Week 28: São Paulo, Rio de Janeiro 
Tuesday July 26th

After two weeks back home for Michelle’s wedding we headed back to South America. We flew out from Tulsa in the evening and arrived in Houston to a delayed flight. That night at around 10 pm we finally left for São Paulo, the largest city in Brazil or the Western Hemisphere, and arrived by 10 am. 

Wednesday: 

Although there are good restaurants and nightlife in São Paulo, it is mostly a commercial city. We decided to take a bus directly to Rio. After a six hour bus ride we reached Rio by 7 or 8 PM and took a taxi to our hostel, just a block from Ipanema beach. It was in a very ritzy area, so after checking into our room we walked around looking for a cheap place to eat. We explored the dark and cold beach and then found a pastry and snack shop only a block away. We were still exhausted and after watching half a movie we were in bed. There was a karaoke bar across the street which made it difficult to sleep but anything is better than a plane.
Thursday: 

After a free breakfast we took a nap for a couple more hours. Eventually we got ready and left our hostel in search of lunch. We bought McDonald’s burgers to go and ate them next to lake Rodrigo de Freitas which is the site of some Olympic events and is only a few blocks from our hostel. We walked around a bit and then returned to a jewelry museum on the way back. It was informative but the jewelry was way out of our budget. We returned to our hostel as the sun set. We ate sandwiches for dinner from a nearby grocery store and watched the rest of our movie. We talked for awhile about relationship issues and then went to bed. 

Friday: 

After breakfast we did some research and found an Airbnb during the first week of the olympics. We also bought some Olympic tickets. Then we packed our bags and checked out. We walked a few blocks to another hostel we hoped would be a bit quieter. We had to wait a few hours to check in and planned the next few days. After checking in we went to the beach in search of a famous sandwich shop. It was closed that day so we found another popular sandwich shop a couple blocks from our hostel. We took our burgers to the beach for a picnic and hung our for a couple hours. Then we walked on down the beach to a nice lookout point. We tried to cut through a park but had to turn around. While there we were stopped and searched by the police who are on high alert during the olympics. I was glad I shaved my beard and we were soon on the right path. We went to copocabana fort and enjoyed the old and new cannons and exploring the inside of the fort. It was growing dark so we took the long walk back to our hostel. That night we went back to the same sandwich shop for chicken and cheese sandwiches. We took a nap and then another walk to the beach but we were soon asleep for the night. 

Saturday:

We stayed one more night in the hostel we didn’t really like because the location was perfect for our day. After a leisurely morning we went to the beach and waited a couple hours for the sandwiches to be ready. It was a perfect day and our Uruguayan steak sandwiches were phenomenal and cheap. We set off walking the few miles around the lake until we reached the botanical gardens. They are huge and have many different types of plants. We loved the countless varieties of cacti as well as the orchid house and the massive palm trees. After a couple hours of exploring we were exhausted and decided to return to our hostel. We took a bus we hoped was right and hopped off fairly close to our hostel. We rested our feet and watched a movie before heading out for food. We found a cheap sushi restaurant before returning to the pastry shop for an extra snack to finish off my meal. We returned to our hostel, relaxed a bit more and then went to bed.

Sunday: 

After breakfast we packed our bags and moved to a new hostel. We loved this hostel located on a hill overlooking the ocean. It’s a bit of a walk to the beach but there are great areas to lounge in the sun with a sea view at the hostel. We were tempted to relax all day but instead walker to a bus stop and after some confusion found the proper bus. We took the bus to the area of town containing museums but then were so hungry we walked directly toward restaurants and found a McDonald’s. Then we walked to the museum of modern art but were not impressed by the appearance and decided not to enter. We walked another half mile to the museum of national history. We enjoyed this but were so tired of walking that after our two hour visit decided to head home. We walked quite a ways until we found a bus in our direction and made it within a mile of our hostel. We stopped for groceries and then continued to our hostel as the sun was setting. That night we decided to try the per kilogram restaurant across the street. The food was quite good and after a Netflix movie we went to bed.