Feliz Navidad!

Feliz Navidad de uno reno impresionante en Buenos Aires

LOVE LOVE LOVE

Buenos Aires

I admit to falling in love with cities. Cape Town was the most recent....the same has happened with Buenos Aires. It feels at last like being in South America. The architecture is gorgeous, it is walkable, and the people are so friendly. The men are insane, though very polite. The invisible feelings of São Paulo are long gone...marriage proposals and compliments abound here, it is hilarious. Even had a growl, much to our amusement!

The beautiful Floralis Generica

People often say that Buenos Aires feels very European. Totally! It felt like a cross between Vienna and Barcelona. The stone work was so intricate and detailed, wrought iron balconies abounded and every few blocks another impressive church appeared. There were little squares filled with statues of men on horses and the place just oozed charm.

National theatre

Street market

The Obelisk

I am glad I did a little Evita research before I came. It was nice to see some of the places she has now made famous and to understand a little of the history and legacy that she now leaves with Argentinians. We went to see her grave. Wow, what a cemetery! I could not believe how elaborate some of the statues and tombs were. 

I love that the US has the White House, and Argentina has Casa Rosado, the pink house. We went there on Sunday and got to go inside and have a lil wander. It is so beautiful. 

There was some very funny looking dressed up guards that caused us lots of giggles. 

Ana with an awesomely dressed guard!

One night we went to Cafe Tortini to watch a tango show. We were given front row seats which is a great bonus for a short sighted lady! The show began with such terrible acting, it was so cringeworthy! Thankfully the painful acting didn't last too long and the dancing was so beautiful it more than made up for it. 

Tango!

One of my favourite areas was La Boca. It is a gorgeous neighbourhood with lots of painted houses. It was so beautiful and felt really South American. It was a lovely lil area to just wander through. 

 
Onto the food.....Steak. Wow, it really is amazing. My veggie days are so far behind me..... Also loved the dulce de leche here, was a daily breakfast highlight.

Very tight dress afterwards!

Travelling with a Brazilian taught me two major things. Brazilians shop! And Brazilians pose! Haha Ana is amazing and we had great fun together, but it did mean that smiling for a photograph is no longer acceptable, and shopping is a daily event. One bonus of this was getting to see Gallerias Pacifico. It was a stunning shopping centre just off one of the main streets, with a stunning ceiling.

We found a beautiful book store inside an old theatre. People were sitting in the stalls reading, and we went and had lunch on the former stage.

Understand why I love this city?! I'll end with some classic poser shots!

Love the lady to the left!

Christmas prep

It is strange preparing for Christmas in hot weather. The last few years have always been the same but knowing that I won't be going back to the cold does make it feel different. On our last weekend together in São Paulo, we went to a lights and music show in the park. It was really fun and very pretty. Lovely to hear some English Christmas songs, as well as of course, Feliz Navidad!

Lights and music in the lake in Ibirapuera Park

Christmas concerts in school have amused me for the last few years. Tinsel and Santa hats are just not practical in boiling weather! At the end of term we had a Christmas dinner in one of our apartments, each cooking a separate part of the meal in our tiny ovens!

My lovely friends and I celebrating a British Christmas dinner together before heading in different directions

Genuine delight haha

Hats on!

Secret Santa gifts!

The New Year's Eve tradition here is to wear white. The shops are filled with white dresses! Very different from the UK. It will be interesting to see everyone dressed up. Mine is in the wardrobe ready.....

Iguazu Falls

Traffic in São Paulo has an awful reputation, and one that I haven't seen enough of to really believe. I've been caught in Nairobi traffic so many times when it has literally taken hours to get home from work that what I've seen as traffic here has just made me smile. On Thursday afternoon though, apparently it was the worst ever recorded traffic jam in São Paulo. And this was what we were battling through to get from work to the bus station. We jumped ship from our taxi to get the metro.....though that was no easy feat as metro stations are few and far between in certain areas. Our friend had got there sooner from the other school campus and we were begging him to stall the bus.....we got there 25 minutes late and were so stressed and sweaty from sprinting around trying to organise our tickets and find the right stand...... I don't think we were the most liked people on the bus! We were so happy and grateful that we were going to the falls! 17 hours later, we arrived!



Seeing the falls was amazing. When I went to Niagara a few years ago it was beautiful. But to quote Eleanor Roosevelt, upon seeing Iguazu falls, 'Poor Niagara!' The sheer size and width of them is astounding. The sound and rising mist was incredible.



We went to the Brazilian side on our first day. It was so busy as it was a public holiday but we enjoyed wondering around and going to various viewing platforms. It was very hot though, about 35C, so we were very happy to get as close to the spray as possible to cool down!



As we were leaving Emma spotted something intriguing in a tree. This was so exciting, as its been a hope I held for my time in Brazil but not something I thought would happen.....we saw a toucan! It was so beautiful.





