Sunday In The Park With Boobies

 Day 1 São Paulo, Brazil

Landed right on time at 6:20 AM, got through passport control in about 3 minutes, took the shuttle to Terminal 1 and walked to the airport train station. Took the express train downtown to Luz station and got on the Linha Amarela to Fradique Coutinho and walked to our Airbnb

Got settled in and walked to the closest supermarket for provisions. Had lunch at Banana Verde. A google search for a spatula revealed that there was a bartender supply store nearby, so we thought we'd walk there and ask where they would recommend for us to get a good cocktail.

On the way, we heard the screech of brakes and a sickening "Bang!" and then saw a motorcyclist hit the ground after getting thrown from the impact of a car. Good reminder to be alert and not assume that all motorists are looking out for non-motorists (though, to be fair, the motorcyclists make a lot of risky moves around here).

Got to the bartender store and they were having a Black Friday event with free cocktails!! Bhob had a Royal Bermuda and I had a Mai Tai. We were well taken care of by the mixologist, Ricardo (aka Puma, originally from Chile but living in Brazil for the past 11 years). 

He recommended a couple of spots in town to check out. Apparently, São Paulo is more about business and less about tourism, but we were staying in the most touristy area (which I think is the equivalent of staying in the least touristy part of a touristy town; both are fine with me!)

Stopped into another, even better supermarket to get more stuff, including the correct capsules for the Nespresso machine. 

Thrifty hint: you can still use the contents of an incorrect Nescafe capsule to make a Turkish coffee-ish concoction that will keep the caffeine withdrawal headaches away.

Stopped back home to rest awhile, shower, hang up wet jackets (it had rained on and off all day) and putz before supper, enjoying the dub reggae and samba soundtrack provided by our next door neighbor Backyard Bar, including a dub version of "London Calling".

Had an amazing dinner at Cajui

 walked around the block and visited Backyard Bar for a nightcap.

Got home, wound down and got to bed around 10:30 PM. We had awakened at 5 AM Thursday Brazil time, so by then we had been awake for over 41 hours.

 

 

Day 2 São Paulo, Brazil

 Started the day with a short walk in the direction of Batman Alley and beyond. 

Ate breakfast, checked out another grocery store, Hirota. Since we had been unsuccessful in our search for a spatula to make flax pancakes, Bhob suggested buying a mug to make microwave mug muffins. Yay Bhob!

 We then went to the Vila Madalena Farmers Market (where we immediately spotted a wide variety of cheap spatulas. Oh well...)

Continued on to one of our Not To Be Missed destinations, Galeria do Rock. All expectations officially exceeded!

Made our way to Bar do Mané to get a mortadella sandwich for lunch 

When Anthony Bourdain tells you to order a particular sandwich, you say "Yes, Chef" and order the goddamn sandwich.

The sandwich was located in this HUGE food hall, Mercado Municipal de São Paulo

And crossed the Obligatory Caipirinha off our list

Went home, dropped off our stuff and went to Raw Burger N Bar for beverages

SBILF

 

 

Where can I invest in ginger foam?! Its destined to be The Next Big Thing!

Walked a few blocks for a fabulous dinner at Novos Veganos

We re-named this store Crackers, Dolls & Thongs

Brasil was playing a futbol game that night, and based on the amount of honking horns, I think they won.

 

Day 3  São Paulo, Brazil

 Got up before 5 AM so we could have Batman Alley all to ourselves

Had an açai coconut smoothie and flax seed mug muffin with guava paste for breakfast, with a couple of L'or (Nespresso knock off) Onyx. Took the Linha Verde to Linha Azul to the Liberdade area.

 

Iced coffee and Pastel De Nata at Coffee Selfie

then walked around

searched for a beverage and a restroom

walked some more and had tempura, then headed home, stopping at Hirota for a can of ginger foam.

Had a quick rest before going around the corner to Backyard Bar.

Photo taken from the rooftop at Backyard Bar. The middle row of windows is our apartment.

