Somebody Pinch Me!

Rio should be on everyone's bucket list.  Oh.  My.  The flight in was gorgeous with the mountains and the ocean view.  Our resort (Sheraton) is excellent with a private beach, outdoor massages in tiki huts, pools, hot tubs, etc.  However, you can't walk to Ipanema Beach or Copacabana Beach due to the rocky terrain in between the Sheraton private beach and those famous beaches.  There's a private and free shuttle though.  Here's a view from our pool.  Not bad, eh?

Lauren and I went to the Christ the Redeemer statue when we first landed in Rio on Sunday morning.  We took a tour bus on Grey Line tours (I don't recommend b/c we spent most of our time picking up and dropping off other tourists at their hotels instead of touring the city and learning about the culture.)  You should find your way to the train/tram station via taxi and go on your own.  However, we got to see the iconic Christ the Redeemer Statue in all of its glory.  We didn't think to "Tebow" in front of the statue until we weren't there any longer, but our photos will do I suppose:


The views from the climb up to the top of the mountain were unreal also.  Ipanema and Copacabana Beaches are right behind me in this photo:

I caught this sunset photo on our way home from the tour.  Paradise, right?

We got back to the hotel and went to eat where the song "The Girl from Ipanema" was written.
We had some excellent red meat for dinner (which is what they're known for):

Today, Monday March 12, we went to the pool and the private Sheraton beach.  It was great!  My work phone and email were not working, so I did my best to not feel too guilty for not working part of the day:

Lauren and I had a great day outside.  We saw a man skimboarding and a few kids playing in the huge waves.  We met an American couple that advised us not to get into the ocean because the waves were far too powerful.  We took that advice and laid out just to get some sun.  The ocean water was also quite chilly.  South America is going into their fall season right now, so I guess that explains it.

On a work note though, our booth backdrop didn't arrive.  We'll see how presentable our booth is tomorrow morning...  regardless, this won't be a trip wasted. :)