I left my wife in the hotel while I went in search of water and a bank. I found both fairly quickly and headed back to the room to see if my wife wanted to get something to eat. We decided we should go for an early dinner rather than just go straight to bed so we set out in search of something cheap and interesting. As you can imagine, cheap in Jardins was going to be hard to come by. We looked half-heartedly for a Brazilian restaurant with Brazilian food and found absolutely nothing with even the slightest suggestion of our host country’s cuisine. Nothing but Italian and Japanese restaurants stretching throughout this bejewelled district. We settled on a cheapish pizza café and had our first taste of South American pizza (something that became a bit of a running theme on our trip). Fortunately we hit a good joint. We shared a litre of beer, which basically knocked us off our fatigued feet and we headed for bed.
That night we talked about what to do with the monstrosity of Sao Paulo. Were we going to put in the effort and try to find something to love about this megopolis or would we head straight for the beach? My wife was keen to move on, disliking the crowds, noise and general fear of the unknown that goes along with a city like this. I wanted to at least get something from Sampa before hitting the road but that first night basically decided for us. Our room did not have a fan and it was pretty hot, so we opened the window praying for the slightest of breezes to come our way, no such luck. In fact, with an open window it was worse as the street noise was brutal. We seemed to be on a main trucking thoroughfare which meant we had large vehicles roaring past all night. Staying where we were for more time than had already paid for seemed out of the question. So, we decided that Sao Paulo would be cast aside in favour of the beckoning beach towns just up the coast.
The next day we did our best to see something of Sao Paulo before moving on. We decided to forgo the museums, landmarks, clubs and boutiques in favour of a botanical garden a little ways south of the Jardins area. It sounds crazy to be in need of green space after just 24 hours in the city but Sao Paulo is overwhelming like that. If we lived there, I could see enjoying a lot of things about the experience. There is an abundance of events happening all the time, with innumerable theatres, galleries, museums and clubs everywhere you go. But for just a few days, well, the best thing to do is just wander around and watch people. And that’s what we did. We went to a supermarket and got some cheap sandwiches, and the largest orange I’ve ever seen, and headed to the park to have lunch with a couple of hundred other office workers on their breaks. The walk was tough, up and down (but mostly up) the many hills that the city is built on but it was worth it for the park, a gorgeous space, offering some respite from the bustle of the city. We found a big spider to poke and my wife took some pictures of flowers. We had our first tropical rain in the late afternoon, a reminder that we still didn’t have umbrellas or rain coats.
(As this was the beginning of our trip, and we were being extra cautious in this "kidnapping" capital of the world, we unfortunately have no pictures of our own to share. Our apologies, but not to worry, there are a very many to share later.)
That night we talked about what to do with the monstrosity of Sao Paulo. Were we going to put in the effort and try to find something to love about this megopolis or would we head straight for the beach? My wife was keen to move on, disliking the crowds, noise and general fear of the unknown that goes along with a city like this. I wanted to at least get something from Sampa before hitting the road but that first night basically decided for us. Our room did not have a fan and it was pretty hot, so we opened the window praying for the slightest of breezes to come our way, no such luck. In fact, with an open window it was worse as the street noise was brutal. We seemed to be on a main trucking thoroughfare which meant we had large vehicles roaring past all night. Staying where we were for more time than had already paid for seemed out of the question. So, we decided that Sao Paulo would be cast aside in favour of the beckoning beach towns just up the coast.
The next day we did our best to see something of Sao Paulo before moving on. We decided to forgo the museums, landmarks, clubs and boutiques in favour of a botanical garden a little ways south of the Jardins area. It sounds crazy to be in need of green space after just 24 hours in the city but Sao Paulo is overwhelming like that. If we lived there, I could see enjoying a lot of things about the experience. There is an abundance of events happening all the time, with innumerable theatres, galleries, museums and clubs everywhere you go. But for just a few days, well, the best thing to do is just wander around and watch people. And that’s what we did. We went to a supermarket and got some cheap sandwiches, and the largest orange I’ve ever seen, and headed to the park to have lunch with a couple of hundred other office workers on their breaks. The walk was tough, up and down (but mostly up) the many hills that the city is built on but it was worth it for the park, a gorgeous space, offering some respite from the bustle of the city. We found a big spider to poke and my wife took some pictures of flowers. We had our first tropical rain in the late afternoon, a reminder that we still didn’t have umbrellas or rain coats.
(As this was the beginning of our trip, and we were being extra cautious in this "kidnapping" capital of the world, we unfortunately have no pictures of our own to share. Our apologies, but not to worry, there are a very many to share later.)
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