City of the Night

Anderson tells me that if Rio is the “City of the Day” then Sao Paulo is the “City of the Night.” If the past 48 hours is any indication, I agree.

In Rio the activity surrounds the beach. On Thursday afternoon, the beach was packed from noon through the late afternoon. When we were out for dinner on Wednesday night, the area seemed relatively quiet with the exception of a few restaurants.

In Sao Paulo, we got a very late start in the day and we went well into the night. Dinner (a late dinner) was with friends of Chris & Anderson’s at a new pizza restaurant. Chris tells me the Brazilians claim their pizza to be the best in the world. It was delicious, but I’m not sure it beats a good late-night, greasy piece of pie at one of the ubiquitous Ray’s Pizzas in New York. Now that’s pizza.

The dinner was really great. The kind of evening that I felt like I was among friends the moment I met everyone. Thankfully (and selfishly) they all spoke English so I wasn’t out of the conversation at any point. And, in the few instances where the conversation was in Portuguese, I managed to understand the general point.

I rather like Sao Paulo. If you loosely compare Rio to Miami, you can compare Sao Paulo to New York City. Much more cosmopolitan. More exciting. (More shopping.) ;-) Rio seems much more relaxed. And, of course, that because it's very much a beach town... or at least the 5 square miles of it that I have seen so far are. Sao Paulo has the buildings, wonderful neighborhoods and lush parks. There is one down the street from our hotel that looks like a micro-rain forest. Absolutely beautiful. So, if I had to choose between the two cities to live, I might lean toward Sao Paulo.

I’m grateful that I have hosts while I’m here. For one, it certainly gets me over the language barrier. While I’ve managed to make it through many countries without knowing the language, it’s always nice to have someone who can help you. I’m impressed that Chris has learned what appears to be very fluent Portuguese in a few years time. Language hasn’t ever been my strong suit. (Poor Mrs. Moran, my high school Spanish teacher. She tried so hard to teach me.)

But, traveling with hosts also gives you an insight into the culture and community that is almost impossible to see when you’re traveling alone as a tourist. I think some of my most poignant travel experiences have been when I have known someone at my destination and learn the city from an insider’s perspective. I'm getting to see Brazil through my friends' eyes and that makes the trip even more rewarding.

And, on that note, we’re off for another night on the town with more new friends.