Rio.

Someone tell me to just stop with the blog already. MONTHS behind. Hemispheres behind. Countries and Time Zones - Behind. sheesh. 

Picture It: It was September of 2016; Heath and I decided to take a super quick trip to Rio, since I hadn't been in the three years we had lived in Brasil. Three days before we were set to leave, I was walking to pick the boys up from school and I stepped on essentially a drain cover on the sidewalk. I placed my foot on the corner of the large, concrete slab and it gave way. My foot fell in and naturally I automatically tried to get it out, and it got pinned between the side and the concrete block. I gathered my wits, and pulled my foot out and sat down. My foot was bulging in various places and bleeding, so I called my friend Mindy to pick me up. The conversation went something like this, "Hey. I think I broke my foot, I need you to pick me up." Always calm in a crisis, she asked where I was (sitting on the sidewalk, can't miss me). I arranged to have the boys picked up by another friend, called Heath, and waited. Several people had stopped to help at this point (only one who spoke english) and Mindy was there in minutes. Once in the car, Heath called again to verify that I actually did break my foot and that I wasn't just overreacting; to which Mindy said, "yeah, she broke it." To make LONG story shorter - after an x-ray, MRI, and CT scan - no broken foot - seriously, a miracle. BUT - the doctor did say that unless Heath was going to carry me around Rio - the trip was off. 

I mean, I'm still surprised it was broken because THREE months later and it still hurts, and there are certain shoes I can't wear. Anyway - keeping the streak alive with no broken bones, ever.

Fast forward two weeks and Rio was back on!

We made it up to the Cristo - and to say it was windy was an understatement. There were still a LOT of tourists because the paraolympics had just finished, so we weren't too keen on getting out on the platform in front of the Christ.

The stairs are another must-see spot. Created by an artist, who's death is still under suspicion, according to our guide, it was neat to see tiles from all over the world.

Up to Pao de Acucar, or Sugar Loaf. I have a thing with heights. and plummeting to my death. I'll tell you a story about para sailing sometime. The little ride up to the top was almost too much. I always think of those lines snapping, and the little cable car just bouncing down the mountain. Morbid, right?

We have the picture above in a really large size that I bought in Sao Paulo. I was happy to actually have been in the spot it was taken.

 The black and white tiles are specific to regions in Rio. This is the Copacabana pattern. There is one for Ipanema, as well.

In our whirl wind 24 hour trip to Rio, our last stop was the Botannical gardens. They were really gorgeous. I will never look at an orchid without thinking of Brasil.

On our way to the airport, we went into a pacified favela. Not something you want to do in Sao Paulo. This particular favela has 24 hour police presence. We were really excited to see Rio, and to see it as a tourist. We stayed at the famous Copacabana Palace and ate some yummy food! What a great last trip while we were in Brasil.