 Went around the corner to Raw Burger N' Bar for supper.

Finished the evening with gelato from Bacio di Latte.

Having such unbelievably good gelato one block from home will surely be our undoing.

 Day 4  São Paulo, Brazil

 5:15 AM walk

Same breakfast as yesterday, but this time I fried the "blender" (and discovered that it was actually a juicer) by using the wrong outlet. You can't take me anywhere!

The weather forecast for the day was thunderstorms in the afternoon and a high of 91°F, so our plan was to go to a movie

First, Bhob wanted to return to Liberdade to buy a t-shirt at the Hello Kitty restaurant. They didn't open until 11 AM, so we picked a metro station toward the end of that line to check out the area around it just to pass the time

Coffee Lime Soda! It's the only cold thing they sold.

Went to Liberdade and got really disoriented doing recon for lunch

Some pedestrian lights near tourist attractions have a special motif

Returned to Coffee Selfie to get out of the sun and rehydrate. The guy behind the counter remembered our exact order from the day before

Had lunch at Momo Lamen

Left for Patio Paulista Shopping Center, bought our tickets for the 2:40 showing of  Eternals in 3D, and only had 2.5 hours to fill.

Glad to know the former VP has found a new vocation

Creepiest. Dolls. Ever.

Cat adoption facility in the mall. We filled a lot of time watching the show.

Watched the movie (meh)

 and went home, deciding that we needed a break from heavy restaurant food, so went to Hirota and picked up bagged salad and pre-cooked garbanzo beans (a feast for $3 each!) Also picked up some cream cheese to go with the guava paste for the mug muffins. Who says I don't know how to live it up?

Turned on the AC, took a shower, ate, figured out our route for the next day's outing, and went to bed.

 

 Day 5 São Paulo, Brazil

 We knew that at some point during our stay, we'd want to take a day trip to the Museu do Café in Santos, about 50 miles away. Today's weather forecast was for 100% rain, every single hour of the day, so we thought that if we were going to spend a total of 4 hours on metros and buses, we'd rather not waste a beautiful day doing it, so a rainy day seemed as good a time as any.

After taking an hour (on foot and two metros) to get to the bus station, we learned that we needed our passports to ride the bus to Santos. We hadn't brought them, and there was no way in hell that we were going back to the apartment to get them.

Bhob looked at the map and saw that one of the places he'd wanted to go, the Jardim Botânico de São Paulo, was nearby, so we headed in that direction.

Because the forecast said rain, rain, clouds and rain all day, neither of us had worn sunscreen, but it was quite sunny, so we walked to a pharmacy to get some. 

At this point, I must interject and ask: How on earth did people travel before smartphones and google maps?!? A simple trip to find sunscreen could have turned out to take half a day!!

Fully SPFed, we spent a glorious couple of hours at the garden. Saw an armadillo, some little canopy dwellers (monkeys?), turtles and lots of lizards.

The super hero of the day was the portable charger that I had brought to keep my phone alive for more than 3 hours of map and camera use. Yay technology!!

Walking back to the metro, we decided to buy cervejas jeladas* at the first place we could find, which turned out to be our favorite kind of front garage/random shop. Got two ice cold beers for less than $2, and had a much improved journey.

On our way, at about 12:01, we spotted a promising place across the street, Nana's Bar and were delighted to discover that they'd opened at noon. Proceeded to spend a magical couple of hours with another cerveja jelada and a couple of glasses of cachaça.

Sadly, they didn't serve food and we were starving, so I let the google lead us to Fafé for lunch. I think I may have reached my sodium saturation point for 2021-2022.

Managed to haul ourselves to the metro stop and home. Exhausted, hot and thirsty, we cranked up the AC, stripped off our clothes, took showers and chugged some cold water and coconut water.

It hadn't rained a single drop all day, but about 30 minutes after we got home, the skies opened up and it absolutely poured, complete with thunder and lightning.

After a couple of hours, the rain slowed down just long enough for me to run up the block to Açai Concept to get an açai sorbet for supper.

