São Paulo

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The arrivial in São Paulo came as quite a shock to both of us as we had been enjoying a nap in another plush, fully reclinable seat on the bus. We arrived at 11.10pm and to say I was skeptical about taking the subway with all our stuff with us was an understatement. I needn't have worried as the São Paulo metro system is a dream. It's clean, modern and safe. It closes at midnight though and starts running again at 4.40am (which we didn't know as we exited at our stop at 11.55pm).

After being pointed in the wrong direction by a policeman (cheers), we made it to Hey Hostel in the part of town known as Vila Madalena (this area is supposed to be a bit more edgy and bohemian). The guy on night shift on reception had no regard for the social contract as he showed us into our 12 bed dorm. Flicking on the lights and explaining where everything was at a normal conversational volume at 12.15am. The problem with sleeping in dorms with large numbers of people is you invariably get 1) very hot and 2) someone who snores. Now I wouldn't be against the death penalty for snoring as I may (very rarely) do it myself, but I feel making people sleep outside is a fairer option.

The breakfast was the most basic so far with fruit juice, bread, some cake and bananas on offer. Nothing for lunch but we were able to buy nice ham and cheese rolls for R$4 out. On Tuesdays in São Paulo the MASP (Museu de Arte de São Paulo) is free of charge. It is worth a visit even if you aren't there on a Tuesday. It only costs R$15 and even for non-art fans (of which I define) it is tres bon. There are paintings from a plethora of different artists, including some of the greats. I'm sure I'll miss some but here goes: Renoir, Turner, Van Gogh, Van Dyck, Rembrandt, Manet, Monet, Matisse, Toulouse-Lautrec, Picasso, Constable, Gainsborough........ all featured in one of the exhibitions.

Alex had been given responsibility of the map today and we decided to go to Edificio Martinelli, a 30 floor building which lets you go to the 26th floor, free of charge, for excellent views of the city. We knew it was an Italian sounding name so Alex sets us on route. We trudged for around 45 minutes before Alex realised she was leading us towards Edificio Italiano. I actually didn't mind as we'd seen an incredible church with ceilings and walls all painted and a chandelier shop doubling a car park (great use of space). A little beleaguered we headed back to the hostel content with the culture we had drunk in.

Wednesday was one of the days the free walking tour of old downtown São Paulo runs. (It runs on Monday, Wednesday and Saturday). It is an absolute MUST. It lasts for 4 hours, is in English (thankfully) and they only ask for voluntary tips at the end. It's fair enough as the tour guide was really good - really knowledgable and enthusiastic. We gave R$20, about a fiver, between us which seems scabby but we're on a budget here and it was no less than many others gave - I´m even pretty sure I saw a tight American put his hand so far into the bag to hide the fact the he had given nothing! The tour takes in many amazing buildings. Some of the old banks are very grand with the pillars outside and 1930's style interior left inside. The Theatro Municipal de São Paulo is a lovely building and other highly impressive buildings that are mostly owned by the city now so house different departments. Almost forgot the Sé catherdral. It's probably the best cathedral I've ever been in (I admit the list is not long) but the height of the ceilings, the stained glass and the carvings were all incredible. All the stone and marble used was brought from Europe and they only finished it in the 1960's after starting it 1913. The organ in there is madness, it has 12,000 pipes or something but they can´t use them all at once because such a powerful sound could damage the building and potentially blow out windows, so instead they usually use around 10% during Mass. Brazilian planning at its finest. Mum if you're reading this I tried to light a candle like a good Catholic but the electronic candles (ironic health and safety considering their roads) took some weird shaped coin and the tour had moved on so we didn't have time to figure it out.

After finishing the tour, being on our feet for 5 plus hours (nothing runs on time) and wanting to get out of the rain, we treated ourselves to some traditional Portuguese delights. This is Alex's area of expertise and a 20 foot long counter full of cakes, doughnuts and tarts left her giddy like a fat kid in a candy shop. I had a Boa de berlim (custard doughnut) and Alex a Pastel de Nata (think that was the name!), a kind of custard tart in puff pastry which she´d tried on a trip to Lisbon. We both had an espresso sized cup of Cafe com leite.

Overflowing with culture, such vultures, we headed back to the hostel to cook jacket potatoes, cheese and veg. Back to reality.

