A "God's Eye" View of Rio

Friday, April 15, 2016

Today's the day I've been waiting for ever since Rio de Janeiro was added to my list of must visit destinations.  We're headed to the top of Corcovado Mountain to visit the iconic statue of Cristo Redentor.  You don't think of Rio without thinking of this religious and cultural landmark of Jesus Christ standing tall with his arms outstretched embracing the city and symbolizing the Brazilian people's warm and welcoming culture.

We rode the cogwheel train to the top of the 2,300 foot Corcovado Mountain and were greeted with breathtaking views of the greater Rio area laid out below.  But the best view was looking up at the 700-ton, 100-foot Christ the Redeemer.  When seeing him from anywhere in the city, he's impressive... but when you're standing at his feet, he's absolutely stunning.  After taking a ton of pictures from every possible angle in the stagnant heat, we sat down at the cafe for a drink and a break in the shade... I mean, taking selfies does get exhausting :)~  With having already checked out the Colosseum in Rome, Brittany and I now have seen two of the Seven New Wonders of the World!  

We headed to the artsy, bohemian neighborhood of Santa Teresa, tucked into the hills overlooking Rio's harbor.  We treated ourselves to a fancy lunch at Aprazível, a beautiful restaurant with decks and patios resembling a treehouse nestled among the tropical gardens with views of downtown and Guanabara Bay.  We tried a few traditional Brazilian dishes, all featuring ingredients native to the Amazon Rainforest.  We also sampled both a red and white Brazilian made wine... and although Brazil is not known for their winemaking, we had no complaints.  But then again, we don't really discriminate when it comes to vinho.

After lunch, we strolled down the cobblestone streets enjoying the architecture of the beautiful homes and the artsy vibe of the area.  Then we headed to neighboring Lapa to see the Escadaria Selarón.  Chilean artist Jorge Selarón started decorating this once gritty staircase outside his home with tiles and pieces of porcelain.  After ten years the staircase was transformed into an artistic and iconic masterpiece with more than 2,000 tiles from around the world and has been featured in music videos, such as Snoop Dogg and Pharrell's "Beautiful" and U2"s "Walk On."  The stairs were also included in Rio's winning bid for the 2016 Olympic Games.

As we were wondering up the steps, taking pictures and Go Pro Videos, we noticed some commotion at the top of the stairs.  One of the girls who spoke English, warned us that her mom's cell phone was just stolen by a man who threatened her saying he had a knife.  We immediately put away our phone and the GoPro and were a little on edge as we continued to wander around the area.  We had been warned about these types of occurrences being common in Rio, but up until now we've felt very safe, especially when taking precautions and being aware of our surroundings.  However, the knife adds a different element and we were quickly reminded how cautious and careful we need to be, especially in certain neighborhoods.

We decided to hop on the subway and head back to the hotel because we both agreed, based on what we were seeing, we didn't want to be wandering around this neighborhood after dark.

We decided to check out our hotel's rooftop deck and pool, which provides awesome views of Copacabana Beach.  We headed out around 12:30am, as things get going much later here and we did a little bit of a nightclub crawl hitting both Miroir and 00 (Zero Zero), two popular hotspots on Rio's nightlife circuit.  As we passed two gents, we heard them say, "Ooohhh, Olympians," lol.  Yes, Brittany and I are representing the USA in the new sport of Brazilian nightclubbing.  Saúde!