The Girl "AT" Ipanema

Hey all,

I'm back!  Refreshed and rejuvenated after a visit from my wonderful daughter, Jessaca.  She was here for about two weeks and we enjoyed every second of it.  In fact, we wrung the delight out of each day until we were totally exhausted!!!!  LOL

We'd been waiting to do all the "Rio Stuff" until she got here, so we finally were able to go up Sugar Loaf Mountain and visit Christ the Redeemer Statue, just to name a few.  We went on two day trips--one to the beautiful mountain city of Petropolis and the other to the equally unique beach town of Paraty.   We hiked along several trails in the forest and wandered the famous beaches of Rio.  We sipped at coconuts while lying in hammocks and relaxed by the pool as we listened to Carnival music being rehearsed.

Oh yeah.. it was a wonderful vacation.  And after talking until our throats were sore, I'm now content with the knowledge that my baby girl is happy, healthy and excited about her life.  And isn't that what every parent hopes and prays for?

So check out some of the things we did.  And if ever have a chance to go to Rio, let me know.  I'll point you in the right direction of all the coolest fun times to have!!!

This pic is of Jessaca and Jonathon in front of the beautiful Crystal Palace in Petropolis--The Imperial City.  It's a quaint colonial town with so much to see and do.  A day trip just wasn't enough!!!

Yup.  Here we are (along with several hundred of our *ahem* closest friends?) at the Christ the Redeemer Statue.  The view is amazing and we had a delicious lunch at the kiosk at the base.  It may be touristy, but we had a wonderful time doing it.  Go during the week and early if you plan to visit.  And by that I mean be there at 8:00am when the ticket office opens.  We walked right on the cable car and it wasn't nearly as crowded.

A totally different view that the Christ has, Sugar Loaf targets the beaches and harbor more than the entire city.  There are two mountains--this picture was taken from the lower one and looking at Sugar Loaf.  We watched the sunset at the top and it was gorgeous!

Jessaca sipping her very first coconut juice on the famous Copacabana Beach.  Something you just have to do.  Walk the beach AND sip coconut juice out of a coconut.

The quaint old town of Paraty.  We loved it here.  The architecture, the beaches, the hiking trails...all of it.  We even visited a Cachaca Distillery (Brasilian Rum) and then played in one of the waterfalls.  Awesome overnight trip!

One of our favorite things to do is hike and on the day this picture was taken we hiked up the trail to the highest point in Tijuca National Park.  It was called Pico da Tijuca and topped out at 1023 meters, which is over 3,300 feet!  And it was quite a view looking down on Christ the Redeemer and Sugar Loaf.  Worth the difficult climb to get there.

On our last day together, we all went down to the beach and had drinks and nibbles as we lazed around in hammocks and people watched.  We chatted about all the things we hadn't remembered to talk about and just enjoyed each other.  Bittersweet, but a memory I'll hold dear to my heart.  And a perfect way to end our special visit.

So there you have it.  My wonderful time with a very special person.  Few women can count their daughter as their bestest friend, but I'm lucky enough to be able to do that.  Jessaca is more special to me than I can say, and I'll miss her so much now that she's back in Orlando doing her own thing.

But the memories and pictures I have of her time here will last a lifetime.  Thank you Jessaca for being who you are.  I miss you already.

And yes...I did cry buckets when you left for the airport.  I couldn't help it.  :-)

Until next Friday...

CJ England

 

Follow Your Dreams

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