Thursday turned out to be our busiest yet. The weather started out nice and bright, fading to cloudy and threatening rain in the afternoon. It's been pretty regular like that all week. We made the most of the bright start and headed to Edificio Martinelli where you can take the lift up to the 26th floor for free. There was no waiting and were escorted by Jay-Z's twin brother. We were 2 of only 5 people up there, no idea why so few but the views are astonishing. The city goes on as far as you can see in all directions. It was a little misty near the horizon but pretty clear and the high rise buildings were still visible no matter where you looked. Mr. Martinelli had also built his 4 storey mansion on top as he'd always dreamt of building a 30 floor building but at the time his money was running out so this was the best way to achieve his goal. It's a stunning house and the views when it was built must have been unrivalled.

There are some other taller buildings to go up but the Martinelli seems the best for free. Between 3pm and 4pm you can go up the Edificio Italiano but you only get 5 minutes at the top. Hova Snr did hustle us round a bit but we got enough time to see everything and he took some nice pictures of us.

The walk between Edificio Martinelli and the municipal market is around 15 minutes down quite a steep hill. There are street markets off the route and loads of shops selling everything inside. I was a little unsure of this because there were teenage boys pointing at the camera and yammering on in Portuguese. We looked around a bit, the costume shop with costumes and material was a highlight. Think the Bon Marche on LSD. The municipal market is another thing added to list of cool places to see in São Paulo. It's really well maintained, clean and the sales people don't force things on you or get in your face. This is where we shared the famous Mortadella sandwich and a also a meat pasty, both so big we didn´t need one each. The sandwich is incredible. A toasted soft sub roll filled with Mortadella sausage (very thinly sliced so like ham), melted cheese, and salad with vinagrette. The pasty is not like our Cornish ones or anything. It's a thin pastry and deep fried. The meat and onion inside is nice and the pastry has a cheesy tang. Excellent lunch for R$31 with a 10% off coupon from the walking tour. The coupon was valid until 11th Feb but they didn't seem to care.

The afternoon was spent making our way to the Ibipuera Park. It's huge, in the way that all big cities seem to have massive parks. What looked like a relatively short walk on the map from the nearest metro station was actually a good 45/50 minute walk. It took us 10 minutes to cross a dual carriageway as there was no crossing point in sight. We were very hot and bothered when we got into the park, even after an ice lolly and açai drink. Açai is a berry type thing which is served as like a slush and is really good, but there is also an açai flavoured drink that loads of people seem to drink but it just really sugary and not too nice. The park did feature a 100m long concrete roof held up by pillars where skateboarders, rollerbladers etc were flying about. To miss the impending rain we got back to the metro and home. The evening promised great things. São Paulo is known for its pizza which are even better than those found in Naples according to the Lonely Planet guide, so we headed to one of the recommended restuarant that was only a 10 minute walk from our hostel in Pinheiros. It is called Casa Braz and it is sensational. I can't ever remember having better pizza. This was turning out to being the greatest day of food ever. The restaurant is stunning and looks really upmarket. It's a contempoary take on a traditional pizzeria: the wood burning pizza ovens are the focal point and classic floor to ceiling cabinets displayed copious amounts of wine and olive oil to complete the look. We were assigned Pedro as a waiter, as the only one who spoke any English. The pizza was incredible, I went for large with 8 slices and Alex a medium with 6 slices. Both of us had half and half toppings. They served us a slice at a time to keep the rest warm and because the tables were too small for them. It feels strange to wait to be served another slice but it makes you eat slower, which left me struggling near the end as I normally bolt my food. The bill came to R$160 including 10% service charge, a glass of Brazilian red (Alex ordered white) and a black Brahma. This was the most extravagent spend on food but well worth every cent.

Woke for a leisurely breakfast as our 12 hour bus to Florianopolis wasn't until 8pm. Finally did all of our laundry which cost R$15 for wash and R$15 for dry. We thought this a little pricey as receptionist at the hostel seemed to think it would have been only R$17 for laundry service, but that would have taken 2 days - time we didn´t have. Laundry killed 2 hours and luckily the hostel let us leave our bags and relax until we needed to go. Wanting to beat rush hour we left about 4.30pm. Got on bus at 8pm and it left only 5 minutes late. 12.5 hours later we arrived in Florianopolis. We had completed our longest bus journey yet and got a decent amount of sleep in the process, even with one old man's attempt at gassing us.

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