The next day Emma and I were very tempted to stay and watch Wales-Argentina, but as the chances of finding a place showing it was slim and the abuse from the boys that us girls wanted a rugby day, we all set off to cross the border and view the falls from Argentina. It was definitely more built up and geared for tourists but loads quieter which was good. We had been told that the views were better but at first we were unconvinced, they were just different. That was our feeling before we went on a final trail to walk at the top, above the falls. The volume of water falling was unbelievable. It was amazing. It was great to make the most of being there and as Wales won convincingly, it wasn't so depressing to have missed the game!











On our wander back we saw a crocodile lying on a stone in the river. Always very exciting to see a crocodile!



The wildlife at the falls was really cool. We saw a funny looking animal all over the place that we hadn't seen before. We giggled when we found out its English name was a crackoon, or a snookum bear (officially a coati).

It has been a very busy few days with so many hours spent travelling, but it has been worth it. I'm so glad we went to see the falls. It is really positive to see more of Brazil. Although we all find it challenging, we all enjoy the country itself and it is refreshing to have a change of scenery and get out of the city for a few days.

A rather wet me, Luke, Emma and Paul

Chanel exhibition

One of the best things about living here is the art scene. Sao Paulo attracts so many international artists and has great art galleries and museums (I really need to make the most of them and go more often), as well as lots of interesting things happening in the city.

Emma and I had heard of a Chanel exhibition, that she saw in London a little while back. It's called the Little Black Jacket and is photographs of various models, musicians and designers, wearing the infamous black jacket. It's touring 16 cities, and Sao Paulo is one of them!

Rollerskates!

Kanye West

Some of the photos were beautiful. It was amazing to see all of the different looks, for both men and women wearing the same thing, and to try and recognise some of the people. There was a huge variety and some quite surprising ones! It was so hot today too, so was so nice to be wandering around  a cool gallery before we decided it was really a pool day!

Saturdays in São Paulo

My lovely friend Ana has wanted to take me to a cool shopping street for a lil while. Post pay day is always a good time!

We headed quite centrally to an area only open to the public on Saturday mornings. It is a crazy maze of streets and shops that were a cross of market stalls and Primark. They usually sell in bulk to stores here, but on a Saturday you can buy individual pieces....but trying on, if allowed, is generally on top of your clothes. It is hilarious and gets so busy as is so reasonable compared to the generally inflated shopping prices here. We snapped up a few bargains and then both some saw some pretty work dresses......but I can't buy before trying on...so, standing in front of a do not try on clothes sign (in Portuguese!) we very quickly unzipped, pulled down, made split second decisions and continued until we were of course told off, whilst in fits of giggles, and also exhausted from the drama of it all! It was a lush though exhausting morning!

Ana is doing an amazing job of showing me a very different side of São Paulo, one that is more local but also me, and one that I feel more comfortable in.

I miss Kenya terribly, but already I am starting to identify things here that I will miss when I go. Although the language is a huge barrier, a lot is fine, and São Paulo is very built up and developed so it is easy to get things.

Ana and I had a big talk about Brazil re the World Cup and Rio hosting the Olympics. There have been a lot of riots lately (none that I would know about however, if I didn't read the news, so do not worry, I'm in a very safe, and quiet neighbourhood) about corruption and the government, so it was interesting to get a Brazilian's point of view. Ana, like so many Brazilians I know will leave Brazil for the World Cup. The local inflation will really make it tough for normal Brazilians, and the volume of people expected on an already crowded public transport system, that is still not finished, and probably will not be, unless there is some serious money being put down is going to be a real issue. Although I am excited abut the atmosphere, I think I've made the right decision by vacating when it starts too!  As Ana put it, the rich will get richer, the poor poorer, and until the government changes that is how it will continue. It will be interesting to see how Brazil changes over the next 7 months....the opening game is not far off!

Cleaning

I miss having a house girl.....and a vacuum cleaner! Thank goodness for a small apartment. I used to quite enjoy it, but a few years without it and wow, cleaners are the way forward! Washing up was a chore at first, now it's fine (prob cos my kitchen is so small that I only have to wash up a granola bowl from the morning and maybe a salad bowl!), but sweeping and mopping....again the lack of proper/familiar cleaning equipment is coming to play here too....glad no one can observe my rather unorthodox methods! Ha! 

Paraty

I spent the weekend in Paraty, a Portuguese colonial town about halfway between Rio and Sao Paulo. I met Paul and Luke there, and it was great to have some company after a few very chilled days on Ihla Grande!

Such pretty streets...but the cobbles sucked! 

This reminded me of Grandpa and smelt exactly like his workshop :)

The old town was really pretty and lovely to wander around (huge cobbled streets though, so def not a city to wear heels in!). We went to Trinidade for the afternoon, a famous beach in the area. It was beautiful.

Trinidade

Luke and I found out about a local brewery tour and thought it was a great idea....forgetting that it would be in Portuguese! Fortunately it was a very small brewery so the tour didn't last too long...and thanks to our basic Portuguese we understood a few words (water, here, main hahaha). It was in a very German themed bar, with flags and German colours everywhere. So cool!!

A very happy Luke!

Yum!