Sao Paulo is a sprawling city, in fact, one of the biggest in the world; the biggest in Brazil and the eight largest by population. Our flight was thankfully direct, taking just 8 hours to bring us from Orlando International to a 1 am touchdown the morning of January 26th, in a vast and mostly dark Sampa, but one that was covered in colorful lights. Looking out both sides of the plane, different colors spanned any distance seen. Just an introduction, but an important one: undoubtedly, Sao Paulo proved already impressive.
Thankfully getting through immigration wasn’t too difficult, despite the pain that preceded obtaining my Brazilian visa. Warning to those in Florida: try to get this done in New York or you’ll be stuck paying high prices or with 40+ day waiting times. And that’s business days. Once we had our bags we realized the language barrier would really be a challenge – hardly anyone understood us and despite using combinations of sign-language and Spanish words, we had to seek out that one English speaker who was able to help us find a cash exchange.
One taxi ride later and we arrived at our Sampa home: Vila Rock Hostel. Impossible to miss, this bright purple and green guesthouse was covered in photos and phrases from various rock bands: U2, Beatles, Rolling Stones, etc. …we even had a photo of Jimi Hendrix in our room! After a wait for our room (turns out despite a confirmation call from us the day before, it had been given away) we had our key. Since by now it was around 3 am, we crashed in a jet-lagged daze. We didn’t end up moving until late afternoon on the 26th, where we figured out how to get the metro. We ended up observing the popular Sampa street graffiti before having a bite in a pricey Sampa chain called ‘Fran’s Café,’ and vowed to try and prepare a bit more with food for the rest of our stay. Supporting this we grabbed some drinks, cheese, meats, and bread to stock up before heading back to our new home.
Vila Rock Hostel, 2013
Sao Paulo Graffiti, 2013
Sunday morning Colin and I had an early start, fueled by the breakfast provided by the hotel. Just cereal and toast, but enough to get us to our first stop of the day, Parque de Ibirapeura. On our way to the park we passed a monument to the bandeirantes. Turns out these ‘South American cowboys’ were originally groups of natives, whites, and mixed race men who captured natives for enslavement. Eventually these groups became more independent, and spent more time hunting after treasure than natives. Not quite sure why there was a monument to this group… they discovered a lot of mineral wealth for the country, but it seems they were ruthless! The park was really beautiful and filled with plenty of locals for Sunday runs. There were also a couple of Chinese dragons roaming around, a performance put on by a local Kung Fu studio. 
Bandeirantes Monument, 2013
Chinese New Year in Sao Paulo, 2013
Chinese New Year in Sao Paulo, 2013
These dragons had been performing just outside the Afro-Brazil Museum. We next went inside to learn more about the original Africans who are now part of a Brazilian melting-pot culture. The exhibits inside gave some idea what slaves in 19-century Brazil had to endure. It consisted of letters, photos, artifacts all from the slave trade; everything from tax documentations and sales negotiation papers to the actual chains and slave boats the slaves came to Brazil with! The Portuguese came to Brazil around 1530 in order to cultivate sugar, mostly settling on the east coast of Brazil. Due to exposure to diseases brought by the Portuguese, many natives ($30-40 each back then) had to be replaced with imported slaves from Africa ($100-500 each) who could work the plantations. These Africans were the last slaves to gain their freedom worldwide, as slavery did not end in Brazil until the 1888 – in large part likely because the government made most of their revenue through high taxes on importing slaves and insurance for slaves. Because of this many photos are still around of the slaves up for purchase, a few are here below.
Slave Purchase Agreement in Afro-Brazil Museum
African Slave Photo in Afro-Brazil Museum
After finishing at the Afro-Brazil museum, Colin and I headed towards a modern art museum located in the park. The Modern Art Museum was pretty small – and quite strange. There were some interesting exhibits inside, but I think we agreed we were glad to get in for free (the museum is free on Sundays). Here are some of the more interesting things we saw below, including a dripping watercolor Colin posed next to representing the mix of cultures within Brazil, and TVs which let the viewer become part of the art:
Colin With “Brazilian Watercolor” by Rodrigo Oliveira
“Interface” (with Colin and Francesca) by Peter Campus
Colin & ‘Closed Circuit Camera’ Art
Francesca and Colin With ‘Camera’ Art
Outside the modern art museum we ducked into a Vatican exhibit, but it didn’t seem too interesting (and very overpriced) so we opted to skip it. Although I did get this 3D-like image before we left!
Francesca With A Fake 3D Vatican
After having some lunch at a burger joint called the Green Café. Colin and I spent the next hours people-watching, walking around the park, and scoping out a small (and not worth it) planetarium. We finally caught a taxi to the Japanese area of Sampa, Liberdade. Since 1912 Liberdade has become distinctly Japanese. In fact, it is home to the largest Japanese community outside of Japan, and is supposed to have some amazing food! As it was Sunday, there was a street market on, and we explored the foods and crafts that filled the stalls, before walking down the streets filled with Japanese restaurants and Japanese-run stores (and of course Catedral da Sé, São Paulo's most famous Gothic and Renaissance style church from 1616, because we’re still in Portuguese-inspired Brazil!). Here’s the scarier side of Sampa: surrounding the church were dozens of the less fortunate of Brazil, ignored by the display of grandiosity in front of them. A massive cathedral, yet poverty on the stairs outside.
Liberdade Street Market in Sao Paulo, 2013
Catedral da Sé, 2013
Nativity Scene in Catedral da Sé, 2013
Colin planned for us to have dinner at a Japanese lamen (or noodle!) place called ASKA right down the street from where the market was taking place. I ordered us an appetizer of delicious gyzoya (stuffed dumplings) and, as a main big bowl of soup with noodles and meats! The waiter came over and made a special dipping sauce for us to try – part soy, part white vinegar, and some chili. Deliciously spiced and sour, yum!
Colin at ASKA in Liberdade, Sao Paulo, 2013
Colin & Waiter With ASKA Lamen, 2013
Delicious Lamen At ASKA, 2013
Francesca at ASKA, 2013
We were really glad we had arrived just a few minutes after ASKA opened, because waiting outside once we left were about 15 people waiting for tables! With our bellies now full we headed back to the metro and home to our Vila Rock room. More about exploring Sampa later everyone!Francesca
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