The last epic day in Sao Paulo

What an busy and memorable day in a big big big city. 

1. We went to a Japanese coffee shop by subway, in the district of Sao Paulo called Liberdade. Some say it's the biggest Japanese city not on Japanese soil.

The outstanding artistic pastry was fun. They had a glaze on, the fig one had a golden shimmer. The bamboo ones had a kind of firm gel kind of inside with a green tea flavor.

In this city of contrasts, the exceptional pastry was eaten while looking out a window at a woman passed out on a piece of blanket, with the whole world passing her by. I didn't see one person even look down at her except a quick glance to not step on her. From what I can tell, life is hard in a big city for some people. And it got even harder during this pandemic. During our stay we tried to do some acts of kindness. We bought some shoes to give to the men with none. We gave food to the ones who asked us for it. We saved all of our change and small bills, handing it to the ones we could. There were far more people begging than we could support, it was a struggle to not be able to do more.

It reminded me over and over again to count my blessings and take nothing for granted.

                                      

2. We finally went on the tour of the crypt in the newer neo-gothic Catholic church. I was so happy to learn something new and be able to take all the pictures I wanted. It was a magnificent building. 

3. We went to the airport by subway and train and bus and made instant friends with a couple from Nigeria on the bus. We went all the way to the airport and back to double check on our flight, we had issues checking in online. One twenty minute bus ride makes for great friends in foreign countries. We were standing on a crowded bus and it felt like being in our own little bubble of being able to speak English. Such sweet people, we exchanged emails and since I am writing this two months later I can report that we are still communicating.

This picture does only the smallest bit of justice to looking down a light rail train that just goes on and on car after car. I'm not sure why it was near empty, I didn't even think about why it wasn't filled up. I will never know. 

4. We went to the amazing Farol Santander building, it is a 35 floor skyskraper. It has several floors of art displays. We got there in the afternoon and the man at the door said they had already their limit of customers for the day. I asked him to please ask if they could make an exception, and they did! And gave us half off.

The views from up there were fantastic. These pictures are only a few of my  collection.  I was breathless the whole time. It was just so amazing that I want to invent a new adjective for the experience. It was a feast for my eyes, I could have stayed up there all day long.

                          

They had this display in a small room of glass, and then there was a three minute video that ended up being a visual echo that was outstanding. With only Ron and I in there it was a remarkable experience.

This is the building from the outside.

This is the interesting courtyard just outside of the building where there was someone playing live music with a great voice.

5. After getting back to the room minutes before a downpour, we finished packing. We had just enough time for one last (much needed) shower before an hour long drive through the great Sao Paulo. We drove through the dark night by the many lights of a bustling city. It was mesmerizing, and the day wasn't over yet, we arrived at the airport by 8pm. We were in the air by the end of that day!