Brazil

The land of samba, street festivals and some of the world’s best beaches, Lee has had the fortune of visiting Brazil, albeit only the capital city, Sao Paulo, and seaside mecca, Rio de Janeiro.

This Portuguese-speaking nation is a dynamic place to visit, and we know there is so much more to explore.

A few favourites definitely include visiting Ipanema beach in Rio, which is far nicer than it’s more famous cousin, the Copacabana and boasts wonderful street stalls selling mojitos, and huge sand art structures that will take your breath away.

It’s also worth going to see the Christ the Redeemer statue atop Mount Corcovado and taking the cable car up granite peak, Sugarloaf Mountain, for an incredible vista across this sprawling city.

Rio hosted the 2016 Football World Cup which, for better or worse, highlighted the city on the world stage. Since we visited before this major tournament, it would be interesting to go back (and is in our proposed travel itinerary for 2020!) to see how the city has changed.

As with most countries, we find the best way to experience it before you actually explore, is to read the novels written by it’s authors.