Our second day in Rio, we decided to visit the Christ the Redeemer statue at the top of Corcovado Mountain. The view is amazing. The statue itself is massive and incredible, but it was placed on the top of the tallest mountain in Rio, making the whole experience a bit breathtaking. We rode a train to the top of the mountain, which was a new experience for us. Along the way, we saw wild monkeys swinging from the trees. Yet another reminder that we're not in Kansas anymore!
One of the views of Rio from the top of Corcovado Mountain. Sugar Loaf is on the right, the mountain jutting up from the bay area. It's just amazing to me that someone ever climbed this mountain but it's also crazy to think of the logistics involved in building the statue as well as the transportation to the top!
Arms open wide. . . I love this.
We had to wait quite a while to take the train back to the bottom, so we sat around and relaxed. After just a day, Emma decided she really liked her cousin Jakob and made sure she was close to him wherever we went!
After visiting Jesus, we took a taxi over to the Botanical Gardens. I have to admit, I wasn't all that excited because really, how exciting can a garden be? I was impressed though. The Botanical Gardens were beautiful and very peaceful. Rio de Janeiro is such a huge city and there are people everywhere. It's almost impossible to escape the noise, as is the case with any large city. However, there's a strange peacefulness within the garden. Maybe that's because there are over 345 acres of land there.
The kids found plenty of water features within the park. There were way too many photo opportunities.
This is one of the plants that eats insects. After the insects crawls into the opening to steal some yummy nectar, the plant closes around the insect and has its own little feast. Who would have thought a pretty plant could be so sinister?
Emma loved this greenhouse and kept asking me to take pictures of her next to the flowers. She had a hard time resisting the urge to pick the flowers, but she was great and let them be!
Below: The Devil flower - no, really, that's its name!
Brothers in a tree. . .
I love the Avenue of Royal Palms. These palm trees were planted when the park was opened in the late 1800s.
I have to say, I was pleasantly surprised by the Botanical Gardens. There was a cute, outdoor restaurant there and the lunch was really good. The park was clean and quiet which made for a nice, relaxing afternoon stroll with the kids. . . except for the part where Emma fell down and scraped her knee and cried as the blood ran down her leg. We were so thankful that Aunt Maggie was prepared with wipes and bandaids!! Overall, it was a fun afternoon.
