Sao Paulo

Sao Paulo is a Huge city.

The Lonely Planet, a guide book that has every piece of information you would ever need about a country, city, or continent and can travel probably travel for you, does a nice job of portraying Sao Paulo as one of the most dangerous places in the world. The Dangers and Annoyances section of Sao Paulo reads, “Crime is a serious issue in Sao Paulo. Be especially careful in the center at night and on weekends. What out for Pickpockets… For drivers, be aware that car-jackings and red-light robberies are not uncommon; in fact it’s legal just to slow down at red lights late at night.” I think they should just make the Dangerous and Annoyances section short and sweet by saying, “If you go to Sao Paulo you are going to be robbed. Guaranteed. Cien por ciento” I am happy to say I was not robbed in Sao Paulo nor did I ever feel unsafe during the few days I roamed around the city.

Onward.

Guess what happened when we arrived in Sao Paulo? It rained. I seriously hate rain.

Despite the rainy conditions Devon and I decided to walk around the city to pick up a few things that were highly recommended to me by my Chilean family members.

1. Guarana
2. Mangoes
3. Grape Fanta, Fanta Uva

We successfully picked up all these items. Here is a breakdown of what I think of them.

1. Guarana- It’s delicious.
2. Mangoes. Devon and I had no clue how to cut open a mango… so we tried to force it open with a beastly knife… We later learned that was not the proper technique to cutting open a Mango. Our first Brazilian Mango experience was quite the disaster.
3. Fanta Uva- It tastes exactly like grape soda.

We spent the next two days exploring as much of the metropolis as we could, after looking at a map of the city, we literally saw nothing.

The highlight of our brief stint in Sao Paulo was the Japanese Market. Side Note- Sao Paulo has the largest Japanese population outside of Japan.

Here are some reasons why I liked it.

1. It smelled great.
2. The food was great.
3. The food was cheap.
4. The blended juices, Sucos in Portuguese, were great.
5. I bought a really neat necklace, which has already fallen apart, but I thoroughly enjoyed the necklace for the 5 days it lasted.

Yum-O