World Tourist Attraction: Roll on Rio! The World Cup, the Olympics ...

And that's how I arrived at the top of Sugar Loaf - holding the hand of a female stranger half my age. She was right about the view. Far below, beyond Guanabara Bay, lay the sparkling white sands of Copacabana, Ipanema and Botafogo. Behind them, in gleaming curves ... It's only a 20-minute ride from Maracana to the Copacabana Palace hotel, policed by armies of doormen who wear uniforms that make them look like generals in a South American army. A lifetime's work won't buy ...