Ibirapuera Park, Sao Paulo Brazil

Combine hundreds of skate boarders, cyclists, Moms pushing prams, families picnicing, couples on blankets, guys playing soccer, vendors everywhere, and put them in a huge perfectly maintained park with fountains, palm trees, exotic flowers and plants, sculpture pieces, and numerous Museums, and you will get Ibirapuera Park. In one day I could only scratch the surface of the museums and surrounding area. It was obvious that it served as a sanctuary for many of Sao Paulo's residents and everyone was out on a beautiful day, enjoying everything it had to offer.
It was a fitting end to my brief time in Sao Paulo and also an end to my time in Brazil. The next stop is Santiago Chile.
Regrets for Sao Paulo? As I wrote in an earlier blog, I wish that I had known that Carnivale is celebrated early there. I would have purchased tickets before leaving the US. I have since checked my guide books and none of them mention the Carnivale date. I was there the first weekend in Feb, so if you plan to visit then, get tickets ahead of time. When I arrived they were sold out and scalpers prices were exhorbitant.
In all, my time in Brazil was an enchantment in a land of beautiful people. Think Girl from Ipanema and Rio de Janeiro and bikini bathing suits called "dental floss." You get the picture...

Sao Paulo Brazil and MASP Art Museum

Lucked out again with the selection of a terrific hotel; the Estanplaza Paulista Hotel in Sao Paulo. It had everything; good price, lovely room, wonderful food, a morning buffet that stretched the length of the restaurant, and a great location. The pic (upper left) shows the view from my room, just a sample of the skyscrapers that cover the city. Within walking distance is the lovely MASP, the Museum de Arte de Sao Paulo. The entire museum is small (perhaps a fouth of a block in area) and it rests one story above the street level. You enter by riding a glass elevator that displays all its pulleys and gears during the ride. As with every museum, photos aren't allowed, but I can say that it is a jewel of a museum with significant works by Picasso, Delacroix, Joshua Reynolds, Modigliani, Manet, Renoir, Pousson, Rodin, and even a Bosch.
Rembrandt's etching of St Jerome held a reverential place in the exhibits, but I have to say my favorite painter was actually an artist from Sao Paulo, Candido Portinari (1903-1962). His paintings on display were massive, covering entire walls. Most depicted people going through extreme emotions such as Lazarus rising from the grave or a poor family that is burying a loved one. As large as the paintings are, they all seem to be too small to contain the passion and emotions of the people depicted. They are huge, ponderous figures that are almost bent from trying to stay within the confines of the canvas. He used mostly beiges and grays (like the colors in a sepia toned photo), but in very small and dramatic slashes, he used brilliant red to make a point; on a finger nail, or in the tears of the people who have lost a loved one. You can't view his pieces without carrying the impact away with you. Ironically, he died from the lead in the paint he used.
The MASP is a must see, as is the Parque do Ibirapuera, the next stop on my one person tour.

Final Thoughts on Iguassu Falls Visit

The Falls were the best part of the South America trip, but just a few tips on the town itself, (Iguassu Falls in Brazil). There is nothing there to see beyond the falls described in my previous blogs. The few restaurants I could find were all-you-can-eat buffets - huge halls with formica tables and mountains of food for 3-6 American dollars. A fantastic deal by any standards, but sometimes you want a really nice sit down meal. One day we passed a restaurant with a huge sign that advertising a "German Beer Garden." Fantastic - German food, I thought. It turned out to be a pizza place. Good pizza, but still a pizza place.
Also getting cash advances on credit cards turned into a bear. I was sent to six consecutive banks (a 10 mile hike up steep hills) before I finally found a Bank of Brazil that would give me an advance. The beaurocracy and number of people involved in giving me $100 cash advance was staggering. The show was great, however, because standard office clothing was very tight midriff bearing low cut clothes for the women and very tight slacks and shirts for the guys; a kind of "Miami Vice" of banking. Would love for it to catch on here in the US.
As for the eternal quest for money, I later found that my Wachovia check card was perfect for cash advaces on any ATM anywhere during the entire trip.
In short, see the Falls and the parks, but don't plan on spending any time in the town itself.
Onward to Sao Paulo Brazil. Happy Trails until then.

Farewell Iguassu Falls, Hello Sao Paulo, Brazil