Bhob conked out by 6, so I just putzed around, read, and did all of the stuff (like clipping my toenails) that would have annoyed him if he were awake. 

Turned out to be The Best Day Ever, thanks to the stupid Need A Passport To Ride A Bus rule.

*I have been a non-beer person for over 25 years, but the good people of Brazil have figured out a way to chill them slightly below freezing, which (within the context of their hot air temperatures and lack of sanctimony) makes them refreshing and irresistible.

 

 

Day 6  Santos, Brazil

 Santos Day Trip, Take 2.

Remembered our passports (though Bhob forgot his phone) and bought bus tickets to Santos. While waiting to board, I noticed that the destination was the beach, and not the highway stop that was closest to the coffee museum. That meant that we needed to pay attention and disembark at the correct stop if we wanted to avoid walking for 90 minutes. 

Stopped at Rei do Café and were well served by the charming, English-speaking Gabriel. Got two coffees and then two coffee beers. 

American brewers, take note: It is not obligatory to pair coffee with stout. This beer was super citrus-y and refreshing.

Walked to a park to finish our beers

 Enjoyed the Museu do Café

 

 

Early version of a fax machine

Had lunch at Largo do Café

Floss dispenser in the rest room. Why doesn't everyplace have this?!

Then walked around for a couple of hours until our return bus to São Paulo.

Back home, picked up more bagged salad for supper, and I finished the second half of yesterday's sandwich. That thing was a monster. I swear it weighed almost two pounds. I think my sodium saturation point demands that I abstain until 2023.

Convinced Bhob that we needed more açai sorbet, so we made an evening stroll to Açai Concept. They were closed, so we had to go to Bacio di Latte for gelato. Oh darn.

 

 

Day 7  São Paulo, Brazil

 Early morning walk in 65°F

No big plans for the day, other than giving ourselves a break from public transportation, so had a leisurely breakfast and then headed for the Cemitério São Paulo.

The basic family plot set-up looked so kitchen-y to me...

...like a fancy wood-fired pizza oven

So many cool fonts!

Did a little reconnaissance for the Covid test that we needed to take within 72 hours of our departure. Found the testing site on Rua Fradique Coutinho and confirmed that they would be open when we needed, with test results by email in English.

Rewarded ourselves with some breakfast cocktails and other goodies at Rendezvous

Walked around

 until the Syrian restaurant where we wanted to eat lunch (Al Mimas) opened up.

Neither of our credit cards worked, but I had almost enough dinheiro to cover it, short by 10¢. The restaurant owner was very sweet and told us not to worry about it.

Went home and estimated how much cash we needed to get us through until the end of our stay.

Took some remaining cash, and broke a large bill at the restaurant at the end of the block.

Re-upped our flax meal supply at Mambo Grocery so we could break another large bill, and brought the 10¢ we owed and a few Pearson's Salted Nut Rolls to the Syrian restaurant as a "Thank You" for their graciousness.

Found an ATM on the map, but it didn't have an English language option. Found a bank with an ATM, but the people working there told us that my card wouldn't work there, and recommended that we go to a shopping center about a 20-minute walk away.

The rooftop walkway!

It was insanely fancy, but they did indeed have an ATM that would work for us, though it took several attempts and use of the Google translate camera feature to help us through the process.

Got our cash, walked 45 minutes home, and had a well earned cocktail (my own invention of cachaça, coconut water and ginger foam), and rested our feet while we made plans for supper.

Decided on Casca restaurant, but when we got there, they were closed for a private event. One of the employees recommended Bar do Beco, so we went there. Being right in the shadow of our favorite grocery store, we'd passed it a couple of dozen times, so it was about time we check it out.

We'd planned on ordering a second beverage, but no one came around, and the impulse had passed, so we had to settle for a trip to Bacio di Latte. What those folks do with passion fruit is nothing short of transcendent.

Por que devemos sofrer tanto?

It's worth noting that throughout the day, wherever we went, we were plagued by a constant soundtrack of soft pop reggae-esque covers.

