City Slick'in

---

Haha. Just realized we added 'poo bins' into the last title and didn't discuss... I hate to start on a bad note, but it only gets better!

Since being away we have tried to steer clear of the subject of toilets and poo in S. America, but, it is now time. In toilets over here, there are signs everywhere telling you not to flush toilet paper down the toilet. Something to do with paper blocking the toilet. This leads to the smelly afterthought of poo bins. You put your poo paper in an open top bin that doesn't get cleaned for at least a day. This means if you go for a poo in the morning you are greeted with a terrible terrible smell from an overflowing sea of brown tainted, scrunched paper. Laura has hated the sight and thought of poo bins since we first discovered their existence and constantly hopes she becomes mildly constipated so she doesn't have to see them for a few days at least. The poo-paper bin saga then leads to another afterthought - wiping and bining technique. We shall leave that with you to ponder...

We made our way to Sao Paulo after Paraty. Joe's Brazilian friend was back in the country on business, and we were able to stay with him in his hotel. And what a hotel it was! Laura couldn't stop gushing about how amazing it was there (could have been due to the absence of poo bins?) We spent a lot of the time at the hotel, food and alcohol was all included as was a swimming pool - what more do you want in 45 degree heat? We did, however, manage to venture out around the posh area of the city. Leafy streets and designer shops, art galleries and sushi restaurants, maybe not the reality of the entire city, but it definitely was in this neighborhood. We became regulars in the business lounge, which was on the top floor with a 360 view of the city. We were amazed at the amount of helicopters there were. It turns out that the really important and rich fly to work because traffic can get so bad in Sao Paulo (leading to the most helicopter commuters in the world!) Of course if you can't afford a helicopter to go work you can always rent one. We admit there was so much more we could have done, but you need a car (or indeed a helicopter) to unlock Sao Paulo, and that is our excuse.

---