Monday, January 28, 2013

São Paulo- the rest of the trip

Some of the fotos from Fridays 10k. for feeling like crap, some of the photos came out well (minus the muffin top from all the pastel, picanha, and Coxinha!)


The main reason for the trip to São Paulo was to be padrinhos for our friend's wedding. On Saturday evening, we got to play dress up and take part in their special day.


We clean up nicely! :) (My dress is from Japanese designer Tadashi Shoji)

Traditions: (from what I learned)

-padrinhos are chosen as couples by the bride and groom respectively. We were chosen by the groom and got to sit on his side of the altar. Padrinhos are like the "godparents" of the marriage. I believe there were 6 couples on each side.

-Men wear suit and tie, women (madrinha) must wear a floor length gown, not black (funeral) or white.


The wedding was beautiful, and the bride and groom looked so freaking happy to be standing up saying their vows in front of several hundred people. I might have even shed a few tears ;)


The bride wore a custom designed dress and looked absolutely beautiful, the groom wore an all white suit which was just plain awesome.

Sampa Thoughts

The coffee here is amazing. It's strong, dark, and served in a small cup- no venti, green mermaid drinks found here. (Ok ok, there are a few Starbucks, but Brasilian tradition is for the smaller potent coffees, larger coffees are lost on people here)


These smaller coffees are something that I'll be adopting in the US. I see no need to drink 20oz of coffee, when a small shot will do just fine. The cappuccinos were a little larger and quite delicious! Muito Bom!

Caipirinhas:

Traditionally, they are made by muddling cut up pieces of lime with sugar, add some ice and then cachaça. Easiest mixed drink ever! In any restaurant you go in SP, you can find endless varieties of fruits and liqueurs. (Sake, and vodka are also popular alternatives to cachaça)


My favorite- with passion fruit, red fruits, tangerine and sake. It also came with a passion fruit Popsicle. So refreshing on a summer day!


The 9 others I had-
Row 1: passion fruit, lemon, strawberry basil.

Row 2: cashew fruit, grape/star fruit, seriguela fruit.

Row 3: lychee, basil/tangerine/ginger, kiwi.

While cachaca is traditional, I prefer sake because the flavor of the alcohol doesn't overpower the fruit.

Fashion:

Overall, Brasilian women "dress up." While walking in old town, I saw a very pregnant woman walking around looking chic in a dress and high heels. People are not afraid to wear colors and stand out.


I saw a woman working out in the gym in a similar getup. This is something I cannot get on board with ;)

Food:

I was blown away by the quality of the produce here. Even in the restaurants, the food tasted so much fresher and of better quality than in the USA.


Coxinha from the best place in São Paulo- Frango! Coxinha are made of shredded chicken and then deep fried. These were delicious with some cold beer and weren't greasy at all.

Overall Impressions

São Paulo is a fantastic large city. Crime is definitely something to be concerned about while visiting. For this reason, as well as São Paulo not being a touristy place, I would absolutely not recommend visiting here unless you know people who can take you around. Since you must take a cab nearly everywhere- and this city is massive and spread out, you would need to know fluent Portuguese and also the exact directions on how to get to your destination because cab drivers don't always know the correct way. I'm sure Rio is a little more tourist friendly.


In regards to FIFA World Cup 2014, and the 2016 Olympics, Brasil is not equipped to handle the influx of visitors. Nearly all international flights land in São Paulo and the airport is not large enough to handle it. Above are the lines for 4-5 different airlines on Sunday night. And L was surprised it wasn't busy. I thought it was chaos!


On another note, I am absolutely humbled by how L's friends and family welcomed me into their family even though I can't speak Portuguese. They went out of their way to make me feel comfortable, which made this visit an amazing experience.


I'm counting the days until I am able to return to this beautiful country.

Tchau

-Xaar

14 comments:

  1. I love this post so hard. Everything looks delicious. I need coffee stat.

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  2. Even though I didn't know what some of these words were, your trip sounds like it was incredible! And damn girl, you look hot in a gown! You clean up really well and you guys look adorable together. Those fruity drinks look like they would be right up my alley. Welcome back to the Chi! Weather last week was dreadful, it was the perfect time to getaway.

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  3. Love that dress!! You look great! Looks like an amazing trip!

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    1. Thank you :) This trip far surpassed any expectations I had.. Loved it!

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  4. Sounds like an epic trip!

    Great race pics!

    The wedding sounded awesome, and those drinks look absolutely fantastic!

    I think I would like the fashion in Brazil, so much more exciting than the states.

    Sounds like overall you had a great time in Sao Paulo, glad that you had L to show you around! Though that is too bad to hear about Brazil not being able to handle the 2014 World Cup and 2016 Olympics. I'm planning to go to the 2014 World Cup, this post may make me think twice about it. I was already somewhat worried about the possible crime. If we do go, what cities do you think we could go among 2 weeks? I honestly haven't researched it at all yet, but I was picturing flying into Rio or Sao Paulo, and then seeing games in either of those cities. Looks like they are a 5 hour drive away from each other. Also looks like Curitiba is a 5 hour drive from Sao Paulo. Would it be worth it to make a different city our base instead? The benefits of being close to another major city are that you might be able to see games in that city as well if the team you want to see isn't playing in the city you are in.

    http://www.fifa.com/worldcup/destination/cities/index.html

    I'm now back from Melbourne, it was an awesome trip. I saw the first 4 days of tennis there, I'll do a blog update soon, trying to catch up on life.

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  5. Wow. Just wow. What a stunning wedding. And and L just look amazing. That dress! So gorgeous! DAMN, girl!

    LOL about the large vs small coffees! I don't drink coffee, but have such a hard time savoring my chai lattes... do the people slam the smaller coffees there?

    Are you going to be trying to recreate at home any of the yummy food you had there? Will you make me one of those drinks?

    So happy that you felt so welcomed and had a blast!!! :)

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  6. Beautiful pictures- it looked like an amazing trip. Loved your dress too! You were rocking it!!!!

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  7. Oh my gosh, you look KILLER gorgeous in that purple dress!!! STUNNING!!!!! The wedding sounds like it was a blast, too!

    Love the 10K photos, too - you always look so strong and in control in your race pictures!

    It's absolutely fascinating hearing about the local food and drink and culture in Brasil. Adam and I have been wanting to visit Brasil for quite some time, so all your tips are so helpful for future reference.

    Above all, I am so glad that L's friends and family were so welcoming to you!!! I mean, for you, how could they not be!?!?!?

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  8. You ALWAYS take the best race photos!!! TEACH ME!! And i love LOVE love the purple dress. You look amazing and so happy in every picture!!

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  9. Great pics. São Paulo Sounds very European with the high quality food, great drinks and fancy dressers. Too bad about the crime, I would probably hire a guide if I went there!

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  10. That dress is GORGEOUS on you...fabulous color! So glad you had an amazing time in Brazil, hope getting back in the swing of things isn't too difficult :)

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  11. I was loving how great you looked in your race pictures until I saw you in that stunning purple dress, love the dress, it looks like it was made for you! You look beautiful in it.

    Those drinks all look and sound so good. Glad you had a great time and everyone was so great to you.

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  12. Sounds like an amazing trip! I think it would be more fun to visit a place like this - NOT a tourist trap - and enjoy it like a local, than to go to somewhere more popular with travelers. Although at this point, I would be happy just to go anywhere! Also I loooove your dress and those owl earrings are so cute! :)

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