying people, got some dinner and went back to the hotel.

We let ourselves sleep in the next day, and then spent some time relaxing on Flamengo Beach. Flamengo was FAR less crowded and had much smaller waves, but the sunshine was inviting. We dozed for a bit, accidentally getting sunburned – oops, and then looked up a churrascaria for early dinner. It was to be our extravagant meal for our 25th anniversary. I mean, come on, you HAVE to visit a Brazilian Steakhouse while in Brazil, right?!?!?! We walked a ways and then discovered the place we were looking for wasn’t there any longer. The gentlemen we ran into suggested Fogo de Chao but having that in Denver, we wanted something different. We hailed a taxi and they brought us to Assador. The food was delicious and the view was incredible. It was a great choice.

We walked back through Flamengo Beach, and took a taxi to the airport. We were tired, sunburned, our bellies were full, and our 25th anniversary adventure had come to an end. It was a fantastic trip, more adventurous than some, but amazing! As we sat in the Priority Pass club at the airport, we talked about our next adventures. We’d like to hit the last two continents, Antarctica and Africa. As well as the last 2 of the 7 wonders of the world, Taj Mahal and the Great Pyramid. Adventure awaits!!