Sao Paulo....safely!!!

Well off again after a bit of a freezing time in Watford. Just for those of you who don't know Louise has stayed behind for personal reasons while I continue on alone.....

The first thing that I need to do is say a HUGE thank-you to Zsolt for sorting out my flights for me. The Air France flight I was booked on got first delayed and then cancelled and he stuck around and made sure that I got on the next one. Fantasic customer service!!!

The flight to Paris was OK, then onto the Sao Paulo flight which was 2 hours late leaving - although this time I thing de-icing the aircraft was actually neccessary!! The flight was fine, got chatting to a Brazillian bloke who lives in Sao Paulo who gave me some pointers to ensure I remained with my wallet, camera etc.

Arrived quite early and was a bit worried by the coldness and monsoon type rains. Collected my luggage and realised that I had already been had...Every conceivably part of my bag had been opened and rifled though....never mind - Although I will say to the person who did it I truly hope you enjoy my sh*it christmas cracker nail clippers and rubbish torch. Nothing of value is missing so I walk away both lucky and educated :o)

Managed to get the airport bus from the airport to the city. 30km which took an hour and a half, traffic was terrible - probably made worse by the rain. The Metro was mastered like a pro and even found the hotel (Formula 1) with ease. After a little nap I decided to brave the rain and go for a walk around. This idea lasted as long as it took me to cross the river, sorry road, buy a bottle of water and have a cheesburger. Back to the room for a shower and to try and dry my shoes, socks and jeans. I stayed in for the rest of the night watching Dungeons and Dragons in Portugese!!

Yesterday morning (20/12) I managed to rise early, eat and head off on a walking tour. Starting at Praça de Republica and then heading down to Edifico Italia - a 1960s skyscraper. Then onto the Copan Building which is the largest reinforced concrete structure in Brazil. Apparently done by a famous Brazilian architect.....when the pics go up you'll understand why I wasn't that impressed!!! It was then a short walk to Memory Hill and Piques Pyramid. It is here that there was a spring which supplied water to the city's residents and cattle. It was gone now tho.... The Municipal Theatre (apparently with near perfect acoustics), Tea Overpass and Shopping Light were a short walk further. Shopping Light used to be the headquarters of English Lighting Company in SP. It is actually quite a nice building!! Over the Tea Overpass you can see into the Anhangabau Valley and also the Santa Ifigena Overpass - the latter was built to connect the downtown area to that where the city's elite live. The tour finished with the Metropolitan Cathedral and the Sao Bento Monastry.
I then headed down to MASP - the art gallery which is supposed to be pretty impressive with a huge collection of the Masters. It was closed due to techncial problems - strange that happens on the day which it is free to the public......So instead I had a walk down to Parque Do Ibirapieraand relaxed whilst practicing my Portugese.

So what do I think of Sao Paulo? I came here with a mixed opinion - the guide book says its okay, people on the other hand have stories of muggings and a city which isn't that great. I have found it quite interesting. The architecture is a mix of colonial buildings and 1960s concrete. It can be quite an impressive mix at times and demonstrates how the city has developed without much planning thought. The people seem friendly and I didn't feel any more scared than I did in Vietnam or even times in London. It is pretty much on par with Madrid for crime I would say and as long as you take the neccessary precautions you are really not likely to get into any trouble.......Just remember to padlock your rucksack!!!!

Off to Paraty on the bus now.....that is if I manage to locate the bus station.....

P.s. Pictures of Sao Paulo are available here -

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=25359&l=77f55&id=621043454