into the city

I cannot begin to describe all the sights I took in today. I took a airport shuttle bus to the city. I waited for an hour at the airport for my bus to come and was impressed at the comfort and service I had on one of the cheaper ways into the city.

The ride was a bit more than an hour. In that time I saw an amazing amount of cultural disparity:

. tall buildings towering over shacks in or around junkyards.
. decrepit prisons flanked with businesses.
. A smartly dressed businessman walking through children begging on the streets.
. imaculately kept gardens with clean sidewalks providing beds for blanketed homeless people.
. brand new volkswagens next to men pulling carts of their goods.

My destination was Avenida Paulista. This is the "home to some of the city's best hotels, biggest financial companies, and most important businesses," according to my Fodor's travel guide. The book wasn't kidding. The street is a straight wide stretch cut through the city and is an imposing reminder of the economic center that Sao Paulo is in South America. There are plenty of things on and around that street to keep me occupied the entire time I am in Brazil.

After ditching my bags, Shaun and I walked around Paulista and he showed me a few notable buildings and interesting shops. We had a great nutella panini and fresh squeezed, natural juice for a snack which was perfect after airline food! He took me down to the Metra, explained where it went, and we purchased some tickets for my use. We also found a lovely hotel a few blocks from Paulista where I will stay for the weekend. We had a wonderful lunch at a quaint little cafe. The food is extremely flavorful!

I meant to explore a bit more on my own, but rather, found out how exhausted I was once I dropped my belongings in my suite, so I spent the afternoon watching futbol and catching my breath. Tomorrow we'll be off to explore a bit more of the city.

So far, I've noticed that the Brazilian women like tight jeans and siletto heels. And, nearly anyone who I have tried to say obrigado (thank you) to, appreciates my effort. The Brazilians are kind. There was also a city ordinance put into place about a year ago that banned advertising from the city. Once I left the airport, I could tell where the city boundary was when the billboards stopped (thanks Sara for sending me that story). The only advertisements we saw today were people passing out leaflets, holding flags, biking with banners for their upcoming election (yep, I can't get away from the politics, even in Brazil)!