Brazil

Eric and I were blessed to be able to visit Brazil in December and we loved every minute of it!

Everyday we would face-time with the kids. 

They didn't want to talk as much as they wanted to play. 

Everyone took a turn.

Looks like they should be watching a game that involves a ball. 

I love this woman! So grateful that I got to spend some time with her.

My love, little Pietro!

And yummy baby Felipe. So delicious!

I wanted to just sit and eat him.

Eric giving Pietro a ride.

Eric's old stomping ground.

And some of his old friends, Magna and Luciano Silva and their nephew.

Magna holds a special place in Eric's heart because she was one of his baptisms.  

We were blessed to eat with them twice while we were there. 

We also visited Izilda and Jesus Diogo de Paula and their son Marcelo. It was such a sweet visit.

I got to meet with some sisters from my mission. Heloisa Alvez and Ana Paula Galdino.

Sleeping on the way to Rio.

While in Rio we took a guided tour to visit all the touristy sites we could. 

We had an amazing ride to Sugarloaf Mountain!

That's the pointy hill for Christ the Redeemer in the distance. 

Eric was not a fan of the heights.

And even less a fan of me taking pictures of him not being a fan of the heights. I can't help it. He's too cute. 

I love the tram!

Look at that view!

I loved being on top of it all. 

We also visited a waterfall in the Tijuca Forest and found this critter looking for his lunch. 

The waterfall itself was much more lovely.

Ta-da!

We also visited the Selaron Staircase. 

You can read a little bit about it here. 

There was so much there to see and appreciate! They had tiles painted with things from all around the world.

Truly an amazing sight!

We visited the Metropolitan Cathedral of Saint Sebastian which is the seat of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of São Sebastião in Rio de Janeiro. It has the most amazing stained glass. It was so hard to get it all in one picture but it ran floor to ceiling on four separate walls.

It looked like an enormous beehive/pyramid from the outside

This was a sculpture outside the cathedral. It represents Jesus as a homeless man. It really touched me because it reminded me of the scripture in Mathew 25:35-36 "For I was an hungred, and ye gave me meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink: I was a stranger, and ye took me in: naked, and ye clothed me: I was sick, and ye visited me: I was in prison, and ye came unto me." I think about it often.

We passed through Santa Teresa on our tour and got to see a fully functioning and running trolley.

Santa Teresa was full of color and shops selling lovely souvenirs. I, of course, spent too much money on things I thought were pretty. 

Part of Santa Teresa is a large favela that spreads out so far. It's amazing how industrious people are.

The day after our guided tour we visited Christ the Redeemer.

It was pretty amazing to be somewhere so famous. 

Look! There's his arm!

Yep. I was there.

And so was Eric! Don't mind him. He doesn't like crowds. 

James even came along for the ride for a little bit via facetime.

Our hotel was very near the beach. 

And other large historical buildings. 

It was such a lovely view.

We loved it.

At night we could see Christ the Redeemer all lit up from our rooftop. That was an amazing sight.

When we got back to Sao Paulo we visited Cinco de Maio and the Mercado Municipal Paulistano. Both those places are filled with color, sounds, and smells. I loved every minute of it. 

Happy travelers!

Sonia and her husband took us to Coco Bambu, Sonia's favorite restaurant. 

The food was so good there I even tried the shrimp. Wow!

Eric went on a hike up Jaragua with Sonia's husband.

It was an amazing view from the top.

Look at that!

He even saw his own strange critter while he was there. 

We also visited the new visitors center near the Sao Paulo temple. It wasn't around when we were on our missions. It was fun to see what they had done. 

Look! It's our temple!

On our way home from we were so tired that we decided to upgrade to first class. It was the most comfortable, dumb choice that we have ever made. I probably would do again if given the opportunity. 

Happy travelers!