My Brazilian colleague told me that Rue Santo Amaro, the street in yesterday’s photos, was designated as the most consistently ugly street in all São Paulo, so it is not fair to show only that. Gives a bad impression of the city if people think that is typical. I think he has a point. He says that it was once a decent street, with trees and shops. But since it was designated as a major artery, they put bus lanes down the middle and widened the street to take away the trees, parking spaces & most of the sidewalks. W/o parking or pedestrians, most retail shops closed. This has now been exacerbated by construction on the metros and monorail.
So, to be just and fair to São Paulo, a city I generally like, I went one block down from the ugly street and took the picture below. It is much more pleasant and much less noisy.
My second picture is the goldfish pond at the consulate. Last three are leftovers from yesterday. In picture #3 you can see some of the newer high rise apartments just off the street. Next is the trunk of that giant rubber tree. The tree sends down aerial roots that make it into a massive trunk. Last if from Atlanta Airport. If you think you will miss our president too much on leaving the country, you can get a Trump chocolate bar.
PS – notice in the pictures that the pavement is damp. It did not rain for 40 days before I got to São Paulo and the day I arrived it was sunny and warm. Then it started to rain. There have been patches of not rain, but it has kept up. More is predicted for the next five days. I am delighted that the drought is over and maybe this needed rain will be good for the plant and fill up the reservoirs. But it might have worked out better for me if the sequence had been reversed, i.e. lots of rain until the day I arrived and then warm and sunny time for my visit. I will be here about 40 days, so it would have worked out the same, but noooo.
My second picture is the goldfish pond at the consulate. Last three are leftovers from yesterday. In picture #3 you can see some of the newer high rise apartments just off the street. Next is the trunk of that giant rubber tree. The tree sends down aerial roots that make it into a massive trunk. Last if from Atlanta Airport. If you think you will miss our president too much on leaving the country, you can get a Trump chocolate bar.
PS – notice in the pictures that the pavement is damp. It did not rain for 40 days before I got to São Paulo and the day I arrived it was sunny and warm. Then it started to rain. There have been patches of not rain, but it has kept up. More is predicted for the next five days. I am delighted that the drought is over and maybe this needed rain will be good for the plant and fill up the reservoirs. But it might have worked out better for me if the sequence had been reversed, i.e. lots of rain until the day I arrived and then warm and sunny time for my visit. I will be here about 40 days, so it would have worked out the same, but noooo.