A not so ugly city after all

As we mentioned in our last article, the weather here is not great at the moment, so we thought it would be best to take a city tour. São Paulo is the largest city in Brazil, a financial center, but unfortunately not described as particularly beautiful: noisy, dirty, one concrete block after another, and somewhat unsafe... but luckily we didn't let that deter us too much, because we actually found it quite nice here. I have to mention that we didn't do much because 1. the weather wasn't great and 2. I was feeling sick with a cold! So we arrived on Easter Sunday and on Avenida Paulista, one of the main streets here and close to our hostel, the street was closed and a market was set up: all kinds of food, musicians, antiques, cyclists, and joggers - all locals and a great atmosphere. In the afternoon, we went to Ibirapuera Park. There's a lot going on here too: families having picnics, teenagers skateboarding and dancing, kids playing football, and us - almost the only tourists. On day 2, rain is forecasted and we only visit the central market hall, on the way there it almost feels like Chinatown - fake things and junk are being sold everywhere - this side of São Paulo is really less beautiful. But at the market, there's fresh fruit and juices, pastels, and all kinds of sweet treats. On our last day, we head to Vila Madalena, the artist district. Once again, lots of beautiful cafes and street art - very nice. Then we go to the city center and visit the cathedral. We actually wanted to go to an observation deck, but unfortunately it was closed for renovation. There are certainly some places here that are not nice and just typical of a big city, but if you go to the right places, the city is definitely worth a visit.