Sao Paulo – The massive South American city … [Brazil]

Despite several days in Sao Paulo, I barely scratched the surface of this metropolis … The following photologue will give an overview of my experiences.

 

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Hmmm … Not sure that is the place I would have chosen if I wanted peaceful sleep. Right in the footpath?
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City bus … There are several types around.
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Republica Metro Station … Peak hour rush has to be seen to be believed.
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Tourist Double-Decker … Hop-On, Hop-Off. I must say, among the mega cities in the World (Population > 15M), Sao Paulo should rank as one of the worst, in terms of visit-worthy sites and attractions … The city is huge … I will give it that.
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The Centro area (Downtown) has many elevated walkways, like this …
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Inside Sao Paulo Cathedral … The glass-work was very nice … A sample. The Cathedral area houses a lot of the homeless people.
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Sao Paulo Cathedral …
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“Banco de Brasilia” … Competitor of “Banco do Brasil”
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City staff ….Cleaning away. Yellow and Green 
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City Bus or Tram … A cross between the two 
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A pedestrian walkway … Downtown has many such walkways.
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A funky Cop car … It is a Chevy.
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Luz Station … Retro style.
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Inside Luz station … Longer commute trains.
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Sao Paulo Metro Map … There are some 16 lines! With a city so big, it should be no surprise.
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Sao Paulo Metro …
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Museum of Football: Today it was free!  Pele welcomes the fan with a video message. They showcase all the great Brazilian players. They have a video booth aisle where you can hear and watch famous Brazilian sports journalists recount their favorite goals. There is a gallery tracing the history of Football in Brasil.
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Museum of Football: Today it was free!  Pele welcomes the fan with a video message. They showcase all the great Brazilian players. They have a video booth aisle where you can hear and watch famous Brazilian sports journalists recount their favorite goals. There is a gallery tracing the history of Football in Brasil.
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Photos tracing the history of Football … Mainly in Brasil.
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Museum of Football, Sao Paulo: Please do not ask me what this picture has to do with Football …
It is funny how Americans have hijacked “Football” for a game where Foot is used 0.01% of the time! I am glad this Museum is called Museum of Football and not Museum of Soccer.
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My all-time favorite Player (Maradona) and Team (1986 Argentina) …
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Brasil Team, 2002 … You can see Ronaldo in there.
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Pacaembu Stadium … Home of Museum of Football, Sao Paulo.
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Museum of Football, Sao Paulo: Details about various Football moves …
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Museum of Football, Sao Paulo: If all the videos, displays Etc. are not enough, you can also use the Library …
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Museum of Football, Sao Paulo: If one wants to try Football …  You got to beat the Goalie … Interactive.
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Museum of Football … Santos FC items.
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Burger and Hot Dog = BurDog… Not a very creative Owner 
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Paulista Avenue … A very happening place in Sao Paulo.
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Toy Figure of Jason Voorhees!? (Friday the 13th) … Which Parent would like to “inspire” their kid with this toy???
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Sao Paulo Downtown is a great place for Bicyclists … I do not recall being on a single street where there was no bike lane …
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Tourist Counter … At Avenue Paulista.
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Museum of Arts Sao Paulo … Building is unique. Since it looked so small and I have seen some huge museums already, skipped going inside …
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Building undergoing legal trouble??? Smack in the middle of Avenue Paulista … Sao Paulo.
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The Metro trains show through lighting the details of current location, next stop Etc.
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Cachaca … Used in Caipirinhas … In case you want to drink it raw … 
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Did not find Coconut vendors … Hence the next best option.
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A new brand …
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After ARG squeezed into the knockouts, the newspaper the next day … Sao Paulo.
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On the way to Sao Paulo downtown … Who is this? Genghis Khan?
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Gustavo Kuerten’s Restaurant?
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A young lady using the seats reserved for the elderly, and elderly folks standing!  … 🙁
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I did not like this one … A weird taste.
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Cops patrolling on horses … Near Luz Station, Sao Paulo.
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The walk to Ibirapuera Park … Very nice locality.

