spring break: rio de janeiro

sisterhood of the traveling saltwater sandals
 
this was our first taste of south america, and i couldn't wait to see the iconic rio de janeiro. i read mixed reviews of rio's safety, but i never felt unsafe there. granted, we didn't go near the favelas (slums). actually, when we were driving down copacabana beach at night, the distant favelas up on the hill were all lit up and colorful. "what is that cute area up there?" i asked the only cab driver who spoke english. "cute area?! that's favela!" he said. 

rio is picturesque with its steep green hills dropping into the ocean, a lagoon next to lush botanical gardens, and long beaches with sand like flour. we ate some delicious brazilian food—chiaroscuro, açai, salty cheeses, and cheese bread every morning for breakfast. robbie and hannah introduced us to the jackpot of gelaterias called baccio di latte. our airbnb place looked better in pictures than in real life, but it worked out just fine since it was across the street from leblon beach. we took turns beaching it while the babies slept in the afternoons. hannah and i spent the dreamiest three hours one day napping on the warm sand and catching waves.


one of my favorite excursions was to the escaderia selaron, tiled by a man who wanted to jazz up these steps. as more and more people heard about his project, they began sending him tiles from all around the world.



quaint little dutch tiles


we walked to the theatre in downtown rio, patterned after palais garnier in paris. sage, who spent her first two years of life being toted around in an ergo carrier, begged to ride on my back...and fell asleep in about two minutes flat. at age 3.5, she still sleeps anywhere!

we woke up early to take the funicular up corcovado to see cristo redentor. even with windy, cloudy weather and crowds, the resurrected christ was stunning. at the end of our visit, the clouds parted and we finally got some sun.






we squeezed the seven of us into one cab most of the time. after corcovado, we were all ready for fresh squeezed passion fruit + strawberry juice.

we meant to spend more time at the jardim botânico, but got there with 30 minutes left before closing. the avenue of palms could sum up my taste in a quite a few things–symmetrical, everything lined up precisely, and beautiful.




cristo redentor is hiding just under the palm tree

i had to include this groupie of everyone sweaty and damp

we took the cable car up pão de açúcar for more views of rio.

another view of cristo redentor (i couldn't get enough!)



sage added her signature to this giant wall

i'd heard some of the most beautiful sunsets in the world can be found on the beaches of rio. while we didn't have a jaw-dropping colorful sunset this night, the ambiance made it memorable. praia do arproador was buzzing with happy people and a sultry saxophone filled the air with music. body surfers were catching one last wave, and the girls were content to kick off their shoes and just take it all in.

 
we spent our last day in rio at the beach, mostly taking turns after both our children had complete meltdowns. we'd been traveling for three weeks at this point, so i'm chalking up the tears to that. but still, it was a beautiful day!


i adored the cobbled beach walks

this was the view from our flat. farewell, rio!

on the 9.5 hour red-eye flight to dulles, nora and i both got very sick. as i laid on the bathroom floor (i know. so gross!) wondering if i'd contracted tuberculosis yet and trying not to throw up for the 20th time, i realized this was my worst flying nightmare. so, hey, at least i know we can survive anything. nate went into beast mode and did a great job of keeping our children alive and finding me more sick bags. despite the ending, the trip was incredible. we'll be back, rio.