 

 

Day 8  São Paulo, Brazil

 Ricardo/Puma (the bartender from our first day in town) had recommended Horto Florestal a state park at the north side of town. Since the forecast was for overcast and a high of 71°F, and the remainder of our stay was a weekend, we seized the day. It was also an opportunity to attempt taking a city bus for the final leg.

It was not easy to find information about how to ride the bus, and how to pay, but with the help and patience of a lot of nice people (none of whom spoke English) we more or less figured it out.

Ended up spending about two hours walking the paved circuit.

Reminds me of some carved stone architectural detail

We had started out a little bit hungry, but figured there would be plenty of overpriced snacks available in the park. Surprisingly, they have not yet begun to exploit the hungry visitors. 

After exiting, we did a quick assessment of our choices in the bus stop area and decided on Restaurante Horto. We were not sorry!! Homestyle food and the obligatory cerveja jelada (990 ml!), plus two glasses of cachaça set us back $9.80.

It was fantastic!!

Got home about 8 hours after we'd left, drank a few glasses of water and chilled until supper. 

 Went to Casca Gastrobar for dinner and were completely blown away by their signature cocktails. Amazing, surprising flavors. The food was great, too.

Batman Alley was hopping as we made our way home. 

 

 

Day 9  São Paulo, Brazil

Our plan had been to go to the Covid testing site for our "within 72-hour" test to board the plane in two days, but when we woke up and looked at news headlines, we learned that the rules would be changing on our departure date. We now needed to have a negative PCR test within one day, so we bumped our test until the following day.

Took a quick walk before breakfast

Find Celeste!

Then headed to the cathedral to see the crypt

The Archbishop of Cocktails

The Archbishop of Extreme Sports

The Archbishop of The Hunger Games

Archbishop of the Magic Rings trick

After that, took the metro to the area around Parque Trianon and had a second breakfast (complete with cappuccinos, pão de queijo, with a shot of their top shelf cachaça and complimentary lardons) at Savana

Walked through Parque Trianon

Then up and down the street a bit

Then home for some water and a quick rest.

On our way to re-up our fake Nespresso capsules, took a detour back to Casca and tried a few more cocktails and appetizers. Again, they were batting 1.000.

Went to Cinesala  to see House of Gucci (meh.)

 

We weren't quite hungry enough for a meal, so we had to console ourselves with some gelato from Bacio di Latte and birthday cake protein bars.

 

Day 10   São Paulo, Brazil

 Needed to take a covid test for the next day's travel.  We knew we'd be walking a lot later, so no early walk. The testing site opened at 9 AM, so we left at 8 AM and took our time getting there.

From there, walked to Parque Ibirapuera . Apparently, several streets in the city have a lane blocked off on Sundays for bikes only.

Walked through the park. It's big!

Seems like the kind of place that is critical for people to maintain their sanity in a densely populated city.

Besides all of the greenery, the biggest attraction was the flat, smooth roads. This is the first we saw wheelchairs and roller blades during our stay.

We didn't spend a ton of time here, as it was hot (about 86°F)

The Duff Beer t-shirt was very popular

Took the metro home. First time on the Linhe Lilás (Lilac Line)!

Walked behind the metro station to go to someplace we hadn't been before for a couple of cervejas jeladas and mediocre, food-service french fries.

Got home, removed a layer and played Clean Out The Fridge, starting with limes and what was left in the bottle of cachaça we'd bought on Day 1.

View from our window

Returned to Raw Burger N' Bar one more time for some inspired cocktails, kick-ass real french fries and unbelievable wagyu beef

Went home, said "Boa noite" to our host, Silvia, showered, and began the pre-packing/wind down.

 

 

Day 11  Departure

Check out time was noon, and our flight didn't depart until 10 PM. Between the weather forecast (rain all day starting at noon) and the fact that we didn't want to make things too complicated, we decided to spend the morning putzing, packing and cleaning, and leave for the airport at noon.

