In the morning we decided to walk around and do some general sightseeing on our way towards Santa Teresa, the home of Escadaria Selarón, also known as the ‘Selaron Steps’, a set of world-famous steps in Rio de Janeiro. They were the work of Chilean-born artist Jorge Selarón who claimed it as a “tribute to the Brazilian people”. He originally began renovating dilapidated steps that ran along the front of his house in 1990, collecting tiles from various construction sites and urban waste. As the popularity grew in later years, most of the tiles were donated by visitors from all around the world. There are 215 steps measuring 125m long and comprise of over 2000 tiles from over 60 different countries. Of course this is a massive tourist attraction and was very busy but we managed to get a few good photos during different waves of tourists!

After that, we enjoyed a few drinks and lunch nearby before we set off to climb yet more steps to reach Cultural Centre Parque das Ruínas. The house of a big Maecenas of Belle Époque carioca, known as the “Marechala da Elegância”. The palace is one of the most beautiful winning projects of the architect Ernani Freire and houses experimental works of art. We wandered around the ruins and had a good laugh to ourselves watching the lengths some people will go to for that ‘perfect’ photo! One group of friends even had their own spotlights with them for better lighting! Whilst up there, you got a good view of all the favelas that were located close by!

After a day of wandering around in the sun we enjoyed some Caipirinhas, the national drink of Brazil (which were quite tasty) and also dinner at a local quirky bar before heading home for the night.