Centro do Rio

We hadn't quite decided what to do on our last day in Rio. We started off by going to the Bonde (tram) Station in Centro, where you can get a tram up the hill to Santa Teresa, one of the older parts of Sao Paulo which has cobbled streets and once grand houses. The station was closed and we found out there was an accident in August in which 8 people were killed when one of the cars of the tram rolled down the hill and that the tram will be closed for another 2 years to redevelop it. A little scary as I went on the tram a year or so ago and it was a little rickety...

Next we went to the Catedral Metropolitana do Rio, which is next to the tram station.  Although it's a bit of an eyesore from the outside inside it's a great open space with stained windows and statutes and has a sense of being open to the outside world through the large open doors and windows.

On my good friend Tom's recommendation, we headed next for the Museu do Arte Moderna on the Baia da Guanabara, walking down past the Arcos da Lapa - see picture below. Unfortunately, it was looking a little quiet when we got there and we found out that it didn't open on Mondays. On a quick check of my guidebook, this seems to be the case for most museums. 

Even though it was cloudy we then headed to the Corcovado ('hunch back') mountain to see the Cristo o Redentor. We got a mini bus up the mountain, stopping at a great viewing spot on the way up – where we saw monkeys as well as panaromic views of the city. At the ticket booth for the Cristo we were told that there was “zero visibilidade” at the top of the mountain and that as a result we wouldn't even be able to see the Cristo's feet. We hung around for an hour or so but it didn't look as though the mist was going to lift, so we jumped on a mini bus back down the mountain. View of Pao de Acucar mountain from part way up Corcovado:

We decided to head back to Centro and have some cake at the Confeitaria do Colombo also on Tom's recommendation. We saw the Uruguaian flea market on the way, with an impressive mural showing deforestation scene with trees dripping blood. Uruguaian market: 

We were very impressed by the old fashioned elegance of the Confeitaria do Columbo, in particular its enormous floor to ceiling mirrors, and the fact that Queen Elizabeth had visited in 1968.  I had a strawberry tart, which was delicious. 

Got back to Catete and walked around the Palacio do Catete gardens, hoping to see the 'occasional' swan promised by my guidebook. We didn't see any swans, just three geese. Following this we had dinner at a comida por kilo restaurant (where you pay by the weight of the food which you have) which was particularly good for mum as she could pick the veggie options.