We arrived in São Paulo after a six hour coach ride through spectacular Brazilian landscape; mountains, forests and small towns. We took the metro to our district and checked in to our new hostel Mama Brasil. After leaving our bags in our *tiny* six bed dorm room we went out for dinner. We had delicious tacos, tortilla chips with guacamole and chocolate and dulce de leche churros from a street vendor.
From the Coach Window
From the Coach Window
Our stay in the city was going to be very short so we woke early to see as much as we could. We took the metro to the central district to go up to the observation deck of one of the tallest skyscrapers in the city, unfortunately it was closed, apparently opening at 12pm. Undeterred we rode the metro back to our district and walked to the Museum of Art São Paulo, luckily and without realising it the museum was free entry for today and so we saved ourselves R$25 (approx £6) - much appreciated as our daily budget for everything is R$130. The museum wasn't huge but featured lots of big names, Valazquez, Goya, Degas, Van Gogh, Picasso and my favourite; Monet. The installation of the paintings was unique, each was presented on a wooden base with a glass sheet so you could see the backs of the canvas and eliminate internal gallery walls.
After the museum we went back to the skyscraper and after some confusion made it to the top. Once there we were told that they no longer allowed viewing from the terrace but after a little plea we were allowed a few minutes to see the views. Buildings as far as the eye could see were laid out before us, I've seen some cities in my time but none like this. The scale was breathtaking.
From the Observation Deck
From the Observation Deck
After, we made our way to the arty quarter Vila Madelena, we got lost as we usually do but eventually found an authentic looking place for lunch. Film and music posters adorned the walls and the place was filled with locals enjoying the fare. We ordered a type of cheese filled pasta which looked more like a pancake covered in tomato sauce and filled our plates with the vegetarian buffet, it was delicious. For dessert we found Bacio di Latte, an award winning gelateria. The gelato was pure heaven and we enjoyed the atmosphere of the place as they had park benches dotted around inside with huge plants so it felt like sitting in a park.
Grafitti in Vila Madelena
Graftti in Vila Madelena
After a stop to photograph some street art we made our way back to the centre and walked along Paulista Avenue before heading back to the hostel to organise onward travel and the next accomodation.
Ibirapuera Park
Ibirapuera Park
The next day we walked to the huge park and spent a few hours wandering around the lakes and trees trying to forget that we had a 12 hour coach ride ahead.
🎥 Brazil and Iguazu Falls video:
If you enjoyed reading then please click the heart at the bottom, share or better still leave me a comment, I love reading them.