Started with a short early walk.

Drank many coffees. Tried to consume everything remaining in the fridge. Sat in front of the window

Took the metro and the train to the airport (only R$4.40, about 77¢ each!).

Arrived about 8 hours before our flight departed. Ate at Pizza Hut ($24 for a huge pizza, two 16 oz. beers and tip). Took turns walking laps around the departure terminal for 4 hours until it was time to check in. All of the Covid documenting made checking in take forever. After security and passport control we only had another 2 hours until boarding. Woohoo!

 

Random Observations

Most women, and about 60% of men, wear their backpacks on their front.

Every single restroom, in cafes, restaurants, museum, was sufficiently supplied with toilet paper. This is unprecedented; I've never encountered that in any other country that I've visited, including the US.

Fashion trends for men include super shredded jeans,  neon sherbet-colored sneakers 

and the Sideshow Bob hairdo.

 

FAQs

OH MY GOD ARE YOU INSANE?!?

Probably.

 

But seriously, the Gamma variant has been in Minnesota for nearly a year, AND 100% of adults in São Paulo have had at least one vaccine shot, so we were as safe there as we would have been at home.

In fact, they are doing a much better job at masking (I'd estimate 100% of people indoors and 80% outdoors are masked; Bhob postulated that it is an easy way for people to show defiance against President Bolsanaro), and many stores and shopping centers were checking temperatures at the entrance. Every store has hand sanitizer at the entrance and every restaurant and bar has a bottle on every table.

Why São Paulo?

Two words: Batman Alley

About 90 seconds into this 5 minute documentary, Bhob and I looked at each other and said, "Yup. We're going."

For a couple of years, it had been hovering near the bottom of our Priority Destinations List, but we had a credit from American Airlines from our cancelled March 2020 trip that needed to be used by Dec. 31, 2021. 

Most of the places we want to go are not served by American (the city of our original ticket is more of a late-winter destination). The only city that appealed to us was São Paulo, for the simple reason that it is the home of Batman Alley. 

Bonus reason: Good excuse for me to finally learn Portuguese ;)

Previously, because of films like City of God, (which is a great movie, but probably not approved by the Board of Tourism), Brazil was on our list of Places We Will Never Go. Not even three different episodes of Anthony Bourdain's various TV programs could convince us.

Are you sure that you didn't choose it because that's where Daniel Hunt from Ladytron lives?

I only discovered that fact a few weeks before we got there. Eu juro que é verdade!! 

 

However, that didn't stop me from passively stalking him by making sure that one of us was wearing the Ladytron t-shirt at all times, and keeping an eye out for him near karaoke bars.

 

For all we know, we may have passed right by him on the street and failed to recognize him under a mask.

How big is São Paulo?

 

Quite big. 4th largest city in the world by population; the entire metro area is home to over 22 million, in an area around 3070 square miles (compared to the Twin Cities metro area at 6364 square miles).

 

How were your flights?

Good! No problems, no delays.

MSP to MIA Seamless. 737

Between the time we booked and the time we boarded, American Airlines changed our itinerary so many times, I had failed to notice that we'd ended up being seated in different rows. Short flight, so não faz mal!

10 hour layover in Miami International Airport. We walked. We ate. We walked some more. We drank. We sat. We walked some more. We ate and drank some more. We walked some more. We boarded. We flew.

MIA GRU 777 300

The child that was screaming for the first hour eventually petered out.

GRU to DFW 777 200 

Took forever to get rolling because the overhead bins were rather small, and a lot of people were battling each other for space for their full-sized bags (which were masquerading as carry-ons) and were trying to cram them in. A biker nearly clocked a Mormon.

At DFW, they changed the gate 3 times, which meant taking the monorail  to different terminals 3 times. It made the time pass more quickly... I guess.

DFW to MSP 737

Flight left on time and arrived early. Lots of flagrant disregard for the size limit for carry-ons.

 

What did you watch on the airplane?

MSP to MIA 

5 episodes (1st season?) of Shitt$ Creek.

