2014 Brazil Parque do Ibirapuera (9/13/2014)

Saturday, September 13, 2014
We took our time to have breakfast, pack, check out, and leave our luggage at the reception desk. We met Leo and Juan from BASF Colombia, who were also headed to the Morumbi CPTM station. They were going to ask for directions, but I already knew the way. As we crossed the Morumbi bridge, Kent spotted an animal way down at the river's edge.

Hydrochoerus hydrochaeris/Capybara

We caught the CPTM Line 09 Esmeralda/Emerald to Pinheiros and changed to the Metrô Line 04 Amarela/Yellow. Leo and Juan got off at Paulista, and we continued to Luz. There we changed to the Metrô Line 01 Azul/Blue to the Liberdade station.
Liberdade is the center of "Japantown," the largest Japanese community in the world outside of Japan. As the Japanese-Brazilians become more integrated, the recent influx of people has been from China and Korea.
Praça da Liberdade/Liberdade Square.

Capela Santa Cruz das Almas dos Enforcados/
Holy Cross Chapel of the Souls of the Hanged (1902)

Praça da Liberdade/Liberdade Square crafts market

Crafts market vendor

Rua Galvão Bueno, Japantown's main street

Capela dos Aflitos/Chapel of the Afflicted (1779),
built to be the chapel of the city's first cemetery

Torii gateway

Detour to Avenida da Liberdade.

Largo da Pólvora Japanese garden

Mounted police office (KSS)

Casa de Portugal (1955) designed by architect Ricardo Severo (KSS)

Back to Rua Galvão Bueno.

The pedestrian crossing signals were usually
in the design of a local landmark (KSS)

Campaign poster (KSS)

It appears that each candidate in a proportional election has an ID number that the voter inputs.

Tamiko shops at the Kanazawa market (KSS)

Kanazawa is known for their Japanese sweets (KSS)

Sakura mochi/Sweet pink soft rice cake surrounding
red bean paste and covered by an edible cherry tree leaf

Yōkan/hardened jelly of red bean paste, algae gelatin and sugar;
this one appears to have azuki beans in it

There was a line out the door of the tiny Lamen/Ramen Aska restaurant, so we continued to the Ikiru restaurant for lunch.

Beer bottle cooler

Although we were in Japantown, we decided to have feijoada, the Brazilian "national dish," for lunch. This dish is only offered on Wednesdays and Saturdays, and this was our last chance!

Condiments of farofa/toasted yuca flour and
spicy pickled malagueta peppers (KSS)

Feijoada comes with rice and kale

Feijoada is a stew cooked over low heat in a thick clay pot, and ours contained black beans, carne/meat (that fell apart), seca/jerky, lombo/loin, costela/rib, pé/foot, orelha/ear, rabo/tail, and paio/sausage. There was also plenty of fat in the stew. It was very tasty and filling.

Ikiru restaurant interior, with a photo of a Japanese baseball player

We turned right up Rua São Joaquim, passing the Museu Histórico da Imigração Japonesa/Museum of the History of Japanese Immigration. The first 781 Japanese settlers arrived in Brazil in 1908 aboard the Kasato-Maru ship, and many have since followed. They have made major contributions to Brazilian art and architecture, and horticulture.

The Ginza (KSS)

Templo Budista Busshinji/Soto-Zen Buddhist Temple (1994) (KSS)

Grande Loja Maçônico/Masonic Grand Lodge (KSS)

We took the Metrô Line 01 Azul/Blue from São Joaquim to Paraiso, and started walking (downhill!) to Parque do Ibirapuera.

Flashing lights warn the pedestrian
that a car is exiting (KSS)

Gas stations have attendants to pump your gas (KSS)

Traffic-slowing roundabout (KSS)

Agave attenuata seeds; the front portion
is a continuation of the flower stalk coming
from the plant on the left (KSS)

Brasileiros Mortos em Acao na 2a Guerra Mundial/
Monument to Brazilians killed in action during World War II (KSS)

Parque do Ibirapuera (Tupi for "rotten tree") is a 2-square km/494 acre park, a rare green spot in the São Paulo metropolis. It was built in 1951-1954 in time for the 400th anniversary of the founding of the city. The park was designed by Roberto Burle Marx, one of the first proponents of conserving the Brazilian rainforests.

Monumento do Pedro Alvares Cabral,
a Portuguese explorer credited with "discovering" South America
and being the "first" European to set foot in Brazil

Dancing fountains with a swirl design

Bicycling group

O Obelisco aos Herois de 32/
The Obelisk to the Heroes of 1932 (1947-1970)
by Italo-Brazilian sculptor Galileo Ugo Emendabili

Several of the heroes of the Constitutionalist Revolution of 1932 are buried beneath the monument that commemorates the rebellion against the dictatorship of Getulio Vargas.

Wall mural

The cultural buildings within the park were designed by Oscar Niemeyer.

Auditório do Ibirapuera/Auditorium (2005)
based on the design of Oscar Niemeyer (KSS)

Oca/named for the indigenous roundhouse (1951)

A covered walkway connects most of the cultural buildings;
areas had been set aside for the skaters

Mural (2014) by artist Eduardo Kobra (KSS)

Museu de Arte Moderna/Museum of Modern Art (MAM) (1959),
wall of glass designed by architect Lina Bo Bardi;
with Aranha/Spider (1996) by Louise Bourgeois

Young boisterous crowd (KSS)

"Diana" by Lélio Coluccini in front of
Pavilhão da Bienal/Biennal Pavilion (1957)

Picnickers

Pavilhão Japonês/Japanese Pavilion (1954) inspired by
the Katsura Imperial Villa in Kyoto, donated by
the Japanese government and the São Paulo Japanese community

Stele (KSS)

Carp pool

Interesting way to display the arts

Kent in a mister

Planetário/Planetarium Professor Aristoteles Orsini (1957)

We needed a break, so walked to the nearby Hotel Unique (2003), designed by the Japanese-Brazilian architect Ruy Ohtake.

Hotel Unique (KSS)

View from the Hotel Unique rooftop terrace

View through a Hotel Unique window

Hotel Unique lobby bar (KSS)

We started walking (uphill!) towards Avenida Paulista.

Monumento Bandeiras (1953) by Victor Brecheret,
in memory of São Paulo's early pioneers

Campephilus melanoleucos/Crimson-crested Woodpecker

Parking sign (KSS)

Kent under a pruned Ficus sp tree

Once we reached Avenida Paulista, we found the Brigadeiro station and took Metrô Line 02 Verde/Green to Consolação. This station had a free transfer to the Paulista station where we caught Metrô Line 04 Almarela/Yellow to Pinheiros, and changed to the CPTM Line 09 Esmeralda/Emerald to Morumbi. We stopped in the MarketPlace shopping center for drinks at Der Braumeister, before returning to the hotel.
We retrieved our luggage, and had a transfer scheduled at 19:30 to the airport. The driver arrived early, so we were able to get to the airport by 20:00. After checking in, we were able to use the American Airlines Admiral Lounge, until our 23:05 flight to Charlotte, NC. From there we would fly back to Cleveland by early Sunday afternoon.