Rio

My mom came back for a second visit (loaded with requests from home, might I add) and we took a weekend trip to Rio.  It was so great!  I enjoyed the vacation - which sounds funny because we are down here practically on vacation - but it meant that Brad had time off work.  He didn't even take his laptop, just 3.5 solid days of family time.  :)  We had a hotel that was right on Copacabana and overlooked the beach - it was so picturesque.  The weather was great right up until we left which made it easy to enjoy the outdoor attractions like Cristo Redentor and Pao de Acucar and of course time on the beautiful beaches!

One thing that I missed most once we got home was the hotel. I know this is silly, but we had the executive lounge right next door.  A full breakfast was served daily from 6 - 10 (which even accommodated our little early bird) and snacks and drinks were available all throughout the day.  Then, in the evenings we had a lovely little happy hour (nothing little about it) starting at 6 pm.  There were pasta dishes, sandwiches, hot soups, cold salads, enough food to make a meal of.  Best of all, it was available before Caden's bedtime - UNHEARD OF!  (We have a hard time getting to go out for dinner because none of the restaurants open until 7 pm).  This was a true vacation!  No Cooking!  No washing dishes (well, except bottles of course)! One word..... LOVELY!

View from our hotel room

Sunrise from the hotel room, what a way to start the day!

View from top of Cristo Redentor

The man himself

Cable Cars descending from Pao de Acucar

City View from Pao de Acucar

This is by far the smallest runway I have EVER landed on!
There will be a separate blog about this, in case you are interested in aviation.

Plane coming in for a landing, we were at Pao de Acucar, and I think we were eye level with the plane.