Cathy's in Rio - October 2nd-10th

After two 14 hour flights with a short stopover in Dubai, Cathy made it to Rio and decided to try to find ways to fill in her days until the conference starts. It didn't take long to find the Sheraton lounge with the happy hour drinks and nibblies on day 1 so she was off to a good start.

After a long sleep, it was time for exercise but she wasn't sure how safe the streets were, so a run on the treadmill was the best alternative. After a delicious breakfast looking out over Ipanema beach, she decided to check if it was safe to walk down there. "But that will take you half an hour!" was the reply. It was quite safe though and pleasant to be outdoors. It wasn't far to the Leblon Shopping centre so a little look at some shops was the next activity. Most prices are more expensive here, but you have to buy your Havainas in Rio so I bought a pair of Brazilian ones.

After all that walking, a pampering in the Shine Spa salon was necessary for a body scrub and massage. It was great - even if I don't think I quite understood many of the instructions the girl gave me! She had to come looking for me at one point when I thought I was supposed to go to the sauna but she indicated the shower instead.

With less traffic on a Saturday, it was the best time for a tour. "Rio by Day" took me to visit the street where "Carnivale" begins and encouraged a bit of dressing up in costumes.

The next stop was the Catholic Cathedral shaped like an upside down ice cream cone. The stained glass was interesting though. There must have been a recent visit from the pope and they had pictures of the various nationalities who had visited. I was interested in the modern multicultural Aussie representatives!

Next stop was Sugarloaf mountain where we rode cable cars to the top and took in the sights over Copacabana Beach, Ipanema Beach, the city, Corcovado mountain in the distance and even saw some squirrel monkeys.

After lunch in Ipanema, we finally headed up to Tijuca Forest by rail car and climbed to see the iconic statue of Christ the Redeemer on Corcovado mountain.

I had to pose like everyone else wth my arms outstretched. It was pretty cool by late afternoon and rain threatened, but fortunately we got home safely and I warmed up with a glass of champagne and some nibblies again. Too tired for anything else, I have just downloaded the photos and created this blog post for you to enjoy.