Sao Paulo, Brazil

We weren’t going to visit this sprawling metropolis a 22ish hour drive inland from Rio. However, we were a week ahead of schedule and had Chloe’s company on the trip, so off we went. We gave it two days, but I’m sure you could spend more once you got to know it better. I felt it was largely a business city; the location for company head offices.


We found a cheap, non-crappy hotel online in Centro that was a short walk from the subway (always a plus!). I’m just now truly realising the disadvantage of not writing more immediately (as if there were advantages?). I’m only a little sure that we arrived in Sao Paulo around midday on 25 March. It’s now 24 May! Oops… (and I’m not posting until June 6!).

We walked around the mall area and for dinner went to a sushi place in a small arcade. Living in Melbourne, I’ve been spoilt when it comes to authentic multicultural food, so when I eat it anywhere else it’s always a little disappointing! The sushi itself was delicious (and included the big rolls you get in the U.S.A). What was odd was the sake served in little square bento boxes filled until it spilled over into a saucer. It made drinking difficult and wasteful! If this actually happens in Japan, let me know!

After breakfast at the hotel, we went to the UGT office; a union that Tristan hoped to make connections with as part of his role representing the Industrial Workers of the World (IWW). It was kind of nice being in a corporate setting again, especially as we met with their international relations director. While they chatted in Spanish, I read English promotional brochures and was impressed by one about human rights for migrants, Indigenous people, children and workers from all sectors.

From there we visited the Sao Paulo Metropolitan Cathedral. In 1913 it took 40 years to build and looks over a European styled park, right in the middle of a clustered city; it sneaks up on you! We hoped to go to the top of the Altino Arantes Building; built between 1939 and 1947 as the state bank. You need your passport to get in though and we’d left our’s at the hotel, so we settled for views of its fancy foyer.

Getting hungry, we took the subway and walked through crowded market streets to the Mercado Municipal de Sao Paulo; a mecca for deli foods. We found a table and tucked into soft cheese, salami, pickled onions and a small bottle of red wine. Yum.





In the 1970s, 109 people disappeared (suspected kidnapped) under the dictatorial government; generally for some small action or maybe none at all. We visited the Memorial of Resistance of Sao Paulo, which thanks to the many photos, was educational despite my lack of Spanish. It was weird to see photos of various Nazi Party groups along side other persecuted associations. We saw the cells where people were kept and tortured, and the graffiti they left on the walls.


It’d been a long day of walking so we rested for a bit in a park, once we’d secured a bench! There were small waterfalls and even exercise equipment (most parks have these, even some bus stops – awesome idea!).

The weather wasn’t nearly as hot as in Bahia, but the idea of sitting in a cool cinema was appealing so we went to see 12 Years A Slave. It was in English (with Spanish subtitles), and is a great film. See it if you haven’t already!

We’d hoped to catch up with Chloe that night and see a little of Sao Paulo from a semi-local’s perspective, but her family lived a bit out-of-town and it’d been a busy week. Instead, we went to a Ramona’s restaurant, recommended on Trip Advisor (my new favourite website). One waiter spoke English but all the staff were friendly and the food was good. The chips were a little soft and burnt, the salad a little soggy but the steak tartare was terrific (and only $15).

For our last day in Sao Paulo, we went to the Sao Paulo Museum of Art; a 1968 concrete and glass building suspended on red beams. It creates a large open public space underneath, which along with some homeless people, that day it was full of student protestors. They were calling for cheaper and more frequent public transport and from our experience they were right to do so; the trains were easy to navigate but always very packed. It was great to see so many young people articulating their needs in an organised way. Most were there as part of smaller associations; another sign of an active and organised political culture.

Across the road was Trianon Park; a gorgeous, tree-filled, slightly dark reprieve from the city, and big! I think we just scratched the surface. There’s a bridge over a main road allowing the garden to continue on the other side and it’s full of quiet spots, sculpture and winding paths.

Nearby, we had lunch at a buffet place where you pay by the weight of your food. There are lots of them around Brazil and Argentina and I think they’re a great idea. For those on a diet it lets you choose exactly what you want to eat, and know how much it weighs. It’s deceptive though – I thought my plate would have weighed less than it did!

That evening we boarded a bus for a 16 hour journey to Foz do Iguazu to see Iguazu Falls; one of the seven natural wonders in the world. Yet again, the bus was comfortable and the overnight really not that bad (plus we save money on accommodation!).

Ojai, California – now included, oops!

Ojai, Ventura County, California, USA.

I thought I had posted this one but seems I didn’t, sorry Ojai! We were there after Santa Cruz and before Rio – the last weekend of February.

Ok, I love Ojai as well. What can I say; Tristan’s family live in some pretty cool places. It is a bit touristy though, in the sense that wealthy hipsters drive up from L.A on the weekends and some shops are too posh for their own good. No one does breakfast like Melbourne though; even here there was no obvious signs of a brunch culture (maybe a good thing).

It’s in the truest type of valley I’ve ever been in. Every where you turn you look up to find yourself encircled by reddy brown mountains contrasted against what for us was a perpetually blue sky. It was unseasonably warm, hooray! Ojai gives you a protected, small town feeling with all the benefits of a larger town.

There’s a good choice of bars; seedy pool hall, live band venue with weathered couches, dark fancy small bar, edge of town former bikie haunt and Ojai Beverage Company, which we at least visited almost every night. To be fair, it is a two minute walk from Tristan’s mum’s house where we were staying. It’s also one of the best stocked bottle shops I’ve seen; we spent a good hour all up just browsing. The staff are friendly, the food is hearty and there’s an ever changing list of micobrewery beers (the 15 beer tasting platter is worth it, despite a couple that resembled yeasty syrup).

The annual Ojai Tennis Tournament wasn’t on, but I enjoyed relaxing on the bleachers surrounding the four outdoor courts in the local park (and a maybe pretending I was in Grease). Lots of people and their dogs use the park, its gazebo and small amphitheatre that hosts school concerts. I always love seeing people use their public spaces (like the good public servant I was).

Apparently there are hot springs but we never found them. The river is pretty enough though, and we had it almost to ourselves. On Sunday’s there’s an artist’s and farmer’s market; the strawberries were huge and the pumpkin pie was yum. I was excited to try it having only seen it in the movies and all; it was ok. I also went to Lulu Bandha’s Yoga which was sunny, laid back and welcoming.

Just out of town, we drove down an orange orchard lined road to Tristan’s very cute primary school and one morning we visited the one in Santa Paula where his mum works. Her grade two class was really sweet and a good insight. With only one or two whities, it reminded me of my primary school in Melbourne’s Springvale South, but instead of the majority having a bunch of different backgrounds these kids seemed mainly Latin American. It’s multiculturalism, kinda.

It had recently been President’s and Valentines Day, so there were signs of that, and I thought the map looked weird; centred as it was of course on America. Tristan and I gave a show and tell about Australia, which we only just kept from being completely hijacked by tales and questions about giant snakes. I managed to talk about Indigenous Australians, our varied landscapes and that we don’t ride kangaroos to school. Other than having a brain fart while explaining time zones and telling them that the sun moves around the earth, I think that I instilled some interest in Australia. Or at least a fear of our animals. Ho hum.

On February 27, via Charlotte, Carolina, we took off for Rio de Janeiro. Carnival here we come!