São Paulo

First off, Happy Mother's Day to my mom, Allison and Lizzie's moms, and all the other moms out there! We love and appreciate you very much!

Last night, we learned that Vila Madalena was the "east village" of São Paulo. Venga was a delicious restaurant and we had an array of tapas such as baccala (salted cod), breads, croquetas, ham, fish, and cheese. We drank sangria and wine and caught up with my old friend, Eduardo.

After dinner, Eduardo suggested a bunch of bars and we said we wanted to do something locals would do. So where else would he take us? A samba bar! It was a hole in the wall that was super casual and had an awesome band. It was called "O Do Borogodo", which roughly means in sentiment, "bottom of the barrel". It definitely had the dive-y feel, but was awesome. We drank caipirinhas that were flavored strawberry, lime, and passion fruit and some local brews. You're also given a slip of paper when you walk in, where you're suppose to record all the drinks and have to cash out at the end. Very efficient!

They were several very good samba dancers and were very fun to watch - supposedly all the ladies want to dance with the good ones. Even the waiters get into the mix showing off their moves and one of the best dancers was wearing a Knicks / Carmelo Anthony t-shirt - go NY!

One of the best parts of the night was when a waiter delivered a note to Eduardo from a mysterious girl who asked if he was available! It felt a bit middle school, but supposedly this was common. It was incumbent upon Eduardo to write back (which he did using my back) and was about to give the slip of paper back to the waiter. The waiter then decided to do Eduardo a solid by telling him who it was. We all decided engaging in the back and forth was not necessary, but flattering nonetheless and courageous since Eduardo was with 3 girls!

Eduardo Explaining the Note

Eduardo Responding to the Note

Around 3 am we finally headed home after some sweaty samba dancing. Eduardo - many thanks for taking us out and showing us such a local, non-touristy experience. I will never forget it and will be forever grateful! You single-handedly made São Paulo worth it!

So today, we woke up, had breakfast at the hotel, and headed to Ibirapuera Park which is considered the Central Park of São Paulo. There were runners, bikers, and families everywhere. We enjoyed the people watching and the pretty trees and lakes.

Ibirapuera Park

After our jaunt, we grabbed a cab and headed to Liberdade, known for being the Japanese neighborhood. There is a sizable Asian population in Brazil and especially in São Paulo. On Sunday mornings, there is a street fair where folks sell knick-knacks and street food. We walked around the neighborhood and ended up at Korea House. Allison pointed it out, but it was also listed in my guidebook as the best Korean BBQ joint. A bit of a hole in a wall, we found the bulgogi and bibimbap to be tasty. The naeng myun (cold noodles) needed more mustard and vinegar which they did not serve as extras which is typically served. Also, we had hoped that food ordering would be easier, but the waitresses did not speak Korean.

After our Korean lunch, we headed back to the hotel and grabbed a cab to the airport to head to the famous Iguaçu Falls - one of the top 3 waterfalls in the world. It is on the Argentina and Brazil border, and Paraguay is nearby as well. Our flight was booked on GOL - the low cost domestic airline which is also a Delta partner.

View of the São Paulo Sprawl from the Plane

Checking in and the security was very smooth and so was our flight. Our hotel, Del Rey is in the town of Foz de Iguaçu and was rated well on Tripadvisor. It also had rooms with 3 twin beds. However, our room ended up having 1 double and 2 twins. The staff were also super welcoming and with a Four Square check-in, you get a free caipirinha. For the win!

We ventured to the local churrascaria buffet called Bufalo Branco. The host gave us a 20% discount, even though the hotel said we would get 10%. C-A-L for the win, again! The salad and appetizer buffet was fresh and the barbecue of various meats that were doled out from skewers were also quite tasty and flavorful. We all wished Amanda was here to share in the buffet experience! My favorite, ironically, was roasted pineapple that had cinnamon and nutmeg. As my friend Mikey knows, Koreans do love pineapple!

After our long and filling meal, we headed back to the hotel to catch up on sleep, but also to rest for our big day at Iguaçu tomorrow. It's suppose to rain so we're not happy about that, but we hope it will be intermittent!