How do I even start describing Sao Paulo!
I'm an optimist by nature, but today, after our tour of the city, I really found it hard to make a connection with this sprawling megalopolis!
Sao Paulo, or 'Sampa' as its known by the locals, is a city of 21 million people, making it the 4th largest city in the world. It's also the main economic, cultural and financial hub of Latin America. I read this quote about the city: 'Sao Paulo is more a capital of the world than of Latin America thanks to its mosaic of cultures and lifestyles'. That, they say, would be alluding to its very diverse and rich culture, bustling night life, excellent restaurants, fantastic shopping and unique architecture. Yet when you drive through the city, I got an impression of a soul-less place, which I found astounding. How can the energy of 21 million people contribute to so little? And especially 21 million Brazilians which are renowned for their high-energy attitude towards life?
I've always placed Sao Paulo in the same category as Johannesburg. The South African city is also the main economic and commercial centre, yet everyone goes to Cape Town. Likewise, when landing in Sao Paulo, I've always moved on to its sexier sibling Rio. I imagine I'm not the only one!
And then there's the traffic. That was one of the most frustrating parts of the tour. Distance is irrelevant in this city, for 2 km can take you 20 minutes. That's why the ultra-rich travel around the city by helicopter! As a side-note, Sao Paulo has the second largest fleet of helicopters on the planet, after NY. I now totally understand why! And when you look out the window, you see uninspiring block concrete architecture. Everywhere.
Yet there must be something that makes the Paulistas, the residents of Sao Paulo, tick. What is it that they're proud of? Why do they think their city is the best? And when over dinner last night I talked to a wonderful local lady, she told me you have to keep coming back to rediscover Sao Paulo. You cannot take it in as a whole. You find one of its many neighbourhoods and walk around it. Take a bite size approach to this city. And maybe that's where I got it wrong. I always like to start with the grand overview!
Then I read this quote in the official promotional brochure from Sao Paulo Tourism Board:
'Sao Paulo wins over observers slowly. At first it is the hardness of the city that strikes the eyes. But gradually details and forms are revealed and you see diversity and find little, unexpected places that win you over.'
It made me feel better :-)
As the days went by I found additional information: 280 movie theaters, 15,000 bars, 1,500 pizzerias, 1000+ health clubs, 72 shopping centers, 2000 libraries, 150 sex shops, 152 theaters, 110 museums, and on and on … the figures of Sao Paulo can be frightening. And what sold me even more is that on the official presentation from the tourism board, they had a slide on the largest gay-pride parade (3.4 million spectators) right before a slide on the pope. Plus, they referred to how many sex shops the city has. Done … I'm feeling warmer about the city already!
So I'm willing to give Sao Paulo a second chance (and perhaps a needed third and fourth) … but I need to make a connection fast. Otherwise … I'm off to Rio!
Read additional posts on Sao Paulo:
AIRPORTS:
Remember that there are two main airports in San Paulo. Guarulhos International Airport which is further away from the city and the main international entry into Sao Paulo and Congonhas Airport which is in the city and focuses on domestic and regional flights (e.g. Rio de Janeiro). This airport has a crazy design. The beginning of the runway is literally elevated right next to a main road. As you drive by you can literally touch the planes landing. Notice also the empty boarded lot close to the runway. This is where a plane crashed some years ago for it missed the runway. Should I be writing about this here? Hope you're not paranoid of flying :-)
WHAT TO DO:
> tour of Sao Paulo: this was an eye opener, and I still don't know if it's best to get a good overview of this big city by tour bus, or just focus on one neighborhood and walk around. Perhaps even see the city by helicopter. Believe me, it's not a bad idea! Anyhow, we did the former. As we drove down the very large and long Avenida Paulista … you understand why they say Sao Paulo never stops! The road, for one, never stops! We passed Ibirapuera park with some Oscar Niemeyer buildings towards downtown. That's where you will see the cathedral, stock exchange, many classical buildings which are banks and the Jesuit College. We also passed the Japanese quarter. Do you know that Brazil has the second largest population of Japanese outside of Japan? And most of them live in Sao Paulo? Of course you cannot miss Oscar Freire street, with all its designer boutiques. Get your credit card ready! But the best part of the tour was when we were approaching the Mercado Municipal. This is where we spotted the bridal quarter … never seen something like this before. We must have passed blocks and blocks of bridal shops. Thousands of bridal gowns plus all sorts of auxiliary products and services such as shoe shops, tailors and nude mannequin shops. That's because Sao Paulo is renowned for streets with specialized trade. My main recommendation with a tour … don't try and see it all!
> Pinacoteca: we all got a little bit confused with the name … we expected the building to have something to do with wine … vinoteca. But it was all about the Brazilian history … and no wine. There were some interesting maps from the 1550's depicting the world as they knew it then. There was no USA, Canada, and all the southern American countries … but colonial names from the Portugese and the Spanish. Fascinating. And there were also some interesting graphical depictions from the days of slavery.
