RIO DE JANEIRO
the easy life in rio
so after leaving the iguazu falls we crossed the border into brazil and headed straight for rio de janeiro. before this we had spent some time sourcing an apartment for two weeks. finding one that filled our criteria wasn´t so easy ... nice, clean, comfy, fully equipped kitchen, cable tv, near the beach, good location ... we felt we owed it to ourselves !!! anyway there was so many options but the prices were just way above our budget and then we found apartment 1102 right in the middle of ave de copacabana. we emailed the owners jed & helena straight away and after exchanging a few emails we got the price down to 300 euro a week.
we were so happy when we arrived there. helena was waiting for us to show us around which took all of 5 seconds as it´s so small, but perfect. with not a word of english we just exchanged keys and a few smiles and waved her off. jed then called, he has english so he introduced himself as our point of contact. that was the first day of a fab 2 weeks and to try to distinguish one day from the other right now as i write is almost impossible !! the day basically starts when we wake up ... for tom this is usually 8am, for me closer to 10 am ... i´m the lazy one !! we then go for a walk down by the beach before returning for lunch, after lunch we go the beach and lie under the wondeful brazilian skies for the afternoon. these afternoons usually entail turning over from back to front to get an even tan, reading a few chapters of our latest book, sometimes eating ice cream and for tom now flying his kite. yes tom bought a superman kite and in recent days runs along the beach with it to everyones amusement !!! as cathy would say ´not weird´ !!!
the maracana
we did venture to the maracana one night. of course i had absolutely no interest in going to see a football match at this stadium but a beautiful new pair of sunglasses from tom was enough to twist my arm. i had read horror stories about that place. the one thing that was stuck in my mind was the article i read about your choice of seat, it said ´be sure to get a seat on the upper tier to avoid being hit & sprayed by flying bottles filled with urine or dead chickens´ !! wonderful i thought ... whoever said romance no longer exists !! anyway it was worth it just to see the smile on tom´s face, he was seriously amazed by the whole experience and i guess the icing on the cake for him was that it was a local derby between flamengo & fluminense.
pao de acucar/the sugar loaf
there was one day in the past 2 weeks that we managed to get off our lazy butts and do something interesting. that was the day we vistied the sugar loaf. this is rio´s iconic mountain which offers stunning views over the city. to reach the summit you take 2 cable cars which are not my preferred mode of transport but how and ever the views at the top were so worth it. it was something else. i think it can be easily said that of all the cities we visited over the last year this has to be right at the top of the list with cape town.
the next 2 weeks
so the next 2 weeks more than likely will be a carbon copy of the 2 weeks gone by !! we were initially going to go out to the island ilha grande but have now decided to stay in our little ´sanctuary´. we emailed jed and asked him what price he could give us the apartment for if we stayed an extra 2 weeks and he said he would reduce it to 200 euro a week because he thought we deserved it !! we´re not really sure why he thinks we deserve it seen as we never met him but hey who´s complaining !! so with the apartment secured and no reason we pick up those backpacks again we don´t intend to do much more than laze around the superb beach of copacabana and visit the cristo redentor. tom also wants to return to the maracana to the museum ... i can´t wait for that, surely that warrants a new handbag for me !!!
the final posting
so this time 2 weeks we will be boaring our flight from sao paulo to dublin, crazy but true. we will of course finish the blog on our last day with a final few words and a photo album rio. tom has just compiled the album brazil part one so thats available to view ...
the easy life in rio
so after leaving the iguazu falls we crossed the border into brazil and headed straight for rio de janeiro. before this we had spent some time sourcing an apartment for two weeks. finding one that filled our criteria wasn´t so easy ... nice, clean, comfy, fully equipped kitchen, cable tv, near the beach, good location ... we felt we owed it to ourselves !!! anyway there was so many options but the prices were just way above our budget and then we found apartment 1102 right in the middle of ave de copacabana. we emailed the owners jed & helena straight away and after exchanging a few emails we got the price down to 300 euro a week.
