Back in the Cidade Maravilhosa

I am going to jump a few weeks as otherwise I feel like I am constantly playing catch up and the blog starts to become a chore...All I can say is that I have had the most amazing few weeks and will write about what I got up to when everything is a little less hectic!

Last weekend me and 3 friends headed to Rio after work. We all packed into a little Fiat 500 and hit the road as early as possible to try and avoid the traffic leaving São Paulo. Obviously it wasn't early enough, it is never early enough, the traffic is 24/7 in São Paulo. If you think the tube is congested in London have a look at this video of the São Paulo metro that I take on my nightly commute to teach English...!

Yes, people run full pace and it was actually relatively quiet compared to usual!

Anyway, once we finally got out of the city the journey was relatively uneventful. We had to stop on the edge of one of Rio's most notorious favelas for petrol which probably wasn't the most sensible move, but we survived to tell the story and arrived at our hostel just after midnight. Due to booking only a couple of days before we didn't have much choice regarding accommodation...We chose Che Lagarto just off Ipanema beach...not a good choice as we soon discovered when we were greeted by two cockroaches on the way to our room!

Feeling hungry and tired we dumped our stuff and walked a few blocks to a welcoming looking bar/restaurant. Once we had demolished pasteis, chicken sandwiches and drunk some Cerveja Bohemia everyone unsurprisingly cheered up.

After a lot more Bohemia we headed back to the hostel changed into swim stuff and headed to Ipanema beach for a midnight paddle! Sitting on the deserted beach with friends who I've grown so close to, it suddenly hit me how sad I am going to be when I have to leave in 6 weeks time. I am determined to make the most of every day that I have left.

Deserted Ipanema Beach, with the lights of Vidigal favela in the distance

The next day we packed a lot in (thanks to Rafa's planning!)...First we went for a walk around the centre, an area that has improved dramatically due to heavy investment for the World Cup. We had breakfast at Café Colombo, the first padaria in Brazil, we then visited the odd-looking modern cathedral where the pope gave mass during his recent visit, the municipal theatre, the BNDES building and the Petrobras headquarters.

Café Colombo

Afterwards we took the cable car up Sugarloaf Mountain, something that I regretted not doing last time I was in Rio. The view at the top was breathtaking, even if the weather was not the best.

On the way to Sugarloaf Mountain...

Almost there

View from the cable car

Cable car selfie!

After lots of photos we headed back down the mountain and drove to Gula Gula for a late lunch; a chain of restaurants in Rio. I 
wish they were in São Paulo too, I would have happily eaten there everyday!!

My meal was a glorified plate of mashed potato, not quite what I had intended to order but it was yummy!

Feeling rejuvenated we headed for the beach where there was an interstate futevôlei(volleyball but not using your hands!) competition taking place. A lot of fun to watch with a great atmosphere and we were given caps and batecos to cheer on our favourite team!

After running off our lunch on the beach we headed to the supermarket to eat some dinner! Yes there are often restaurants in supermarkets! We had a chicken and catupiry pizza followed by a chocolate and strawberry pizza, sweet pizzas are definitely one of Brazil's best inventions!! We returned to the hostel to pre-drink and got chatting to our roommates from Goiânia (a city in another state in the Brazil's interior) and at around 12AM headed out...

The next morning, all feeling a little worst for wear we checked out of the hostel and went for lunch in another Gula Gula, this time in Ipanema, which was even better than the first one. We then headed to the beach for the last time for some relaxation before the long journey back to São Paulo. We returned around midnight, exhausted but still buzzing from the most amazing weekend. 

Sunday afternoon at Ipanema...

Thanks for the best weekend guys, bring on the next one!

This weeks highlights included a run in Parque Ibirapuera, dinner at a great Japanese restaurant, my amazing English student buying me copious amounts of ice cream and Starbucks and a relaxing weekend spent at a friend's house in Jundiaí(a city an hour from São Paulo)...My life is going to seem seriously boring when I return!