Days 1-2: Atlanta to Rio de Janeiro

Upon landing in Rio de Janeiro after a long flight with seats uncomfortable for anyone over 5'6", we met our tour guide and loaded the bus that was waiting for us. Passing by the slums whose jumbled, red brick apartments carpeted the hillsides like an abstract rock formation, the bus took us into the heart of the city. We stopped for lunch – and a bit of shopping – at the RioSul shopping center. Four floors of convoluted corridors and countless shoe boutiques provided more than enough to explore for the hour we had.

On the way to the hotel from RioSul, we stopped at Copacabana beach, perhaps the most famous beach in the world. Directly across the street from the beach is the well-known Copacabana Palace Hotel (below). Our tour guide, Fernando, informed us that we could become movie stars or supermodels just by hanging around the hotel's pool for a few minutes. At least that's what Gisele Bündchen did…


After our brief stop at Copacabana Beach, we were finally able to check into our hotel, the Hotel Mar Palace Copacabana. Just two blocks from the beach, the hotel also sports a breathtaking view of Corcovado and the Cristo Redentor statue from the roof.

Having moved into our rooms, we had three hours off for catching up on sleep and picking up bottled water at a nearby grocery store. This was followed by an intense rehearsal in a unnaturally humid room.


We finished off the evening with dinner at a local Brazilian restaurant, complete with servers who ran around with endless spears of meat that they shaved onto our plates. Countless types of meat, along with the salad bar and the numerous cheese pastries, left us stuffed and content as we walked back to the hotel for an early bedtime.