Chance of a Life Time - Rio de Janiero!!

We spent two nights in Petropolis which is about an hour and a half from Rio in good traffic. The students were quite excited to get to see Rio de Janiero. Another day would have been nice but we jam packed a lot in the time we were there. The first few pictures give the image of Rio as we came into the city on the bus. You could see the favellas just stacked on top of each other and as well the view of large skyscrapers. Every once in a while we would pass a house or building with float pieces ready for carnival. The small beautiful church caught my eye as I sat watching out the window.





Our first visit was to the Christ the Redeemer monument and what an amazing piece of art. Just breathtaking!! We took our bus partway up the mountain to a small village where we boarded a van, then we got into another van and then it was several steps to actually get to the top. It was interesting in that it was different van companies just to get up the mountain. Initially they fought over the group as to which vans we would use. We stopped part way up, took pictures of the view of the city and then we went to the top. The place was packed with people and it was a very hot day. We took several pictures and went through the same process going back down the mountain.









We ate lunch and then went to the Rio de Janiero Botanical Gardens. We split off into groups and it was a nice relaxing walk through the gardens. Most of the flowers were not in bloom but it was just gorgeous. Most of us just needed this time to unwind. The entrance where we walked into the gardens was awesome as you saw a long pathway of palm trees on both sides. There was an orchid display and old water mill in the gardens. You could even see the Christ the Redeemer monument from the park. There are just a few pictures showing the gardens. Then we returned to Petropolis and had a nice meal at a small restaurant across from the hotel.








The second day we did some street shopping in Petropolis, walked through a small hippie market and had a tour of the Imperial Museum. Pictures were not allowed at the museum but the tour actually tied together some of what the students learned in class related to the imperial family and that time period. One thing the students will remember is that everyone who visited the museum had to put slippers on over their shoes that had dusters on the bottom. The floors of the museum were all wood and this kept the shoes from damaging the wood and actually dusted it at the same time. A bit awkward walking through the museum but “ya gotta do what ya gotta do”.

After eating at a gorgeous little restaurant in Petropolis we visited the Itaipava and Cristal Beer Producer. The students learned about the production of beer. It takes water, malte, barley, hopps and variations there of. I think I remember them saying that they moved 42,000 bottles of beer through the plant a day. Students learned that draft beer is only good for 15 days and the bottled beer stays fresh in the bottle much longer because of pasteurizing. A very interesting tour.




What did you think of Rio in two days?