Driving to Rio felt like a proper road trip, drinks, tunes and boys being boy's shouting/singing/hanging out of the window and even getting truck drivers to honk their horns. As we approached everyone felt the same, RIO BABY WOOOO!!

When we arrived it was dark so we got to see Rio by night. After checking into the hostel we headed straight across the road to a little bar that was to become our local for the next few days. The beach front in Rio has lots of little kiosks that are kind of like bars and that is where we spent the next few days, drinking and watching the football. In the evening we went into the Fifa Fan Fest where there was a big screen and stage used for showing the football in the day, and used for bands at night, it was awesome! We went into Lapa on the Friday and Saturday night which was really cool, lots of street vendors and stalls selling drinks where people hang out before going to a club. Lapa is located in the centre of Rio and is famous for its nightlife so we were excited. The Friday night was a street party so whilst the boys went to a Samba bar we decided to hang back and check out what was happening around the party. We knew the Manchester lot were out in Lapa but because of how big and busy it was, we didn't for one minute expect to see them. But as we were chatting to some people saw them out of the corner of our eyes, as if!

After the football final the boys had to set off back to Sao Paulo because a few of them had to work, so after a sad goodbye we waved them off. We decided to walk down the beach front to see if there was anything going. It was really quiet so we were just about to head back to the hostel until a Spanish guy started chatting to us and invited us to join them for a drink. They were in really good spirits after Spain winning and the three of them were sat with a local guy called Bruno who was taking them to a party in Favela. They asked us if we fancied going and as there didn't seem to be much else happening, we decided to go.

When we got there Bruno said he had to go see his family and that he would be back soon. The area looked a bit dodgy and as we were the only ´gringos´ around, attention was completely drew to us. When Bruno got back he had a bottle of whiskey and asked if we could give him 10reals each. We thought this was a bit strange because whiskey doesn't cost that much but then we realised that the man who had been dithering around us must had actually been looking after us because Bruno gave him some money, eeek we needed security!

The walk to the club was a little scary, we could tell this was a dangerous area so were glad to be with a local. But no matter how dangerous it was, we were glad we were going to a Favela Funk party on our own rather than with an trip organised through a hostel because we got the true Brazilian experience! We were the only gringo's here again yet people didn't bother, everyone was having a wicked time and we even had people coming and chatting to us. After speaking to people a few days later who went to Favela with a hostel we realised we were very lucky, the hostel takes you to a club on the outskirts that is full of other travellers and no locals. Not the real Favela that we saw!

Because we had been with the boys we hadn't had the opportunity to enjoy the beach so the following day it was hello sun! We stayed in Copacabana so got to enjoy the world famous 4km beach. A man came over trying to sell us sarongs and despite us telling him numerous times he kept hanging around, it wasn't till just after we told him to basically get lost that we saw marks in the sand from where he hand been trying to get our bag! He was using his foot to drag the strap over from under Sam's seat, we were very lucky. We had two weeks in Rio and unfortunately the end of the first week, the torrential rain began and lasted for days! We had planned on visiting Ilha Grande on the Friday but hung fire until the Sunday, waiting for the weather to clear up. During the rain there wasn't much to do, at all. Dani wasn't very well so she had a week of chilling out trying to get better whilst Sam used the rain as an excuse to go out and not feel bad about doing nothing the next day.

A football game in Rio is one of the must do's, especially as the next World Cup Final will be held at the Maracana stadium. We went with the Manchester guys and watched a Flamengo v Bogota game and although the stadium wasn't full, the atmosphere was awesome. We were in the middle of the Flamengo fans so got fully involved with all the chanting and singing, despite not knowing what we were actually saying. It was even better when Flamengo scored because it went off!

On the Sunday we headed off to Ilha Grande for a few days. On the way there was a landslide blocking the road so after waiting 2 hours, we got a lift to the port with a passing car. The first day on Ilha Grande was still a bit dull but the following day it had cleared up and we got to see the beautiful island everyone had been raving about. Because time was running out we could only stay for two days which meant we missed the famous boat party =( Plus side, there's our excuse to come back!

Back in Rio we only had 2 full days left before flying home, and surprise surprise, we hadn't done any of our jobs or any of the sights! We'd done the evening activities of visiting Favela, Lapa and a football game, but all the attractions of Rio remained undone. So the last day we did a tour where we visited Sugar Loaf Mountain, Christ the Redeemer, the famous Lapa stairs, the football stadium, cathedral and the Sambadrome where people watch the parade during Carnival time. At first we begrudged doing a trip, but it turned out this was the best way to do all the sights because you were transported between them all which would have been a nightmare to try and sort out ourselves, we had a guide, got a Brazilian BBQ AND.... it worked out cheaper as a package! Visiting the Christ was one of our favourite things, and the view from up there was incredible! When we visited the Sambadrome we tried on the costumes that people wear in the carnival which was also a lot of fun. This was the perfect end to our trip =)

We were in mixed emotions heading to the airport. We were sad that our year of fun was nearly over and we were heading back to reality, but at the same time we were so excited about seeing all our family and friends after such a long time away. Two more flights and we'd be home!