Liberdade & Catedral da Sé

Immediately after my last blog post, the baby had a spout of diarrhea and proceeded to throw up all over me. I didn't realize how many grapes she had eaten that day until that moment. At least she's getting her fruit!

Monday was a lazy day. It was a bunch of sleeping in, followed by a massive picanha sandwich with cheddar cheese, lettuce, tomato, and a seasoned mayo. The thing was massive. Here it is next to a half liter bottle of water, I apologize for the lack of focus, it was so big, I got the meat sweats before I took a bite:

For those unfamilar with picanha, it's the top of the top sirloin, and it's served in every Brazilian steakhouse. You may better recognize it in this form:

Lunch was followed by more sleeping. And a short walk around Paulista, a business area we're staying in. Here's the backside of one of the Christmas displays they built along the main avenue in Paulista:

For dinner, we met up with one of Jenifer's friends from college at a chain restaurant called America. When I saw the menu, I thought: "We flew 5,000 miles and the first thing we see on the menu is this?"

They also had a dish called "Mexican Italian", which I didn't try either. I did try one of their beers:

It tasted like a cross between Miller Lite and Heineken. It had the light lager look, feel, and ABV with a hint of skunkiness. This is one of their mainstream beers. They have a growing craft beer scene, we just haven't had the opportunity to dive in yet. There are a few close, but the baby has not permitted us to make such an excursion.

Liberdade

We've seen Liberdade on just about every show that hits São Paulo. It's home to the largest Japanese community outside Japan. The district is a few streets of shops, restaurants, and souvenir places. One of Jenifer's mom's friends who lives in town picked us up to head over there. I get the feeling that this place is great when you "know a guy." Truth be told, we didn't know anyone, so I'm sure we missed our fair share of gems. It was a cool walk, and we found Pocky Sticks, so of course we bought a few boxes. Here's a picture of us entering Liberdade:

Here's a view from the bridge in Liberdade facing downtown São Paulo. It's block after block of high rise:

Here's a shot driving down one of the streets:

Here's a shot of Jenifer's friend:

And of course there was a big Godzilla painting (the images to the left may have come strait from 4chan):

Even the pedestrian signs are different in Liberdade:

Lastly, if you need a prostitute, their numbers are conveniently located on the pay phones:

Catedral da Sé

To the English speaker, this is known as São Paulo Cathedral. It's pretty dang big. Many cathedrals I've seen in the US and Europe could compete or surpass this one for height, however this one was significantly wider. One other interesting thing is that the material between the arches are nothing but bare brick, which I've never seen before in a cathedral. Even if brick is involved, it is typically plastered over to create a smooth surface for appearance or for painting.

Rodízio style Sushi

After Sé, we went back to Jenifer's friends house to pick up her husband and daughter. Since traffic is absolutely horrific (some friends we've talked to spend up to 4 hours per day communiting), we decided to do what any sane person would do. Sit down and eat some cake!

We then went to the mall and bought four of them. No exaggeration, we have them on top of the dresser in our hotel room right this moment. They were that good, and they are only sold here in the city.

For dinner, we had Rodízio style Sushi. This is like Brazilian steakhouses where you never have to get off your butt, and food keeps coming by, and you pick and choose what you'd like. The selection is less than a typical a la carte place, but it's cheap (about $20 USD), and the quality is okay. The only weird thing was when I ordered hot sake, and they gave me a terrified look. They were asking if I was absolutely sure that hot was what I wanted. Apparently, that's not a common request here!

This isn't Instagram, so I don't have a photo of the meal or trays of sushi that were brought by, but I do have a picture from the ride home where a local TV station is clearly in the Christmas spirit:

Security everywhere

Robberies are a huge problem here. Pretty much every store has at least one, and with higher traffic stores, two security people on premise. They are in black suits, and typically standing at the entrances and exits. This includes drug stores, bakeries, and even shops selling sunglasses and bags.

Banks are even bigger on physical security. They typically have at least two armed policeman who hang around outside (some banks have the armed police inside the bank), and the bigger banks will have a dozen or so private security guys in black suits on the inside. None of the guys playing the role of of private security guard is small. I don't think I've seen a single one under 5'10". All of them look like they've been hitting the weights, but none are fat, and I think if you listen closely, you could hear them spit out the famous Clint Eastwood line:

You know it's a problem when the bakery across the street has two full time guys working security. Our hotel generally has two guys plus a few others hanging out in front at all times.

Further Observations on Traffic

In a previous post, I mentioned some of the things you see on the roads. I've since learned that pedestrians are just as bold and as bad as cars, and that what the scooters and motorcycles do is insane.

The motorcyclists here lane split, and the lanes are pretty narrow. It's actually illegal to lane split here, but the cops gave up enforcing it, so it's just become a fact of life. They take tons of chances like passing cars in turns, jumping into oncoming traffic to pass cars, and going stupid fast through stopped vehicles. I found out that on average, 1-2 motorcyclists die per day. After what I've seen, it is sad to hear, but it is no surprise.