MIA to GRU 

Summer of Soul

GRU to DFW 

A few episodes of Architectural Digest

Lego Ninjago

DFW to MSP

3 episodes of Schitt$ Creek

What kind of Covid-19 regulations did you have to deal with?

To enter Brazil, we needed to present a negative test result (PCR within 72 hours of boarding, or rapid antigen within 24 hours). We went to River Centre for the PCR on Monday at 4:30 PM, and had the results by 6:30 PM on Tuesday*. We had made a backup appointment on Wednesday for a rapid test in the event that we hadn't received the PCR results yet, but cancelled it.

 

24 hours before departing, we needed to fill out the Brazilian Ministry of Health online form, promising that we would wash our hands, and seek medical attention if we felt symptoms.

To get back into the US, we needed a negative test taken one day before travel. We found a pop-up testing site a 15-minute walk from our apartment and got the results emailed to us in about 7 hours.

 

We also had to fill out a CDC attestation form, documenting our vaccination status, whether or not we had had Covid, etc.

The worst part of travel during Covid is that my mask has straps that wrap around my head, and the underside of my hair got impossibly snarled.

*American Airlines doesn't let you check in online unless you have your Covid test info documented on the Verifly app. This useless app only offered the option of our final flight, which didn't depart until 7:55 PM, and therefore our test results didn't fall within the 72-hour window. We had hoped to save time by not checking in at the airport, but we ended up having to do so anyway.

 

How was the weather?

Nice!

Warm, a little bit humid, with an occasional pleasant breeze.

Low temperatures ranged from 62°F to 69°F,  

Highs from 73°F to 89°F

There was 1 day of intermittent light rain and 1 evening downpour. 

In the weeks leading up to the trip, and particularly the 10-day forecast on the day we arrived, called for rain every single day, so we really lucked out

What time of year did you go?

Thanksgiving to St Nicholas Day.

Black Friday (also called Dark Friday, Black November, and other variations) was being "celebrated" at every shop, and Boas Festas decorations were everywhere.

 

Were there a lot of weird bugs?

 

Not really. We had our windows open most of the time with no screens, and we only had an occasional little flying thing come in.

 

What is the time difference?

São Paulo is 3 hours ahead of the Central Time Zone. We had fully intended to keep ourselves on the CTZ, and try to go to bed around 11:30 PM and wake at 7 AM Brazil time, but in such a densely populated city, we really wanted the solitude and quiet of our early morning walks, so that went right out the window.

Also right outside the window was a pleasant birdy friend who gave us a wake up call every day

What was the exchange rate?

18 Reals to the dollar. The easiest way for us to convert it to dollars in our head was to divide by 5 and lower it by a titch

Did you see any signs of the economic recession?

Not really, apart from the low prices we paid for everything.

 

There were homeless encampments and people sleeping on sidewalks, but not any more than I've seen in the Twin Cities.

And the economy certainly didn't keep people from partying.

 

 Did you learn Portuguese?

Sim! Pimsleur* foi muito prestativo, como sempre :)

I must warn Italian that Portuguese is in danger of overtaking it as My #1 Favorite Language To Speak. The words are quite similar, but while Italian is bouncy, Portuguese is boingy, as if the syllables are connected by rubber bands

Most useful and often uttered phrase was "Desculpa, eu nao entendo Portugues". 

I also quickly learned "próxima estação", "crédito ou débito?", and "retire o cartão"

 

*Originally, I thought I needed to bring their lesson developer to task for being a total beer hound; in 60 30-minute lessons, there are 8 with extended conversations about beer. In contrast, coffee isn't brought up until Lesson 37 (18.5 hours in!), and even then is only featured in 3 lessons. 

In one lesson, after a lengthy exchange in which it is firmly established that a man is meeting two friends later for coffee, they get to the coffee shop, and the first question the man asks is "Do you like beer?"

However, after going there, and realizing that cerveja jelada is a Really Big Deal, I understand why Pimsleur felt the need to pound it into our brains.