we were so happy when we arrived there. helena was waiting for us to show us around which took all of 5 seconds as it´s so small, but perfect. with not a word of english we just exchanged keys and a few smiles and waved her off. jed then called, he has english so he introduced himself as our point of contact. that was the first day of a fab 2 weeks and to try to distinguish one day from the other right now as i write is almost impossible !! the day basically starts when we wake up ... for tom this is usually 8am, for me closer to 10 am ... i´m the lazy one !! we then go for a walk down by the beach before returning for lunch, after lunch we go the beach and lie under the wondeful brazilian skies for the afternoon. these afternoons usually entail turning over from back to front to get an even tan, reading a few chapters of our latest book, sometimes eating ice cream and for tom now flying his kite. yes tom bought a superman kite and in recent days runs along the beach with it to everyones amusement !!! as cathy would say ´not weird´ !!!
the maracana
we did venture to the maracana one night. of course i had absolutely no interest in going to see a football match at this stadium but a beautiful new pair of sunglasses from tom was enough to twist my arm. i had read horror stories about that place. the one thing that was stuck in my mind was the article i read about your choice of seat, it said ´be sure to get a seat on the upper tier to avoid being hit & sprayed by flying bottles filled with urine or dead chickens´ !! wonderful i thought ... whoever said romance no longer exists !! anyway it was worth it just to see the smile on tom´s face, he was seriously amazed by the whole experience and i guess the icing on the cake for him was that it was a local derby between flamengo & fluminense.
pao de acucar/the sugar loaf
there was one day in the past 2 weeks that we managed to get off our lazy butts and do something interesting. that was the day we vistied the sugar loaf. this is rio´s iconic mountain which offers stunning views over the city. to reach the summit you take 2 cable cars which are not my preferred mode of transport but how and ever the views at the top were so worth it. it was something else. i think it can be easily said that of all the cities we visited over the last year this has to be right at the top of the list with cape town.
the next 2 weeks
so the next 2 weeks more than likely will be a carbon copy of the 2 weeks gone by !! we were initially going to go out to the island ilha grande but have now decided to stay in our little ´sanctuary´. we emailed jed and asked him what price he could give us the apartment for if we stayed an extra 2 weeks and he said he would reduce it to 200 euro a week because he thought we deserved it !! we´re not really sure why he thinks we deserve it seen as we never met him but hey who´s complaining !! so with the apartment secured and no reason we pick up those backpacks again we don´t intend to do much more than laze around the superb beach of copacabana and visit the cristo redentor. tom also wants to return to the maracana to the museum ... i can´t wait for that, surely that warrants a new handbag for me !!!
the final posting
so this time 2 weeks we will be boaring our flight from sao paulo to dublin, crazy but true. we will of course finish the blog on our last day with a final few words and a photo album rio. tom has just compiled the album brazil part one so thats available to view ...
cathy
a blog wouldn´t be a blog without cathys whereabouts being mentioned. she is over in the west of ireland, galway to be exact at irish college. she has just one more night and tomorrow she will be back home in dundalk with my mam & dad. next monday she returns to school, good luck with that cats, try to contain the day dreaming !!!
4 comments:
Hi Tom n Lynn,
Rio looks fantastic! Can you sign up some of those beach lads for Boro - although we are doing pretty well at the mo, but wouldn't mind some of them on the bench! Can't believe you have just 2 weeks left but be assured there are loads of folk here who can't wait to see you!! Take good care, all my love mum xxxxx
Hi you to
Rio sounds blissful and pics are lovely, just lazing in the sun watching the world go by is my idea of heaven!! Enjoy every last 14 days! Can't wait to see you. safe Journey home, Loads of Love Ame x x x
hey tl-c, never thought we would like to go to Rio, that is until now... it looks great especially the beach where are all the people??
anyway have a blast for the last 2 weeks and see ye soon, lots of love fitzy and kara.xoxox
Thanks for the messages folks...yeah this place has been a perfect wind down thats for sure. There´ll be one last blog next week for you all...doesn´t that sound weird!!! Looking forward to seeing you soon love Tom & Lynn x
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