2014 Brazil São Paulo Morumbi (9/12/2014)

Friday, September 12, 2014
Since Kent's workshop would end at 11:00, I stayed at the hotel to work on photos.

Kent & Tamiko on the Novotel Morumbi Hotel terrace (Thanks, Ariane!)

Had a buffet lunch at the hotel with the BASF crew.

Photo to illustrate the steepness of the road at the hotel

Our first order of business was to exchange our leftover Argentinian money to Brazilian, to make sure we had enough Brazilian money to last the next couple days. We were sent to a bank on Avenida Morumbi, who then sent us to an exchange "shop" in a shopping center across the Morumbi bridge.

The smelly Pinheiros River

Someone else had a statement to make about the Pinheiros River:

Since we were so close to the CPTM station, we decided to take the train north a couple stops and cross back over the river to start our walk. Unfortunately, the "bridge" I was having us cross was actually a tunnel, and we had to walk from the Vila Olimpia station almost to the Cidade Jardim station to find a pedestrian-friendly bridge.
We stood aside to allow some bicyclists to pass and the youngest gave us a thumbs-up. Instead of a wave of thanks, the signal here seems to be a thumbs-up. On the other side of the bridge, the bicyclists had descended a stairway to reach a bike path, and the young man was still giving us a thumbs-up! Although the Pinheiros River is smelly, there are bike paths along both banks.

Almost every home has a trash holder on the street

Bauhinia sp/Orchid Tree flower (KSS)

We now had to head to the upper end of Avenida Morumbi, following a street that kept changing names. Morumbi is a section of São Paulo where many of the wealthiest citizens live, which meant we walked along high walls that surrounded the mansions. Some were simply concrete, many were covered with vines, and some were actually decorated.

Painted property wall (KSS)

Fortified mansion (KSS)

Dietes bicolor/Wild Yellow Iris (KSS)

Once we reached Avenida Morumbi, we found the Fundação/Foundation Maria Luisa e Oscar Americano, a museum and park at the 1950s home of the couple who developed the Morumbi area. We could barely see the blockish 1950s house through the jungle growth. (It was already too late to see the museum.)

Philodendron hederaceum covering the trees and fences

We had passed the Palácio dos Bandeirantes, the house of the government of the state of São Paulo, and home to the governor, before we realized what it was. We did come to a gate for the government complex, and tried to enter the grounds, but the guards couldn't communicate with us.
We continued on to make a detour on Avenida Padre Lebret, which was all downhill! That brought us to the Estádio do Morumbi/Morumbi Stadium, the largest stadium in São Paulo, and the third largest in Brazil. It is home to the São Paulo Futebol Clube/São Paulo Soccer Club, the most successful professional soccer team in Brazil.

Estádio do Morumbi/Morumbi Stadium (1970)

The team was away during our stay in São Paulo.
We returned slowly back uphill to continue on Avenida Morumbi. We had lost the sun and it was overcast and cool.

Capela do Morumbi/Morumbi Chapel,
a colonial-era brick and adobe chapel

We also passed the Casa da Fazenda (1813), a mansion that is now a restaurant.
Returned to the hotel after stopping at a Shell gas station to buy some drinks. Later we had dinner at the hotel, where the Caesar salad was made with iceberg lettuce, cherry tomatoes, slivers of the local cheese, and croutons.
Next: São Paulo Parque do Ibirapeura.