Yesterday was not only mother’s day (Feliz Dia Dos Mães!!!) but was SUPER busy for us Brazil-goers. We did everything from touring a cathedral to watching street performers on Paulista Avenue. Although I don’t have enough time to chronicle every minute of our adventurous day I will highlight just a few of my favorite parts.
First of all, let me just get it out of the way and say there were SO many dogs to pet! Anyone who knows me knows I find it completely necessary and obligatory to stop mid-conversation to alert everyone to a nearby dog. Unfortunately, I cannot remember for the life of me how to ask “can I pet your dog?” in Portuguese…I guess I should brush up on that.
Me, doing what I do best – petting dogs.
Aside from painfully resisting petting the numerous dogs of São Paulo, we were able to visit one of the most popular tourist attractions in the city, ironically known as “Beco do Batman” (Batman Alley).
A picture in front of the stingrays…which could possibly also be seen as bat-like symbols? (Thank you Molly for the picture!)
You’re probably wondering why a street would be named after a fictional hero, but maybe you can guess why it earned such a name – it’s full of paintings of Batman and bat symbols! Although very few paintings covering the walls of the alley have anything to do with Batman, it’s possible to find numerous allusions to the superhero hidden within paintings. I believe I counted around 5 or 6 different Batman symbols and images. (Thankfully I have tons of talented friends who can take much better pictures than I ever could!)
Roomie pic! (thank you Kate!)
Lastly, we were able to stop by Paulista Avenue and do a little bit of shopping and wandering around (unfortunately we were given much less time than I could spend in the area). My favorite souvenir I picked up there was a Deadpool comic (for my fiance, not me – as much as I love Marvel superheroes) completely in Portuguese! I had been scouring every gift shop and market for American superheroes or pop fiction gifts but could only find them in English until now! If only I had another two hours on Paulista Avenue…
The Portuguese Deadpool comic I bought!
Before I say “tchau” to all of our followers, I must let you know that at this point on our trip we are all exhausted beyond belief. So to all the people that I know who are reading (and surely on behalf of many of us on the trip): sorry for the lack of communication! We don’t receive Wi-Fi in many places and all of this Portuguese is really messing with our heads (it’s confusing to be fluent in English and French – or Spanish – and continuously adding another layer of language on top of that.) However, rest assured as we are all having loads of fun here and are definitely eating enough!
Amber, I, and our host mother, Margarida.
Adeus e Boa Tarde meus amigos!
~Heather Dole
1 Comment
Rebekah Distaffen · May 14, 2018 at 10:52 pm
I loved reading this almost as much as I love petting dogs. But, I did really like that alley– even though I don’t like Batman that much. It made me think of home for some strange, inexplicable reason. I am glad I am not the only one who’s been exhausted and started to stop communicating with my family too 🙂