I'm from a little country you may have heard of - it's called Greece. As a proud descendant of Dorians, I feel a little guilty that I'm not repping and trying to send you there but, I'll be honest, I like to keep my Hellenic secrets my own. So, head to paradise and check out a giant Jesus instead!

I had the wonderful luck of going to Rio for a few weeks in 2005. I fell in love with everything about it - the language (falo um poco), the juice (um suco com manga, abacaxi, mamão e coco), the people (warm, friendly, beautiful), the feijoada, the beaches, everything everything everything. It helped that the Brazilians kept asking me if I was a Carioca (Rio native) because I appreciate all things South American and would invite any opportunity to identify myself as one.

There are oodles and oodles of glorious things to see in this city - all the colorful favelas, Ipanema, Copacabana, the Maracana futbol stadium, squares, museums, colonial architecture and, of course, Pão de Açúcar. But the most stunning place to visit is Cristo Redentor aka Christ the Redeemer. I don't say this because I'm religious. I say this because taking in the views from Corcovado mountain is a religious experience.

Check it out: here. Watching the sunset, gazing out at the Atlantic and feeling the cool evening breeze took my breath away so hard I felt like I got slugged in the stomach. It's the perfect place to spiral into an existential inner monologue and be reminded of what's important and how lucky you are and how beautiful the world is and what the duck have you been doing all your life while Brazil has been there waiting for you to go have the best experience of your life. Deixei meu coração em Brasil!