Training in Sao Paulo

I had an opportunity to go to Sao Paulo earlier in the month for training.  The training was great, as was the chance to get together with other colleagues across Brazil.  It was also great to get a chance to see Sao Paulo as I've heard so much about it.

First off - the city is huge - something like 19 million people.  It's know for it's traffic and tall buildings. It's the primary business center for Brazil.  So - I was very curious.

Coming in from the airport, it is huge.  Lots and lots of tall buildings just going on and on.  Size-wise it reminded me of Los Angeles - it just goes on forever and there are lots of different neighborhoods.  But it has way more tall buildings than LA and those areas seem to go on for ever.  It also reminded me of Manhattan - it's very urban, but there are some lovely parks and broad boulevards.






It's also known for it's great restaurants.

We had a wonderful lunch at a French restaurant when we arrived.  I got the dessert sampler.

Mmmmm.  Chocolate mousse, creme brulee, strawberries and cream and an espresso.

I was happy to also find some whimsy near my hotel.

Yarnbombing is such a wonderful way of sharing fun and whimsy.  I saw some when I was in Virginia and was so happy to see some in Sao Paulo.

There's even a Facebook group devoted to YarnBombing.


















The other cool thing I got to do in Sao Paulo was go to DOM.  It recently was named in the top 50 best restaurants in the world - so of course I wanted to check it out!  I was particularly interested because the chef uses a lot of indigenous to Brazil ingredients.

 To start, the brought some bread with some wonderful soft cheese and some pates.  Super yummy.

The cheese course was fascinating - cheese mixed with some potato and spun around like dough.  Rich, but quite yummy.

Yummy dessert!