Welcome to Rio!

Yes, yes, yes, the view from our apartment is FABULOUS! We still wake up in the morning and walk to the living room to make sure the view is still there!

However -- yes, there's always a BUT -- it is quite noisy at night...I should have bought earplugs;-) 
There are a few things wrong with the apartment -- such as the kitchen counter needing to be replaced, sugar ants, and the pots and pans may not last 10 months, but the VIEW is amazing!


Every time we get a little frustrated, all we have to do is look out the view, take a deep breath, and remind ourselves that tomorrow is another day (with a view). We have had our share of frustration in the last few days...I do take responsibility for the fact that I didn't keep up with my -- let's call it -- Brazilian identity. Therefore, my social security was 'locked' and consequently we couldn't open a bank account or get cell phones. After several trips to multiple government offices with no results, I called my brother for help. To make a long story short, it cost us close to US$500 in fines and accountant fees...but I should be 'official' by Monday! We'll definitely celebrate;-).