I was so excited to be going to Rio. But as with many of my trips this was for work with a couple of transit stopovers to and from the oil rig with the chance of scoring a free day before I flew out. I checked out the helicopter rides so I could get an aerial view of the Christ Redeemer statue but alas the weather didn’t cooperate and I had to settle for a driver organised byt the guy I worked with on the oil rig. He was great and took me around to Ipanema Beach and a few other sites. My customer did me a favour on my way out and put me up in a really cool area. I was walking distance from the Real Gabinete Português de Leitura (Royal Portuguese Cabinet of Reading) is one of the world’s top ten libraries and is stunning. in the Lapa area their are many places of interest. The Metropolitan Cathedral of Saint Sebastian is another building that is somewhat intriguing from the outside and not styled as a traditional cathedral. Inside it takes your breath away with the incredible stained glass and use of light. In the same area are the Escadaria Selaron stairs with their hand painted tiles and the Carioca Aqueduct which was built in the 18th century and is now used for the tramway to Santa Teresa neighbourhood.