Just come from the beach after watching our last sunset in Rio, as tomorrow night we are at the maracana. We have still been on the beach, however Jill has been mainly sat in the shade as she has peeled rather a lot. On tuesday we went on a tour round downtown Rio, the one part of the city we havent seen. The tour was on a jeep and we got to drive along all the beaches and back past sugert loaf mountain. Downtown was a mix of skyscrapers and old colonial buildings. It was bizarre seeing people in suits and clothes as opposed to bikinis and speedos. On the tour we saw the 70s style cathedral, and the arcos da lapa, an old aquaduct. We then headed into the district of Santa Tereza, which is one of the original parts pf the city, full of crumbling mansions, cobbled streets and an old tram. It also gave us good views back across the city and to the maracana. Next we drove through the Parque Nacional De Tijuca, a tropical r4ainforest, where we were lucky enough to spot some wild monkeys, including cute baby ones been carried by there mum. We also got to cool off like the locals in one of the many waterfalls. On Friday morning we went to the Copacabana where the real world cup was on display, as part of its world tour on the run up to germany. It was sponsored by Coca Cola so free pop for Jill. Lots of world cup memorabilla to see and then a video of previuos world cups all to build up the excitement of getting to see the cup. It def was the real one, as we werent allowed to touch it or stand too close to it, but it looked impressive, and really glowed. We did our bot for England and hope that it brings us luck in Germany, we wore our shirts, everyone else was obviuosly in brazil shirts. Jill even got filmed poseing in front of the cup, by 2 tv crews, and of course shouted out come on england! However we havent managed to see it on the tv, but we also got interviewed by journalists, so watch this space. Luckily outside we managed to get our hands on another version of the world cup, fairly certain this one wasnt real, but we at least got to touch it! After we had a walk along to Ipanema beach, Friday was a bank holiday so the beach was packed. It was also red hot as usual and clear blue skies, so we decided to go back up Christ the Redeemer. This time we took the old cogwheel tram up the mountain, Jill couldnt face the taxi again. We were pleased to see no haze this time, and the views were even more impressive than at our previous visit. Tomorrow is our last day on the beach, booo, then off to the local derby football match at night. Chile on Monday, and back to travelling and sightseeing once more. The last few weeks have been a relaxing holiday, we have fallen in love with Rio, and hope one day we will be able to come back.