A Day Out in São Paulo

We started the day in Paraty, waking up to a delicious breakfast buffet with fresh fruit, bread, and freshly squeezed juice served in an open-air restaurant. However, you had to be a bit careful when picking your food, as we discovered that the birds were also enjoying the buffet. We took the first bus heading to Sao Paulo. Unfortunately, it turned out to be the one that stopped in all the little towns to pick people up, so the journey took 6 hours instead of the expected 4. We took a break at a small rest area where a burger and a huge glass of fresh orange juice cost just 4.50 reais, which is about 9 kroner. When we finally arrived in Sao Paulo, we hopped on the metro since we had gotten an address for a hostel from some English guys on Ilha Grande. After a bit of searching, we found the hostel, Hotelling International. We decided to stay, even though they only had dorms where girls and guys sleep separately. A dorm bed costs 23 reais with a student discount, so I was glad I had brought my student ID. We were staying right near the Santa Cruz shopping center, where we headed to book our flights to Salvador for Sunday. It cost a bit more than we had anticipated, but northern Brazil is cheaper in return. One one-way ticket cost 400.25 reais, including taxes. We had heard many great stories about the nightlife in Sao Paulo, so we were excited to go out and party. We asked around at the hostel about where to go. Unfortunately, they misunderstood us when we asked for a good restaurant and sent us to the most expensive buffet restaurant in Sao Paulo. The waiters were in suits and pulled out our chairs every time we stood up. They were constantly attentive to whether we needed anything. It was a nice but pricey experience, costing 50 reais per person. We had also been recommended a bar, Favela Bar, but it turned out to be fancy and expensive as well. We wanted to chat with the locals, so we set out to find a more casual bar. At a random corner, we popped into a bar for a drink. There, we struck up a conversation with two Brazilian girls, one of whom had lived in Canada and the USA, so she spoke good English. They were on their way to a birthday party at a gay and lesbian bar and invited us along. The party was just a couple of blocks away, so we followed them in their car. People have a very relaxed attitude towards alcohol and driving, but they convinced us they knew what they were doing. The birthday party was really fun, and they thought it was cool to have a couple of Danish heads there. It cost 12 reais per person to get in, which included 5 reais worth of free drinks. One of the girls was going to teach some kids English the next day, and we were invited to join if we could get up early. But since the drink-to-mixer ratio was completely off, we quickly got quite tipsy. Still, we promised to go along! :)