Last Afternoon in Sao Paulo

Suzuki-san and I checked out of our rooms at 12pm and had the front desk hold our luggage as we went out to explore Liberdade (Sao Paulo) for the afternoon. We didn't have to catch a taxi to the airport until around 5pm, so we had plenty of time. The morning had been quite calm, with few people out and about at 11, but after lunch it seemed like most of the people had already hit the town. Vendors were set up along the sidewalks selling everything from scalp massage gadgets (see below) to pirated CDs and DVDs. Since Suzuki-san and I both have the same addiction to scouring through the stacks looking at titles, we spent a lot of time hanging around "the pirates"; Suzuki-san was looking for a Japanese movie titled "Ima kara ai ni ikimasu" (Be with You - 2004) and I was looking to catch up with Lost (before anyone can ruin the last two seasons for me). We didn't have much luck with that, but Suzuki-san miraculously found a 2011 verson of some computer software--obviously genuine--and couldn't resist buying it.

We headed past Liberdade and over to São Francisco Square where the magnificent edifice of University of Sao Paulo School of Law stands. After a few photos there, we found our way to the center of town to Sé Square, which is lined with beautiful palm trees and also the site of the breathtaking, Gothic-style São Paulo Cathedral. After marveling at the massive domed ceiling and stained-glass windows while sitting in the pews, we strolled down the street, rode on the escalators to the subway just for fun, and then headed to a restaurant with a patio to rest our legs and get a drink and some lunch. It was almost 3pm, so we spent the rest of the afternoon in Liberdade looking for salted fish roe Suzuki-san wanted (a delicacy that goes well with Japanese saké) and exploring some of the shopping complexes we found to see what they had in store. Since it was the Japanese section of the city, it wasn't too surprising to find a lot of Japanese products, but we were slightly taken aback by all the interest in Japanese comic book and anime figurine shops--it was like a mini Akihabara--crawling with Brazilian otaku teenagers. At nearly 5pm, back near the hotel, we finally found not only the salted fish roe, but also the DVDs we were both looking for. Feeling satisfied, we bid São Paulo ciao and headed for the airport.