Spoilt.

Today I picked-up the keys to the Copacabana apartment I'm renting for the next week.

I've been spoilt since I got to Rio, staying in Leblon and Ipanema, the city's nicest and safest neighbourhoods, moments away from some of the world's most gorgeous urban beaches.

Both are slick, sophisticated and well-kept; adjectives also successfully describing those who live there. Copacabana, for the most part, has a glamorous reputation far beyond the reality of the place. The beach is stupendous (above), but it's a slovenly and tatty neighbourhood where naive and overweight tourists stay at hotels that just can't be bothered.

Although I'm just one block behind the famous sea-front Copacabana Palace Hotel, 'nothing special' generously describes the flat. However, at rather short notice there was very little available and it's a base and inexpensive compared to any of the hotels in any of these areas over the next week.

And I don't plan to be spending too much time there anyway.