Anna´s blog. I have always thought that you can really get a feel for a city during the cab ride from the airport. On this occasion we were treated to men fishing from a motorway bridge (!), late night soccer on floodlit pitches and a parade of aromas ranging from malodourous sulphur to delicious bbq lamb. Our driver was a nice old man who never strayed from the middle lane and was undisturbed by the racing taxis flanking us either side. Rio was in darkness when we arrived and felt muggy and warm. Beautiful old buildings stood side by side with glassy modern monoliths and the sense of random chaos was everywhere.

Our hotel was located right on Copacabana beach near the famous ´Copa´ hotel and on our arrival I was astonished to find someone had tipped off the hotel that we were on our honeymoon. Rose petals adorned the giant kingsize bed and bath, champagne was on ice and strawberries with chocolate sauce awaited consumption. Funny how the fatigue from a 12 hour flight can melt away with the pop of a champagne cork. What a perfect start.

The next day dawned ominously cloudy as had been predicted by weather obsessive Tom, so we immediately agreed to extend our stay until the blue skies returned (hopefully tomorrow!). We spent the morning on avenue Atlantico having a culture soaking stroll. There are some cities in the world I believe you can wake up in and have no idea where you are. Rio is NOT one of them. From the moment we stepped out we were impressed with sand sculptures of the city, traders and hawkers selling fantastically coloured wares and beach shacks selling bunches of green coconuts which for 3 real, they would take off the top and present to you with a straw for a refreshing coconut milk drink. Naturally we paused at one of these establishments but became distracted by the also reasonable 5 real Caipirinhas - thus we had our first brazilian caipirinhas watching impromptu soccer on Copacabana beach (the biggest football pitch in the world).

Brazilians are laid back and very friendly. Within moments Tom had made friends with a street sellar wearing a batman t-shirt who told us he had met Princess Diana in 1987. Not long after that a man with a toothbrush and a bottle of soap appeared and began vigorously scrubbing Tom´s trainers. We managed to get away, but Tom had soapy trainers for the rest of the morning. The rest of the day saw us visit a hippy market in Ipanema and make a mad dash across an eight lane dual carriageway to get to the world´s most inaccessible shopping mall. Despite all this, we still had enough energy left for a night out on the tiles. That evening we found outselves at a former brothel eating feijoada (bean stew) which was served with rice, sausage and more bizaarely orange segments (it strangely worked!). There was a live band playing samba music and real Rio citizens (they call themselves cariocas) swayed provocatively in time. It was a great night drinking caipivodkas, which involved real pressed fruit mixed with vodka (so don´t worry mum - we´re definitely getting our five a day!). Suffice to say we both woke up with hangovers. Tomorrow we plan to tour the city and work out our route down the coast. Until then, adios amigos, Mrs Hughes. Xxx (Photos to follow soon!)