The sleep on the plane didn't go so well and I had a really uncomfortable night, I barely got any sleep as we arrived into Sao Paulo airport 4 hours after we had set off. We had gained two hours and it was now just past 6. Our connection to Rio was at 6.40 and we guessed we wouldn't make it. However when we got off the plane there was someone waiting and we got transferred straight to the next plane by minibus. It was only an hour and a bit to Rio and after a snack and a drink we were soon there. We were also happy to find our bags had made it and were one of the first ones out.

We then headed to get a taxi and set off for our hotel. Half an hour later we turned onto Copacabana beach were dropped outside our hotel. We went to check in and as it was only 8.30am our room wasn't ready. Check in wasn't actually till 3pm but we asked if the had anything available as we were so tired. They did have a junior suite and for a small price we could upgrade although we had to pay a half days rate to check in early. We paid and then went straight up to our room. It was a corner suite and had an excellent view of the beach. We admired it, before heading to get some breakfast.

It was a massive hotel and the breakfast room was full of other guests. There was a big buffet and we grabbed a few things before heading back to the room and to bed. We both quickly passed out and at 3pm I was awoken by Shivani. It was a really nice day and she suggested we head to the beach while the sun was still out. So we got changed into our swimming costumes and headed to the beach.

Our hotel offered a beach service and we were able to get towels, sunbeds and an umbrella. We laid back and did some people watching before heading into the sea. It was cold but nice, although the waves were pretty rough and knocked me over. We didn't stay in long and went back to our beds where we had some drinks. It started to get a bit quieter and cooler and we decided to go back to the hotel.

Shivani wanted to find out about some tours so went to the concierge while I went up to the roof top pool. The pool was small and there were only a few beds, there was a good view however. I was shortly joined by Shivani who had booked a favela tour and hand gliding. She had also complained about the room and had been offered another that we went to check out. This room was higher up and more modern in style, it didn't have a terrace with a corner view though so we decided to stay where we were.

We went back to our room and were both feeling hungry so decided to shower up and get ready to go out. Once we were ready we headed to the concierge to find out where the nearest bank was so we could pay for our tours. After finding out, we went there passing a Haviana store on the way. We had resolved to buy everyone presents and thought that we could get all the girls some sandals. They had a good selection here so we decided we could come back and get them later. We then went to the bank and after withdrawing the money came back to the hotel and paid the concierge. We asked him for some tips on Asian restaurants and he said there was a Chinese a few blocks away.

We walked down there passing a little market that could prove good for souvenirs. We walked through it before finding the Chinese. The restaurant didn't look that good and the menu wasn't inspiring so we gave it a miss. We were quite close to the Sofitel so decided to go there for a drink and ask the concierge for recommendations. We asked for a Thai place and she recommended a place in Leblon called Nam Thai, which was a taxi ride away. We decided to go there but would go to the bar in the hotel first for a drink.

The bar had a nice terrace that overlooked the beach and we sat there and ordered a couple of cocktails. We drank them slowly and quickly hoovered up the nibbles of olives, cashews and crisps. That showed how hungry we were so we got into a cab and set off for the restaurant. It was a 15 min ride away and when we arrived found a really busy place and managed to get one of the last free tables.

The menu looked good and after ordering some wine, we decided on some dim sum, satay, pad Thai and green curry. We were offered an amuse bouche of cauliflower soup that was spicy an nice. The rest of our food then came out and was equally excellent. We finished every last bit and I think that it was one of the best Thai meals I had eaten outside of Thailand.

We were both full now and decided to walk it off. We made our way through Leblon which was the posh neighbourhood. The shops were nice and the streets had busy restaurants on them. When we had got tired of walking we jumped in a cab and made our way back to the hotel. It was almost 11pm now and we decided to head back to the room. We went out on the terrace and looked at Copacabana beach by night. It was all lit up and the beach was now empty. We took a couple of pictures before we jumped on bed and went to sleep.