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São Paulo
Our first night we stayed in the leafy suburb of Villa Mariana. WE design hostel was very contemporary and stylish, probably the nicest hostel so far. The breakfast in the morning definitely put a smile on our tired faces. After living off dry bread rolls for breakfast in Argentinian hostels the buffet of fruit salad, ham, cheese, pastries and eggs was very welcome.
The temperature in São Paulo was a pleasant 25 degrees so we headed out to explore the buzzing cosmopolitan streets and soak up the sunshine. It made a nice change to wear shorts and sandals again after our 5 layers of clothing in Patagonia. In the evening we headed over to Nick's neighbours friends who had kindly offered to let us stay for a few nights. Martin and Monica instantly made us feel welcome as they took us to one of their favourite restaurants in their chic neighbourhood of Itaim Bibi. They gave us many suggestions of what to see and do as we enjoyed a few Capriniha cocktails.
In order to acquaint ourselves with the city we went on a free walking tour in Old Downtown São Paulo. We learnt a lot about the history of the city and its turbulent politics. The architecture in São Paulo is very diverse, sometimes referred to as "the concrete jungle". We visited the gothic Catedral Metropolitana, a busy palm-tree-lined square called Praca da Se then onto the high rises of the Triangulo, São Paulo's traditional banking district. It was very interesting to see the extreme difference between rich and poor across the downtown area.
For lunch we were taken to a local Brazilian cafe where we sampled local snacks including pao de queijo (bread stuffed with cheese) and coxinha (Brazilian chicken croquettes).
We noticed a crowd of 20-40 year old men huddled together exchanging football stickers for their Panini 2014 World Cup sticker album. Although there was a language barrier we could work out their conversation consisted of 'got, got, got, need'. Nick instantly got involved with the locals and bought some stickers. Unfortunately everyone had "got got got" leaving him without the England shiny sticker. It was a nostalgic moment as we remembered doing the same 20 years ago on the playground!
The last stop of the tour was the Mercado Municipal, filled with countless food stalls of colourful exotic fruits, cured meats, cheese and nuts. Nick enjoyed watching Chelsea get thrashed by Atletico Madrid whilst we enjoyed some Chopp beer and chorizo at one of the meat stalls.
The following day was a public bank holiday so Monica took us to the cities largest park - Parque do Ibirapuera. You could definitely notice it was a bank holiday, the park was buzzing, filled with joggers, cyclists, skate boarders, rollerbladers and dog walkers. The city is known to have a vibrant cultural scene with many museums located within the park. Going off Monica's recommendation, we visited the Museu Afro-Brasil which had an interesting collection of African-Brazilian contemporary art, paintings and artefacts and then onto MAM (modern art museum) which exhibited an abstract collection.
São Paulo is famous for its lively nightlife so we headed over to the bohemian suburb of Villa Madelena to stay the night in a hostel. During the day we visited the Museu do Futebol at Estadio do Pacaembu. The museum pieces together how football became Brazil's national obsession through interactive multimedia displays. The highlight being the penalty shoot out at the end where I scored and Nick missed ;)
To line our stomachs for the evening ahead we had a large lunch at a popular Brazilian restaurant. The waiter ordered us a bit of everything so we could try all the traditional meat dishes served with beans, cabbage and rice. It was one of the tastiest meals we have had so far!
That evening we soaked up the lively atmosphere in Villa Madelena with lots of live music, crowded streets, Brazilian dancing and a few too many Capriniha's.
With slightly sore heads, we headed back over to Itaim Bibi for a farewell dinner with Monica and Martin at their local Italian restaurant. The restaurant served Brazilian fruit Capriniha's where we tried the Caju (cashew) fruit for the first time - delicious!
After soaking up the urban buzz of São Paulo and indulging in many cuisines we now head south to the island of Florianopolis.
Speak soon,
Laura & Nick x
- comments
Angela Sounds amazing. You gave done so much in a very short amount of time. Food, cocktails, museums, art football sticker swaps, all exciting and so different. Loved the photos you put on FB of you both on the beach on surf boards. Continue to enjoy. Keep safe & look forward to next blog. Love Ang xx