> Mercado Municipal: always love a fruit market! We got there just prior to it shutting down, nevertheless, we weren't too late to buy all our ingredients for the capirinha's that we would be making in a short while … with our own hands. The vendors kept giving us different fruits to try out. I was a bit surprised how forthcoming they were with us biting into their fruits. And when we paid the final bill … I realized why. US$150!!!
> capirinha workshop at Barbacoa Restaurant: and finally we made it! After our long tour I think we were all ready for a stiff drink! And we got it. As we walk into the restaurant and straight up to the makeshift bar that was setup for us, we demonstrate to the cocktail mixer all the fruits that we brought him for our drinks. He started laughing at our ingredients! What am I to do with all that fruit … he said. We obviously bought all the wrong fruits! OK, who cares … let's get going. I stepped behind the bar and he made me cut up kiwis, pineapple and strawberries, then I placed them in a tall glass, added a teaspoon of sugar and gently pounded on them. Add to that some cachaca (sugarcane rum) and ice … shake, shake, shake … and voila, my capirinha was done. And it was damn good!
> Samba: Last night we felt Brazil! Wow! Still thinking about those firm shaking bums this morning :-)
Samba is the sound of this beautiful country. Originating from beats brought over by the slaves from Africa, and influenced by American jazz and music from South America … the mix creates music that reverberates throughout your body and makes ever part move and shake. It's lively, it's happy, it's energetic … and when you move to samba (and you cannot help but move) there are no worries left in this wold.
So, like anything in Sao Paulo, the most dreaded part of any event is the transportation … that is getting there! We've witnessed the traffic here and it's not pretty! So we were pleasantly surprised when we got onto the bus and realized we had a samba / bossa nova band with us. Gosh, live entertainment on a bus? Even for the players that was a first :-) The trio consisting of Ney from the MCI office in Sao Paulo and an acoustic guitar player plus percussionist gave us a taste of the sounds of Brazil: the history of the music in this country, entertained us with sounds and local stories and the 1 hour commute just flew by.
RESTAURANTS:
As the days pass in this megalopolis I'm starting to see a trend here. Sao Paulo is a gastronomical delight! Amazing restaurants and amazing nightlife. Again, you need to know where to go, for the great restaurants are spread all over town. So do your research beforehand and find out where you would like to hang out. Here are some places:
> JAM warehouse - Jardins: fusion Japanese. Their massive platters are fantastic and a must try is their deadly sake tangerine caipirinhas. Wow!
> Cucina Pasquale (Rua Girassol 66): unbelievable and authentic Italian food in a shady neighbourhood
> dinner at Churrascaria Barbacoa: we all thought that after leaving Buenos Aires, there would be no more beef. WRONG!! Another fantastic meal … and again we overate! In this typical Brazilian steakhouse you start off with a grand salad bar and when you sit down at your table, the gaucho waiters walk around with different types of cuts on long skewers. They point to you … you want? … you say yes, although you really don't need another piece … and you eat. And this keeps repeating itself! Add to that capirinha's … and you've got a caloric overload. But who can complain when the meat you're eating is one of the best you've ever tasted?
> Bar Brahma: located on the corner of Ipiranga and San Joao Avenues, is a very informal diner with very lively entertainment. Great live band, charming singing waitresses, but the true highlight was when the two gorgeous samba dancers came to our table, wearing next to nothing and shaked all their assets in our face. You should have seen the eyes of some of our group … they didn't know where to look :-) Of course there was an audience participation part and we all took turns shaking along with the girls, although my butt cheeks weren't flapping anywhere as fast as theirs!
> Bar des Arts: once you get over the fact that the entrance to this restaurant is right adjacent to a gas station, you will be impressed. The restaurant is on the grounds of an old hacienda, with a lovely interior courtyard with a fountain in the centre around which you sit. The food, again, outstanding. And what's even more dangerous, it's a buffet. So there go three courses again, including a dessert table that you simply cannot ignore.
HOTELS:
> Sheraton WTC Hotel: connected to the WTC, this is a business hotel. Not much more to say other than that. Oh yeah, there's a great club in the hotel called 'Club A'. Sexy crowd, great beats with an indoor dance area and outdoor pool/bar area. If you listen carefully as you lie in bed at night, you can feel the beat and your bed shaking.
> Renaissance Hotel: the top floors of the hotel have commanding views of the city. As with many hotels in Brazil, the infrastructure is old. The rooms are ok, but not up to standard for 5-star hotels. Given its location and height, what this hotel is truly missing is a rocking rooftop bar. It would be perfect!
Brazil is the venue for the world cup 2014.. I'm wondering what are the places we can visit aside from sao paolo..
Posted by: shun | November 04, 2011 at 14:48