Sao Paulo is cool

This might not seem like a breakthrough revelation, but after what we heard from both some Brazilians contacts that we spoke with and other travelers that we've met along the way, we were under the impression that Sao Paulo is just another huge city and not really worth visiting. We were told that it's the best place in Brazil to find a good job, but not too interesting of a place, and most travelers that we met that visited Brazil seemed to skip this city all together.

So following this advice, we planned not to spend much time in Sao Paulo. We didn’t stay long, but were pleasantly surprised and had a great time. The part of the city where we stayed (Magdalena) had a great vibe going on – with lots of cool restaurants, cafes, bookshops, bars and music venues. The locals that we met were also real friendly.

Traveling this year without much of a plan, we often rely on the advice of other travelers that we meet along the way as we decide where to go/what to do next. This was a good reminder that when people tell us that a place or activity is nothing special, sometimes you just need to check it out and decide for yourself. Or, could it be that because others told us that it wasn't that cool of a city, we actually liked Sao Paulo more than we would have otherwise? Maybe this really should be a reminder not to underestimate the power of expectations!

In Sao Paulo we saw some good live music, attended a soccer match, and are really glad we stuck around for a couple of days. We don't have many photos, but here are a few...

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These guys were playing traditional samba music at a mostly empty bar in the afternoon, which was probably why they felt comfortable inviting me to sit in on percussion!

Funk band playing at a club right next to our hostel

Enjoying post-show late night noodles. Yum