We passed this bottle every day on our way to the metro station

Nevertheless, any consideration for people in recovery? Or for people who just don't like beer? 

And why the repeated insistence that a sick person should drink a glass of milk?

Seriously, Pimsleur, WTF?!

 

Do most people there speak English?

Nope. But they were all really gracious about continuing to explain things in Portugues until we finally understood.

Many restaurants and shops seemed to have one person who was the designated "speaks a little English" person, and everyone knew who it was, and would fetch them when we stumbled around with communication.

 

And how exactly does one pronounce "Os Mutantes"?

 To the best of my knowledge: ooze moo-tayne-cheese

Did you learn the National Anthem?

 Nope. Our host didn't think that the national anthem was very loved, so she recommended that I learn this Caetano Veloso song.

Yes, I realize that it is about Manhattan, but Caetano Veloso is a national treasure of Brazil, so...you know.

I didn't get much of a chance to sing it, so I mostly tortured a few waiters (who were a captive audience) with a verse.

 How long does it take you to learn these songs?

Usually a few weeks. I learn them on my morning walks, one line at a time, written out phonetically.  

If you were on my street at 5 AM in September/October and heard someone singing in Portugese, it might have been me.

 

Did you eat any interesting foods?

Sure! Meat is very popular here, but we were in a trendy neighborhood, so there were a ton of inspired vegan and vegetarian options. There is also a sizeable Japanese and Middle Eastern population, so plenty of options there, too.

 

Common lanchonette snacks included coxinha and Pão de queijo (cheese bread)

Fresh juice is ubiquitous and inexpensive. Most of the bars had classic and very original signature cocktails, as well as the ginormous cervejas jeladas.

What exactly is CACHAÇA?

Pronounced "ka-SHA-sa", it's the local high octane, relatively inexpensive hootch, distilled from sugar cane. It's the alcohol in the quintessentially Brazilian caipirinha cocktail.

All of the brands we tried tasted a little bit different from each other, but if I had to compare it to anything familiar, I'd say it reminds me of tequila.

Did you drink the water?

Yes! Our Airbnb had a water filter, but we also drank water that we were offered at bars and restaurants (which may have been filtered?)

What supplements did you take?

Same as listed in previous blog posts, with the Covid era additions of:

Natural Factors Quercetin LipoMicel Matrix

Enzymedica Nattokinase

Solaray Immufight Ultimate Immune Support

 

Have they got an awful lot of coffee in Brazil?

 Sim!

Brazil accounts for more than a third of global supply. It exported about R$18 billion ($4.4 billion) of coffee in 2018, according to United Nations trade data.

Since we were staying in a part of town that stays up late and doesn't get rolling until 10 AM, we had to rely on Nespresso knock-offs for our first jolt of the day.

 

How did you get around?

Walking, mostly. We also took the metro frequently. 

The first pictogram is "passengers over 60 years". That will be Bhob in 3 months.

Not only is it inexpensive (R4.40 one way, about 77¢), but you can't beat the kind of entertainment that you'd never get by taking an Uber.

The woman on the left kept complimenting the woman on the right on her purple hair. Purple Hair was very gracious at first, but the other woman just kept going on and on about it, so then Purple Hair just started looking at her phone, like "Enough already!"

Is it safe?

We never felt unsafe. Granted, we didn't stray too far from the neighborhood where we were staying, but on the metro and walking to the day's destination, we didn't feel nervous or targeted. 

Planning for the trip, I didn't think I'd be able to take photos discreetly or have my phone out for navigating, but pretty much everyone walks around with phone in hand, and most of them are more valuable than my 4-year-old Pixel 2, so I used it prodigiously.

As with most large cities, there are probably lots of places where tourists shouldn't dare to go. 

So we didn't go there.

How are the drivers?

They were very compliant at red lights, somewhat less so at stop signs, and terrible at not yielding to pedestrians when making a turn.

 

Is São Paulo bicycle/pedestrian friendly?

