Tag: São Paulo

Spectecular São Paulo~part two

Yesterday’s gallery tour took a lot of energy. With the help of a few caipirinhas, a very hot, hot shower, I managed to recover enough to go on the free city walking tour. Although I didn’t manage to do the WHOLE tour, which is over four and a half hours. I still wanted to find and visit Batman Alley as well. The tour met at the metro entrance on Republican square. A lovely tourist office was there as well. I was a tad early so I had to wait. There was a local craft market and it was a pleasure just to look and walk around.

São Paulo is home to 21 million people! It has more sky scrapers than could be counted! The building on this photograph has its own postcode!! You can imagine that three days is absolutely nothing, it doesn’t even scratch the surface!!

The walking tour visited the Theatro Municipal, although we didn’t go inside. This building was begun in 1903 in the style of Paris’Palais Garnier. It’s facade is heavily ornamented, combining every style possible!

It would have been awesome to also visit the theatre on the inside! I just have to go back one day! We walked on to the cathedral Se. I know it took an enormous amount of time to finish this cathedral. I was shocked by the contrast between the elaborate cathedral, that cost billions, and the enormous amount of homeless, old people living in tents, surrounding this building! It was very in your face, unexpected, and very, very hard to deal with. The tour guide just skipped over this, like it wasn’t that important!

We did enter the cathedral, where the ” benches” were divided into ” chairs” so homeless people couldn’t stretch out on them, or God forbid, sleep on them! By now I had a hard time dealing with these destitute people. Most of them elderly and a majority of them black. It makes me feel that organised religion seems to miss the point that Jesus tried to make , love ” your neighbour” like you love yourself!!

The tour went on, I was tired, cold and quite shocked by what I had just seen. We all went to the oldest cake shop in São Paulo, but somehow I had lost my appetite.  My knee was giving me grief, and I was feeling miserable. I said a polite good bye and caught the metro back to Vila Madelana, the artistic quarter, where my hostel was. I had had my map with me and this time I managed to find Batman Alley!

An area full of little boutiques, cafes, art and an enormous amount of murals. I walked for about an hour, visited two galleries and one shop. Then the rain started and I was back to being cold, wet and miserable! I had a hot chocolate. Did some drawing, and when the rain eased of a bit, walked back to the hotel. It was time to pack, sort and prepare myself for my flight to Santiago tomorrow. Then home! Another great trip has come to an end! I am ready! My body has had enough! Time to go home, relax and plan my next trip! Bon voyage!

 

 

Spectacular São Paulo~ part one

( for some unknown reason, I lost my essay on São Paulo TWICE! Why?? How do I know? I don’t understand any of this stuff!, but this is the LAST time, believe me!)

After a restful bus ride, I arrived early in the morning at the HUGE bus station in São Paulo. I was very fortunate that the tourist office was open, two friendly young people, who spoke excellent English, gave me instructions on how to catch the metro to Vila Madalena wher my hostel is situated! I am catching metros as if I do this daily!! Easy peasy!

Fresh produce.

I had to hang around at the hostel as the room was not yet ready they had good wifi, friendly staff and free coffee! Travellers heaven! The private rooms were booked full so another bunk bed in a dormitory. I am so used to them now, they don’t even bother me any more!

Seafood counter.

All good. I worked out the things I wanted to see in the here days I was going to be here! After I settled into my bunk, I went for a big walk, first to the local markets, then looking for Batman Alley, a place not to be missed!

Of course I managed to miss this “Alley”! Because when I wander, and wonder, I miss everything that is important. It started to rain, cold and miserable I returned to the hostel. A free welcome drink, caipirinha of course, was drunk, and I slept like a babe until early morn.

Touristy day today! I had to walk to the nearest bus stop. Dear Marina, the receptionist at the hostel gave me excellent directions! There is this amazing BIG park, Ibirapuera, where the Museum of modern art, the African Brasilian museum and the museum of contemporary art are situated! It is just HUGE!

The museum of African-Brasilian art was my favourite! There was the story of the slavery, integration in Brasilian way of life, and the people who became famous. One of them was Pele, the Brasilian football player, whose poster used to be on my wall when I was a kid! There was art, sculpture and  photography. I was fascinated by it all. Most photographs I took on my camera as the tablet keeps telling me there is NO storage space!

Wood carvings, with horns and painted.

The museum of Modern Art was disappointing, I didn’t see much that inspired me, although there were some interesting wood carved sculptures. After two musea, I decided to stop have coffee and cake before walking on to the next place! I didn’t have my reading glasses on me, and when I got the bill I nearly had an heart attack on the spot!! Unbelievably expensive! Ah, well, this cake, which was stale by the way, was to be my dinner!! Onwards to the last museum of the day, the museum of Contemporary Art.  It was across a scary walk way, and this young man, Vitor, walked with me. His big dream was to come to Australia and work as an architect here.  This museum was huge! Eight floors of art, plus a magnificent view from the top. It was exhausting. But incredibly interesting!  Catching the bus home was quite an adventure as I couldn’t remember how to get to the bus stop!! With a bit of help of very friendly people, I managed to return just before it was completely dark!!

View from the top of the Contemporary Art Museum. Shame it wasn’t sunny!

 

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