And So It Begins Again

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All The Buildup

And so as fate would have it, here I izz in Brazil for the third time. My partner in crime is, under the nickname Hans, (alternate spelling could be used), and later Chob but we'll build those bridges when we get there. Once again, I am making this up and typing fast so if there are any spelling/grammar/punctuation errors, well we are just going to have to deal with it now aren´t we. =_)

This time around, my bag actually showed up so I was fairly pleased already. We did not have any trouble at the airport, but someone from the airplane stole a subscription report I printed off for reading. What is the airline world coming to?

Anyway, as soon as we landed, we tried to look for some cheap flights to Salvador since Carnaval is not exactly the quiet season. Since the date was getting close, it was all a rip off so we stuck with the reservations we made in Canada. For some stupid reason, you cannot buy airline tickets over the internet for Brazil. They do not accept foreign credit cards except for American Express so remember this troopers for future reference.

We took the cab to the downtown area, Avenida Paulista to be exact. We wanted to stay in Formula One hotel but they were full there so we had to go a couple of blocks from the main area and settled in another Formula One hotel...apparently they are popular and cost around $100/night for the room which ain't cheap. The room is rather small but it gets the job done. I slept on the top bunk. We started to explore a little after a small nap break. The weather wasn't great as it rained and I didn't think I would ever use my rain coat so soon.

Hans had to take some money however, king Hans did not remember his pin code since he only uses credit cards at home. Honestly...who doesn't know their pin code? So it took two days of meditation and bitching at his bank to finally remember it by fluke. After all that, we decided it would be an amazing idea to get a cell phone. Let me tell you something about inconvenience. THAT IS IT! Trying to get even the most simple things done is a disaster waiting to happen. It took two more days to actually get the phone to work. For those who want a cell phone ...DO NOT USE TIM...use Claro instead. TIM is absolute garbagio.

Avenida Paulista is not bad as there is people there and some restaurants. We had to go uphill to get there so we got quiet a workout each day doing about 5-6 trips there and back. The food tastes pretty good in most places. Through the magic of internet, Hans met someone who ended up taking us to their family house party in the middle of god knows where Sao Paulo...it was the Ghetto's Ghetto...about an hour by car from the downtown area. But with stupidity ruling the day, we went anyway and it turned out to be a lot of fun even though no one spoke any english there. Grandma was handling the barbecue and cooking meat like a factory. Who was I to refuse free good food and a beer or eight. =) Luckily we got a ride home too so we didn't have to pay a ransom to the cab driver to get us back.

Next day, we went to check the internet but as soon as I got by the computer, which was by the reception I started checkout out the line up. It was literally a model show. I loved that hotel since every time they had people checking in...it was a mini pageant...AWESOME! Did the Russ do anything about it? You guessed it folks....hellz no.

The Nightlife

Next night we went for some seriously good sushi. It was a Temakeria and according to some it is not good...but taste buds do lie ...they just don't ok? We next day we went there again. We also tried to go out so we told the taxi driver to take us to a nice club. Simple enough. The fool takes us to a Romanza. He kept repeating that word but who the hell knows what that is right? When we got out, I saw a bunch of sausages standing outside with black suits so at that point I had an idea of what it could be. The entry was $R220 with two drinks which made me react ....first a little twitch and then I said to Hans..."They can kiss my white imperialistic ass" I believe was the comment....lol. I am definitely not paying $120 entry to see high class hookers...not yet anyway...hehe. As it turns out, close to our neighbourhood they had a R$120 "special" with anal included...lol. That is like a Costco price for sex. Yet, I still failed to visite that spot. Maybe because I don't have the sexual Costo Membership card. ANYWAY, then we told the taxi driver we actually want normal clubs so he finally understood and took us to PINK ELEPHANT. We came there at around 1:30am and at around 3:30am my spirit gave up and we left the line up. It was a really good night out...truly memorable...as you can see. At least the eye candy in the line up was amazing....with just as much false hope as us. It was comforting to know we were getting screwed up the yaarsonal along with the hot locals. Being a hot girl in there doesn't work since every second one is really hot...which pretty much makes you average in the crowd...hehe.

However, during the day, VILA MADALENA is the place to go. Tons of restaurants, bars, pubs and people. Especially if there is a soccer game on. We also visited a park close to our hotel where people go running...it is pretty cool to waste around 2 hours there. Not too much sightseeing in Sao Paulo. But since we were limited on time...4 days, we were mentally getting ready for Salvador already.

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Photos

Sao Paulo - Avenida Paulista
The main avenue

Sao Paulo - Avenida Paulista
Me and Hans

Sao Paulo
In the park

Sao Paulo
In the park

Sao Paulo
Still in the park

Sao Paulo
In the local park