Sao Paulo

The monstrous city of Sao Paulo is a place of extreme contrast. Elegant Portugese architecture squashed between towering skyscrapers; pink blossom covered trees line graffiti-covered streets; homeless people lay sleeping at the doors of designer stores.

My good friend and housemate, Nikki, has flown out to Sao Paulo to join me on my Brazilian adventure for the next five weeks. After a couple of Brahma beers, a Brazilian band and a jet-lagged sleep, we woke up enthusiastic about exploring one of South America´s most ´´dangerous´´ cities. We started at Repulica square in downtown whích could have easily been mistaken for a homeless shelter given the amount of people that sleepily line this grand sqaure. Whilst appreciating the unfortunately graffiti-covered European architecture we stumbled across the finacial district of Sao Paulo; a small but very pretty square surrounded by tall elegant buildings, each one a bank. The most interesting and beautiful banking district I have visited. We later made our way to the city park along with many cyclists, runners and roller-skaters. It is a wonderful escape from Sao Paulo´s overly polluted city, but the looming skyscrapers are still in sight just incase you need reminding where you are.