My first couple of weeks in São Paulo

Hi guys, I’ve decided to start a blog while on my year abroad, as so many other people who go abroad do. I’m starting off my year studying in São Paulo with my friend Lewis, who goes to uni with me in Nottingham, then moving on to Buenos Aires on my own to do a law internship, and finishing off in Guadalajara working at La Ola, a home for girls. I’m very excited as it will be a year full of new experiences, and so I’m keeping this blog as a record of my travels, and I hope you enjoy reading it as much as I do writing it!

Coming to São Paulo, ranked in the top 10 largest cities in the world, had the potential to be overwhelming, especially as I’ve never been outside of Europe before, with the exception of a day trip to Tunisia. However, I’ve now been here over 2 weeks, and am absolutely loving it. What I expected to be a somewhat dull financial centre has proved to be the complete opposite. São Paulo is a bustling, colourful and exciting city, and I’m so glad I will get to spend the next few months exploring it. The walls are covered in amazing street art, there is live music played in the most unexpected of places, and the city is home to some of the most beautiful parks I have ever been to. On top of the buzzing atmosphere of the city, the Brazilian people I have met have been nothing but welcoming, always making me feel comfortable in their city, and always accommodating for my Portuguese, which is far from being strong at this point, although I can feel it improving day by day.

Despite only having been here two weeks, we’ve seen so many things so far, and we haven’t even cracked the surface of what São Paulo has to offer yet! São Paulo is home to the largest Japanese community outside of Japan, and so it was only fitting that I tried my first sushi in the city’s Japanese district, locally known as Liberdade. Here you can also find a street market on Saturdays and Sundays which serves Asian cuisines at very reasonable prices as well as the jewellery, souvenirs, and other bits and bobs that you expect to find at a street market. Speaking of food, I also tried my first feijão com arroz, which is a Brazilian dish of rice and beans, and is absolutely lovely, especially when accompanied by a caipirinha!

Another must-do is to go to the famous Avenida Paulista on a Sunday. The road is shut off from traffic and is exclusively opened to pedestrians and cyclists, and it’s definitely worth going! The entire avenue is filled with assorted street vendors and every 100 metres there is a different live act performing, allowing you to see the usually full-of-traffic road in a completely different light. About halfway down Avenida Paulista is the gorgeous Parque Triannon, a rainforest-like refuge right in the middle of the bustling city. On the other side of the road is the Museu de Arte São Paulo, which is definitely worth a visit if you enjoy galleries, and is half price for students! At the far end of Avenida Paulista is the SESC Avenida Paulista, where there is a viewpoint that gives you a stunning panorama  of the city, and is free of charge.

Another park worth the visit is Parque Ibirapuera, a peaceful green space which one would never expect to find in the middle of such a hectic city. Here you can hire a bike or just take a walk round and sunbathe by the lake. While here it is definitely worth taking a look at the Museu Afro-Brasileiro, which is an incredibly interesting museum with loads of exhibits about the history of the Africans in Brazil. It’s also only 3 reais for students, which is the equivalent of about 60p.

Street art at Parque Ibirapuera

The highlight of our time here so far is definitely our trip to Ilhabela. Ilhabela is a 3 and a half hour bus and a short ferry ride away from São Paulo, and is probably the most beautiful place I’ve ever been. It’s a genuine tropical paradise. We stayed in a lovely hostel called Hostel da Vila, which I would definitely recommend! While we were there, we did a jeep tour through the rainforest on the island, and this brought us to a white sand beach called Praia dos Castelhanos, where we had lunch by the sea. We then went up to a viewpoint to get an incredible view of the beach, and this was followed by a short hike up to Cachoeira do Gato, which was a waterfall in the middle of the rainforest where we could swim, and although the water was freezing, it was such an amazing experience!

Ilhabela sunsets 

On top of all the exploring we’ve done we have actually had a couple of days at uni, where we’ve met some lovely people, though our classes don’t start until the 20th of August due to strike action at the uni last semester. Excitingly, there are monkeys in the trees just outside of my university campus, as well as capybaras by the river at the far end of the campus – not something I expected to see at a uni campus in the middle of a city! Looking forward to exploring some more before classes start, and to being able to fill another blog page!

Beijos,
Lola

Praia dos Castelhanos, Ilhabela 

At Hostel da Vila 

Parque Ibirapuera