 The pavement is really uneven, and where we were staying had a lot of very steep hills, but that didn't seem to stop anyone.

 

Is São Paolo is Sister City of Saint Paul, Minnesota?

Sadly, No. 

Seems like a no-brainer, doesn't it? We'll have to do something about that....

Did you hear a lot of music?

Yup. Everywhere. All of the time. Even the metro station escalators have a cumbia rhythm.

Any highlights?

No contest: The people. So friendly, helpful and patient!

Any lowlights?

The unrelenting Christmas music at the Dallas/ Fort Worth airport.

 

Any surprises? 

I know that Rio de Janeiro is the hot tourist spot in Brazil, but I was surprised at how non-touristy São Paulo is. There may have been other tourists who were Brazilian, but we only encountered one other foreign couple, a French-speaking pair who helped us translate with the staff of the Covid testing site on our first recon visit there (and for all we know, they could have been residents of São Paulo and not tourists at all).

 

Another surprise was the relative noise level at our apartment during the evening and into the night. We knew that the neighborhood where we were staying was going to be "vibrant" and "lively", but Holy Cow! It was a non-stop party! Really fun, and we didn't have to walk longer than 5 minutes to get to the middle of everything, but man, I sure am glad I brought earplugs.

 

How much did it cost?

(for 2 people, 11 days)

I calculated expenditures based on the conversion rate on xe.com, but when I got the transaction notification emails from Capital One, the amount they reported in dollars was always a little bit less than what xe.com had determined. 

We didn't deny ourselves any indulgence, and generally ate lunch and supper out every day.

Airfare 1721.10

Lodging 766.29

Ground Transportation 55.69

Groceries 80.69

Restaurants 330.24

Beverages and Treats (consumed outside of meals) 278.23

Household Items 10.77

Admission to Attractions 36.91

Souvenirs 45.68

Sunscreen 19.22

Covid test (to re-enter the US) 96.44

Miscellaneous (aka the juicer that I broke) 44.20

Total 3441.26

Total per day 312.84

Total "on the ground" costs (not including airfare and lodging) 953.87

Total "on the ground" costs per day 86.72

To save up for a trip like this, a person would have to set aside $4.72 per day for a year.

To demonstrate what the typical person would spend, I'm not including the juicer that I broke, or the astronomical amount that we spent during our 10 hour layover in the Miami airport (which was only $28 less than what we spent on booze, coffee and ice cream during the entire Brazil trip).

Who should go?

Anyone who appreciates clean & efficient mass transit, public consumption of alcohol, and lots of cleavage.

Would you go back?

Absolutely! This would be a great Spring destination, as an antidote to a Minnesota winter. Give me a shady terrace and some cachaça, and I am happy to spend a couple of weeks just soaking up the vibe and hearing people speaking Portugues.

However, we would probably opt for some lodging that is just a little farther from the action, and a little bit quieter at night :/

Now that you've been to 5 continents, any plans to visit Australia and/or Antarctica to complete the set?

Nope. The only reason I'd want to go to Australia is to see some filming locations from Starstruck, and I'm not so sure that it's worth the time and expense to get there. I am far more interested in New Zealand.... does that count?

 

As for Antarctica, having taken a 3-mile walk in Minnesota every day, every winter for 34 of the past 35 years (the other winter in Colorado), I feel like there isn't much that Antarctica has to offer that I haven't already experienced in tinier doses, at a fraction of the price. 

Heck, even walking across the alley to Bhob's house during a blizzard is polar enough for me!

 

What does the title of the blog post mean?

Bhob came up with that one :)

It means that the women here seem to have a lot of body-love/radical self-acceptance, and most of their clothing, regardless of setting, is very form-fitting and revealing, in a matter-of-fact way.

Maybe that's what happens when culture evolves in a country that wasn't colonized by Puritans.

Did you get any clothespins for your collection?

No, nothing really jumped out at me as something I absolutely needed.

Who watched Stinkerbell while you were away?

 My dear friends and neighbors Rob & Jennifer.