Hello to all from Brazil!

Here we are in Rio, just back from an evening drink, watching the waves crashing over Ipanema Beach....but more of that later.

Matt dropped us at terminal 5 with a good 6 hours to pass before the flight and we made great use of the time in the First Class lounge. We were in good company as Michael Caine was also in there chomping on a burger. We ate quite a lot and I drank quite a lot and we enjoyed our private cabana :) There was a free treatment at the Elemis Spa and Paul opted for a massage chair thing which he clearly enjoyed. I wanted a foot massage but the guy who took me through wouldn´t do it because I had a tiny scratch on one toe :( He offered me the chair which I agreed to but as soon as it started I asked him to stop....it was awful. I said I was into Shiatsu and his face lit up as he was a Reika practitioner. 20 heavenly minutes later I was done :)

We boarded the flight to Sao Paulo and there were just 6 of us in First with 3 crew members so we had Finn (a charming, kind and funny chap from Denmark originally but now from Brighton) all to ourselves. We sat in row 1 which is downstairs on the 747 immediately behind the nose cone. It has two slightly forward faciing windows which mad the speed along the runway feel very fast indeed! We had a fantastic flight and the pyjamas were very cool! The GOL flight to Rio seemed to go round in circles for a while in the middle part which had us thinking we were turning back to Sao Paulo with a fault but we landed more or less on time ona runway only just long enough with water at both ends. Checked into our hotel on Ipanema Beach and then went out for lunch at the Lonely Planet best pick in nearby Leblon. What a meal! We haven´t enjoyed food so much in a long while. Paul was having a great start to his trip :) By the time we got back to the hotel we were shattered and went to bed at 6pm!

We got up at 6.30 this morning and set out to see the city. A lovely taxi driver took us to the cog tram which takes you up to the Christ statue at Corcovado. We were there as it opened at 8.30 but it was already fully booked up to 10.30. We didn´t think to book online...duh! As the next train was loading I wandered over to the ticket chap and asked if there were any space and they let us on :) I sat next to a guy from Lencois (NE Brazil) and we struck up a conversation which ended a couple of hours later with plans to meet up in London next year...friendly people. The views were incredible and the statue is very impressive close up....photos to follow as the hotel computer won´t accept our camera. We had a small band of musicians on the tram down which made for a party atmosphere.

From there we made our way to the centre of the city to see some of the older buildings and the new scyscrapers too. The modern Cathedral was captivating. Lovely person of the day award went to a city businessman. We were looking for an ATM when he asked if he could help. He didn't just tell us where we could find one, but took us there and then shook our hands as he said goodbye :) We had lunch in a remarkable art deco cafe which had been open since 1894. For those of you who share our passion for natas (Portugese custard tarts) they had them aplenty!! We have also discovered a gooey, chocolate desert here called brigaderio and have tried a couple of those too. The food is very good.

Finally, we moved on to the Pao de Acucar (Sugarloaf Mountain) and took the cable car up to the top for fantastic views of the whole city. It is a simply stunning setting and we could already imagine the arty shots they´ll put together for the Olympic coverage. We decided to get the local bus back to the hotel and it took just short of two hours. We must have called in at every single suburb in Rio but it was a bargain at less than a pound.

The city has a reputation for crime but we felt safe. However, in the city, a lady came up to us and asked if we spoke English. Then she told us to put the camera away. At the art deco cafe every single bag was cable-tied to your chair!! It had to be cut off as you left. I did wonder if it was to stop it being swiped or to stop you doing a runner ;)

Tomorrow afternoon we fly on to Lima...another hugely long day. It´s been a brief visit but we love Rio and would like to think we might come back and do it justice one day but life is short and the world is large so who knows. The birthday boy claims to be having fun and that´s what matters!

Quick update....we've been bumped up to business on our ecenomy flight from Brasil to Peru....and we didn't even pay for the tickets :) :)