 

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Map of Ibirapuera Park … Quite extensive, considering it is in the middle of a huge metropolis like Sao Paulo … Ibirapuera Park …
Huge, scenic and decently maintained. While you do the 3Km walk to the park from the nearest Metro Station, you can note that this is a high-end neighborhood of Sao Paulo. Good roads, clean surroundings, nice houses, middle class and higher class locals Etc. Also, no homeless folks. Being a Sunday, there were a lot of families around. Kids playing, joggers (Quite a few very serious ones), pets … It was a sea of activity. There is a 6Km trail, a 3Km one and also a 1.5Km one. Whichever one takes your fancy … Also, there are decently maintained restrooms at various points. There was a pretty good Police presence as well.
Obviously, Brazilians are waaaayyy more active than Indians. I guess that would explain why India is where it is in Sports/Games and Brazil is where it is in Sports/Games. For E.g. I do not recall seeing many Brazilian fans of Indian Football  India is lucky that Cricket is played by so few Countries …  Else, what happened in Hockey will repeat, I feel. We Indians should learn that Sports and Games are inherently physical and that nothing will happen without improving and focusing on that! Talent coupled with pot-bellies will only get you so far. Because training, sweating it out for hours and hours are not our thing … That is no “fun” … Look at Michael Phelps. He had God-given talent. He also slogged 8hr+ in the pool (8hr!!!) every day … He did not just depend on his talent. Would anyone begrudge his 23 (!!!) Olympic Gold medals?
1. Brazil has won Football World Cup, a record 5 times
2. Brazil has had an ATP World No:1 (Guga)
3. Brazil ranked 13th in 2016 Olympics Medal Count (19 medals)
4. Brazil is a superpower in Volleyball
Etc.
People were playing Basketball, Volleyball, Soccer Etc. I even saw Badminton! There were Yoga classes and Dance classes going on at some places. There were exercise systems (Bars, Steps Etc.) set up at several points. Skateboarders, Rollerbladers and Bicyclists were all around. One can also notice a lot of picnickers and musicians … Oh man, what a snippet of Brazil the Ibirapuera Park was.
I had initially thought of skipping the visit to Ibirapuera Park and instead watch Spain-Russia WC2018 game. But because: (1) Sitting in a Hotel room and being a Couch-Potato while on Travel is not my thing (2) I had zero hope of anything interesting Russia would do against Spain (13:00: During a pit-stop for lunch, Spain-Russia 1-1. What!!?? 13:40: Penalty Shootout. Spain blinks first!), I decided to make the visit. I am glad I did. In many ways, it is a lesson to many countries (I am looking at you, India  By the way, there are areas of Sao Paulo with significant trash on the roads. In a way it is even worse than Indian situation because here there are dustbins/wastebaskets everywhere and people still throw trash on the streets?) on how to run Public Parks. Along with the typical “Tourist Attractions”, elements like Cuisine, Culture, How people go about their daily lives Etc. interest me very much … Travel should not all be about Selfies and Beaten-to-death Touristy spots … If I ask all those “take-selfie-the-moment-my-hands-are-free” Tourists at Christ the Redeemer to speak for 20 minutes on Brazil, its history, its peculiarities Etc. How many can?  I bet most of them would not even be able to recall who created Christ the Redeemer … When I visited Machu Picchu, I did spent time seeing and photographing all the views and sights, but more importantly (for me), I spent countless hours discussing with Neysar and other Guides about their Families, their Hobbies, how they picked this Career, how they learned English, interesting stories from their Career, Politics in Peru, Sports in Peru Etc. I have ample knowledge of Peru from my self-research, but nothing beats local insight … Well, I guess, I am “different”.
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Before cycling … Warm-ups 
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Vendors in Ibirapuera Park … Coconuts seem to be very popular among the customers.
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Volleyball … They play pretty seriously ….
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A hall designed by Oscar Niemeyer, the famous Brazilian Architect … Ibirapuera Park.
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Monumento as Bandeiras … Honoring the former settlers of Sao Paulo. Managed this photo, despite the crowds …
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At Brigadeiro Metro Station … How did the trash get into the big air-conditioner vents???
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Local faces … At Vila Madeira Metro station … A nice touch.
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Sao Paulo has one of the best Metro systems I have seen … Very extensive and easy to use.
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There are information boards like this:
1. Information on the Artist, whose work is displayed at the Station
2. Metro stop’s detailed area map
3. Overall Metro System map, highlighting the particular Metro Station
4. Nearby attractions
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There are regular Restrooms … Decently maintained (And free ). Actually, in this one, I saw a homeless guy (I assume) taking a bath at the sink …
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Metro trains have dedicated areas for bicycles … Sao Paulo residents love cycling!
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An artwork at Luz Metro Station …
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There are streets and areas of Sao Paulo which are like this. Considering the regular waste disposal systems, it is a pity …
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Entered a random eatery to catch up on the Spain-Russia WC2018 game … Amazed at the end result!

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Bought some local sweets and candy … Sugar overload!

 

 

 

 

Adios!

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