Well over 18 months ago I booked myself the trip of a lifetime to the Antarctic. However in order to get there I would need to get to the bottom of South America - the other continent I had yet to visit. And so after much planning I decided it would be a massive shame to literally fly in, past some cities I really wanted to visit, and thus I planned to go via Brazil en route.

After taking an overnight flight from London, and transferring in São Paulo, I arrived in my first destination on a warm Thursday morning, excited to explore the Brazilian capital of Brasilia.

Brasilia was built from nothing in the final four years of the 50's to replace Rio as the Brazilian capital. And as with many new cities of the same era, it was heavily planned, with sectors and grand avenues. The city is shaped like an aeroplane with all the governmental buildings located around the fuselage.

Arriving at my hotel in the Hotel Sector, right off the main boulevard I quickly grabbed my bits and headed off for a walk before the imminent rainfall expected this afternoon drenched me.

As Brasilia was built for the car it's scale is huge and there is a distinct lack of pedestrian access - crossing Eixo Monumental meant literally running across the 7 lane highway in a gap through the traffic.

Beginning by heading past the Central Terminal I made my way past the National Library and Museum to the Cathedral - a concrete and stained glass building that is entered from below, whilst a pool of water surrounds the building at ground level.

Whilst interesting from the outside, it is inside that the building is truly beautiful, with angel sculptures floating above the pews.

Continuing down Eixo Monumental, I made my way to the Esplanada dos Ministérios for views over the National Congress, with it's iconic bowl, and built into the ground.

Behind the Congress is the Plaza of Three Powers, where the highest branches of government - the Congress, Supreme Court and Presidential Palace are located. Unfortunately like most of the city, the concrete is in a state of disrepair and makes the whole area look shabby, despite the best intentions and interesting architectural designs.

Having already walked two miles from the hotel to this end, it was now time to walk back, past the Palace of Justice and National Theatre, to the TV Tower, where free views looking over the whole city can be found.

At this height, the scale of the city's planned layout can be seen, as well as the JK Bridge over the Paranoá Lake in the distance.

After a lot of walking and having luckily dodged the heavy rain, I grabbed dinner and settled in for the night, before my onward flight to Rio the following day.