Sao Paulo Static: 3457001 & 1076857883
okay, so, i’m pretty sure i’m running on fumes and lukewarm coffee. like, seriously, the kind of fumes that smell vaguely of regret and old vinyl. i just got back from Sao Paulo, and honestly? it’s a blur. a beautiful, chaotic, slightly terrifying blur. i’m trying to piece it together, but my brain feels like a broken drum kit - all clashing cymbals and missed beats.
I was chasing something, i don’t even know what. maybe just…noise. Sao Paulo doesn’t do quiet. it just thrums. the humidity was clinging to everything, like a really insistent friend who won’t let you go. 87% - i just checked and it's...there right now, hope you like that kind of thing. the pressure was 1019, which felt…heavy. like the whole city was pressing down on you, but in a strangely comforting way.
I’m talking about the numbers, obviously. 3457001 and 1076857883. they just…appeared on a flyer in a bar. a flyer for a street art festival. and i, naturally, followed it. it led me to Vila Madalena, which is basically a giant, technicolor explosion of murals and street food. the air smelled like grilled meat and something vaguely floral - probably someone’s window box overflowing with bougainvillea.
I spent three days wandering, mostly lost. i stumbled into a samba school rehearsal, which was…intense. a lot of sweating, a lot of percussion, and a whole lot of people who looked like they hadn’t slept in a week. someone told me that the best pastel de bacalhau is at a tiny place called ‘O Campeão’ - check out Yelp for the details. I heard that the graffiti scene is seriously underrated, especially around the República station. Seriously, go check out the murals.
My accommodation was a shoebox apartment in Pinheiros. it was…rustic. let’s just say the plumbing had a mind of its own. my neighbor, Senhor Silva, was a retired accordion player who spent his days yelling at pigeons. if you get bored, São Paulo is just a short drive away. there’s a fantastic market in Liberdade, the Japanese district - seriously, the food there is insane.
I managed to snag a few photos, though they’re probably terrible. i’m not a photographer, i’m a…well, i’m a collector of experiences, mostly. here’s a shot of a *beige Volskwagen Beetle parked outside a house - it just felt right.
I also overheard some really interesting gossip at a bar in Consolação. Apparently, the mayor is secretly a competitive ballroom dancer. Seriously. Someone told me that he practices in a converted warehouse on weekends. I’m not making this up.
And speaking of weird, I found a map of hidden speakeasies online - check out this TripAdvisor link: https://www.tripadvisor.com/Attraction_Review-g319735-d12383336-Reviews-Bar_dos_Poetas-Sao_Paulo.html.
I’m still processing it all. Sao Paulo is a city that demands to be felt, not just seen. it’s loud, it’s messy, it’s overwhelming - and it’s absolutely brilliant. I’m thinking of starting a podcast about it. or maybe just a really, really long Instagram story.
Oh, and one last thing: don’t trust anyone who tells you the best coffee is at a chain. go find a boteco - a tiny, hole-in-the-wall cafe - and order a cafezinho*. you won’t regret it. https://www.yelp.com/search?find_desc=coffee&sort_by=relevance&location=Sao+Paulo%2C+Sao+Paulo+State%2C+Brazil
Seriously, go. Just…go.
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