Rua Augusta after dark....

I thought people watching at the park was fun, Augusta takes it to another level. This is the melting pot. From kids clearly in over their heads to transvestites, punks, rockers, hello kitty subscribers, hookers, bums, beauties and uglies it contains every walk of life and stereotype. 

If you haven't been its worth a gander and if you have well welcome to Sao Paulo, this is really where it happens, the confluence. Where was my camera!! Cross Paulista heading away from Jardins down Augusta after 10 pm and you can find grunge bars, greek restaurants, dance clubs, comedy clubs, music clubs, sex clubs and just about ANYTHING else. The best part are the guys selling dollar beers (R3.00) on the sidewalk because you can drink while you walk in this city. Saturday night we decided against sitting down and missing the action from a bar and instead bought street beer and hung out with everyone else, intermingling with the parked cars and all the madness. It feels a little like home because its the only place I've seen late night pizza by the slice and evening flair similar to boystown in Chicago (both of which I love). 

Literally we just drank street beer and people watched. There was a food festival that started at midnight and lasted till 5am nearby which was the driving force for why we were there. Who has a food festival for 5 hours on a Sunday morning? Sao Paulo and thats one of many reasons why I love this city. So if it feels a little empty over there on the light side back in lush Jardins, now you know why. Check it out sometime and if it isn't your scene head a few blocks over to Bella Paulista Padaria on Haddock Lobo and grab a famous fancy ice cream. The New York Times has this bakery on their must list for 36 hours in Sao Paulo. 

A little digging and here is a New York times article about this crazy section of Augusta. And of course Inside Sao Paulo has it tagged as the 'entertainment' district. Its a shame you missed this birthday invite, apparently Maisa invited the entire city to an open bar party on Augusta last wednesday!! 

They say its bedlam, but "The good, São Paulo kind."

crazier things have happened...

I knew when I started this blog I would have lots of silly stories to tell about my adventures. They have seemed to lessen with time and understanding the language but yesterday I took a big step backwards. 

I needed to pick up a few things at the hardware store and while there I remembered my bathroom sink wasn't draining very well. Quickly I racked my brain trying to think of how to explain this so I could get something similar to draino. I thought I explained my situation and she came back with a sack of something and said what I thought was "mix this with water...." or something like that. I looked at the sack on the way home and it read, "massa para vidros." Hmmmm mass of glass? But then it appeared as though there was an ingredient list for various uses so I figured maybe it was what they call a "falso amigo," a word that doesn't mean what it says? 

Perhaps this isn't really glass then, but chemical crystals? Ill mix it with a little water and see what happens. Nothing. Well maybe it is glass, but since it is only tiny chards then it could have chemicals on it to break up whatever is clogging the sink? Ok lets pour some down the drain then. Ran the water, poured a little more, ran the water... nothing changed. So if that wasn't stupid already I poured more. Waited. Nothing. 

This morning Rose, my maid was here and I was having portuguese class. I asked my teacher, its strange they give chemical glass to break up a clogged drain eh? She looked a bit perplexed. I explained while her face changed from puzzled to straight up laughing. At the same time Rose walked in with a sack full of glass and hair. She had taken apart the entire drain because she noticed things sparkling below in the sink hole and water was at a stand still. She was completely confused. I don't blame her, who in their right mind would pour glass pieces down a drain when it was clogged? 

I totally lost any credibility I might have gained over the past 18 months. The adventure continues.