Around Sao Paulo with the Locals

On Saturday, 8/20, my Google teammates planned a "tourist day" around Sao Paulo to take me to some of the famous sites and their favorite spots.  While it was cold and raining all day, we managed to have a solid day of local flair.  


We hit up a fancy cafe to grab some pastries and coffee (cafe).  Coffee is huge here.  And incredibly good. I like a strong coffee back home in the US, and Brazil coffee does not disappoint.  In fact, most people drink espresso shots straight.  I haven't graduated to that yet, but I'm getting close!  Coffee is consumed all the time and is very social.  My favorite tradition is that every day, as soon as we finish lunch, everyone grabs a coffee and chats before going back to their desk.  It totally avoids the inevitable 2pm food coma.


After a quick bite, we headed over to the Pinacoteca do Estado.
(taken from Wikipedia):

The Pinacoteca do Estado de São Paulo (Portuguese for "pinacotheca of the state of São Paulo") is one of the most important art museums in Brazil. It is housed in a 1900 building in Jardim da Luz, Downtown São Paulo, projected by Ramos de Azevedo and Domiziano Rossi to be the headquarters of the Lyceum of Arts and Crafts. It's the oldest art museum in São Paulo, founded on December 24, 1905, and established as a state museum since 1911.

After passing through a reform conducted by Paulo Mendes da Rocha in the 1990s, the museum became one of the most dynamic cultural institutions of the country, lining up with the international circuit of exhibitions, hosting cultural events and keeping an active bibliographic production. Pinacoteca also maintains a branch in Bom Retiro district, called Estação Pinacoteca, where it holds temporary exhibitions and the institution's documentation center.

The Pinacoteca has a wide-range collection of Brazilian art, mainly noted for its vast assemblage of 19th century paintings and sculptures, one of the largest in the country, as well as for a number of iconic Brazilian Modernist artworks. The collection also includes a department of works on paper, European paintings and sculptures from 19th century artists, decorative arts, etc.

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We also managed to have a little fun with the sculptures.... 

There was a beautiful park outside the museum.  Luckily the rain stopped long enough to walk around a bit.

Next, we walked down the Centro to the Mercado Municipal, which is akin to a huge farmer's market and flea market combined.  It was unbelievable the amount of different foods, candy, alcohol, trinkets, and people that flocked to this event.  

After taking in the sights of the market, we headed upstairs to the food court....and to Mortadela Brasil, famous for it's sky high mortadella sandwiches that are almost impossible to eat.  We managed just fine.

After chowing down and having a Chopp (local beer), we braved the market and tried all sorts of different fruits, olives, candy, everything.  Tasted & bought some Cachaça so I can make caipirinhas at home.

We headed to a few other local spots, before calling it quits due to the rain & cold.  Overall, an awesome day!