Here are the highlights of the remainder of my stay in Rio. Spent some time on the beach and shopping in Rio Sul trying to find gifts to send back home (couldn't find anything decent as all the shops were full of Christmas tat). Had lunch in the bar/restaurant where The Girl from Ipanema was written whilst watching some guys doing Capoeira outside in the street (v.impressive). Went up Sugar Loaf mountain in the cable car (mum, you would've been proud of me!!...

I know I'm doing this all out of sync but trying to remember what I've been up to for the last week as it's all been a bit non stop so this postcard is a little taste of Rio life. Nearly all of the wedding party have left Rio now so I'm one of the only one's left. Spent the morning on the beach watching the world go by. Brazilians are obsessed with looks. You'll find old and young joggin up and down the beach all day long in all weather. Bikinis are v.sma...

Day 8 - The wedding day! Wedding wasn't until 8pm so had quite a chilled out day. Good job too as it was all quite tiring. As a witness I had to stand at the front of the church throughout the ceremony which took quite a long time as there was a guy translating everything the priest was saying. It got really hot and apart from Andrew`s mum nearly fainting and one of the kiddies moaning all the way through, the ceremony was lovely. Very much the same set up a...

Sorry about the lack of pictures...gonna try again today. Think we're up to day 7 now. Another early start and minibus trip for all of us. 1st stop was Niteroi island. Took a boat trip across the Guanabara bay and went to a weird art gallery. Art was a bit crap but the views and the building itself were fantastic. We went straight from there to a fort on top of a hill (Fortelaza de Santacruz I think) which was built to protect the island. Next was another ...

Onto day 5 now....Wednesday. This was a v.busy day. Minibus picked us all up at 9am (!!) to take us on a tour. 1st stop was Corcovado mountain where the Christ the Redeemer statue is. Fantastic views but my camera ran out of battery after just a couple of shots (doh!). Bit of a hairy ride up the mountain and got a rickety old tram some of the way down. Only 10p but could understand why as people were hanging off the thing almost being squished by walls and ...