RIO!

Jan 31 and Feb 1

Rio baby! This was quite an amazing weekend in Rio de Janeiro J I was not expecting to spend this much, but every penny was worth it! Day 1 in Rio, we were told if we get up at 6 am we can see sail in, and it would be the most incredible sight ever….unfortunately, the weather had other plans! I got up at 6, after getting home from rehearsal at 3 am and went to sky deck, and it was pure fog everywhere. Haha early bird gets the worm???? Not in this case Jbut I was able to get back to sleep for a few hours after. Then Eli and David woke me up to do some shopping and I kid you not, I have never seen so many beautiful men. Like, GORGEOUS!!!!!  (Sorry dad or brothers if you are reading this) haha. But it was eye candy every step….kind of obnoxious. After that, I took a crew tour to the Christ redeemer statue…..which is one of the modern wonders of the world…..and man, was it wonderful! Got some great pictures of the monument and had a wonderful time on the trip. We had street performers entertain us on the way up and the way out. Our tour guide was hilarious and offered to make reservations for me and friends at a Brazilian barbeque for the night. He was so kind…..and I was so thankful he did that because the only thing I can say in Portuguese is thank you! After that, we went home to freshen up for a night out. And Jess and I were really close to not going to our reservations for the night at the steak house and just settling for a free barbeque on the ship….but we decided, what the hey, we are only in Rio tonight….let’s do it. I mean, I am not much of a red meat eater, but this was the most incredible food I have ever had! I am sorry again dad. But this was just insane good. I probably ate an entire cow. It was so expensive, but again, it was so worth it. So after dinner, of course I had to work some of that food off. The whole group decided to go to the most popular street called Lapa and have a look see at what might be hoppin J The Street was really cute. It kind of reminded me of Venice beach because it was right by the water. We first went in to a club where there was a Brazilian rock band…..not gonna lie, Brazilians should stick to samba. But, after that, a few of us paid a pretty penny to get into the most popular club on the street which had live samba music. It was worth every penny again. The music of Brazil is so unpredictable and Samba is so difficult. These women and men who dance Samba must have learned at a very young age. My Chilean friend Pablo (who is the guitarist on the ship) was saying that in Chile, it is much slower and easier. I def worked off my meal attempting to dance the samba. The live band was amazing and the people were all local. I looked around and thought to myself “this is the greatest job in the world” J

Day 2 in Rio……drum roll please. I went Han gliding……off of the mountain in Rio! I was unsure if I wanted to do something this risky with such a language barrier, but again…..you live once right???? And if not, it was worth the risk J haha jk mom I’m so safe! We first got onto this taxi which was like a jeep with no seatbelts. I could stand up and hang on while going 65 mph J kind of awesome. The ride up to the mountain was scenic and we saw both of the iconic beaches; Ipanema and Copacabana.  Again, mucho eye candy haha. We then get to the mountain…and we all have to go individually with our flight coach in a car further up the road. While waiting for the first group to fly down, I drank some young coconut and prayed J We then get up to the top and it was bing bang boom fast. Before I knew it, I was holding on for dear life running off a cliff and on to view the scenic incredible Rio. The air was crisp and I was so thankful to be alive. I have pictures that were included in the package…and my smile is ridiculously huge J I feel bad for some of the people who live on the mountain, cause I saw right into their yards! It was one of those things I will remember for the rest of my life. Worth the money….but I better save some of it or I may spend my whole paycheck haha. After that, I came back home and took Eli out with me to Ipanema to get some sun. It was really nice for about 20 minutes and then the rain came. Not just light sprinkles….i’m talkin Rainforest storm. I was laughing walking down the street and I almost fell into the sewer. Wouldn’t that have been nice? Haha Then we went shopping and I bought an adorable pair of tan pumps ( I know…just what I need, to spend more money ) haha but again, I never spend that much and I thought to myself….I have these next two days off and I still am getting paid! Haha. So, after that, Eli and I went to a café and I had a glass of wine and we decided we should get home. This is where it got scary. Neither of us remembered the name of our port and NONE of the taxi drivers spoke English. We got in about 5 taxis and continued to say words like porto and ship and cruise and Holland America. Now I know what it feels like to be an outsider and speak a language that no one knows. Well, we finally ended up communicating well enough to say PORTO please and they took us back. Phew! I thought maybe we would have been stuck in Rio….eh, would that have been that bad ? ;) haha