Megacity via Megatired

Arrived well in the megacity of São Paulo, but the impressions are packed, the city is huge and the noise is dominant.

Did you know that São Paulo has as many inhabitants as the whole of Hungary!?1

At the airport, I was picked up by my cousin Gergö (48). We drove for 1 1/2 hours through the rush hour to the city center, to the neighborhood where he and his mother, my great aunt Panni-néni, live. On the way, I got my first impressions of this gigantic city. Well, it's true that São Paulo isn't necessarily beautiful. But if you look closely, you can discover a few small and beautiful peculiarities here and there.

After a papaya breakfast, I settled into my room briefly. But since I hardly have anything with me (except tons of stuff for my sister Ági :-D), it went quickly. A short rest was followed by a delicious lunch prepared by the housekeeper (yes, Donna Netti). Afterwards, a dessert made from Abacadi (avocado, which is about the size of a rugby ball here in Brazil), prepared with milk and lemon. Afternoon nap. In the afternoon, I started my first São Paulo exploration trip with my cousin Julia, and we took the metro to the almost city center to stroll along the most famous street in South America. When Julia explained where we were going, I imagined a kind of grand royal street. Hmm... but when I was on this street, I saw that it's like a grand street in Mega with Milaneos and state galleries on every street corner... and that's an understatement!

Together, we then visited a cultural center sponsored by a bank (in Brazil, there are many cultural centers operated by banks, because then the banks have to pay less property tax). The good thing is, admission is always free, there is Wi-Fi, and the exhibitions are really interesting. So today we visited a cultural center about the history of São Paulo.

Then our paths separated and I was alone in this huge city, with a city map, an address that I can show to a taxi driver if necessary, and a metro ticket. But still somehow alone.

I decided to go to a bank to withdraw money. Well, in itself it's already an exciting thing to go into a bank alone in a country where you don't know the customs. Well, I wanted to be very inconspicuous... unfortunately, I didn't quite understand the signs and promptly walked through a door that set off an alarm. You're not allowed to bring a backpack into a bank, but either lock the backpack or empty your jacket pockets, throw the contents into a transparent plastic mailbox that a security guard scrutinizes, and then go through a revolving door into the interior. Well, at least I made the security guards laugh for 5 minutes of their lives. Because their laughter echoed in my ears while I struggled with the Portuguese language of the ATM :-)

After a complete tour of the so-called Avenida Paulista (this crazy shopping and museum street), I plunged into the evening rush hour with the metro and had a full and crowded metro experience.

Happy to have found my way back well, I sit here on my bed and get bitten by some creatures and I'm just happy to be able to sit around. And as I sit here and do nothing, I notice the plane tilting to the side, it's like surfing, then an air pocket... crazy how long the body still pretends to feel this.