The most impressions of Brazil come from movies, such as “Central Station”, “City of God”, “Rio, I Love You”. The Brazil that passes by in the movies is the opposition between beautiful scenery and slums, and the contrast between good and evil human nature. Interweaving is a long journey of exile and self-discovery.
If you have never been to South America, you always feel that you will have some regrets in this life. What you are looking for in your bones, what you want to see, grandeur, complexity, shock, height, these words are all intertwined in the land of South America.
Therefore, for the holy place to be visited in this life, we must go once.
Sao Paulo meets modern beauty
Entering from Sao Paulo, Sao Paulo was chosen as the first stop to enter Brazil because of safety factors. Sao Paulo is not as chaotic as Rio, and has the feeling of a modern metropolis. The environment is also very good, and the tropical atmosphere blows your face. After getting out of the airport, I found the route to the city center, and went directly to the city center. I asked the service staff next to me, and they were very enthusiastic to help us guide the way. They also welcomed us to Brazil in unproficient English and reminded us be careful. Of course, the most important thing to miss when you come to São Paulo is the architecture of São Paulo. As a pioneer of modern architecture, São Paulo has built the works of master architects in the 1960s. Many people come to São Paulo to see the demeanor of the master architects.
At the first stop, you must go to Edificio Italia, the tallest building in Sao Paulo, to overlook the entire city of Sao Paulo. Because I rushed there too early and it was not yet the opening time, I decided to come back in the evening so that I could enjoy the night view of St. Paul. If you miss the tallest building during the day, you can no longer pass by St. Paul’s Cathedral (Brazilian church St. Paul’s Cathedral). St. Paul’s Cathedral, known as the fourth largest Gothic cathedral in the world, was built in 1913. It is a classic portal for tourism in St. Paul.
It is said that the distance from any city in the world to St. Paul is calculated from St. Paul’s Cathedral as the origin. The basement of the church is the burial place of various bishops. When you really face to face with St. Paul’s Cathedral, perhaps you can only use four words to evaluate: “magnificent” and “magnificent”! The top of the church is spherically raised, the interior space is huge, and the reliefs on the walls are also exquisite, showing the unique intentions of the architects at that time.
When I went to visit the cathedral, I was lucky enough to catch up with the prostration and saw the piety and solemnity of the believers. The two straight rows of palm trees directly in front of the church make the church more magnificent. The elegant green lining on the top of the church highlights the magnificent temperament of the church. The people sitting in it are pious worshipers, and this cathedral carries their beliefs.
After bidding farewell to the church, we went to the Sao Paulo Museum of Art, the largest art gallery in South America. There are works by Raphael, Picasso, Tintoretto, Rodin, Renoir, and Dougal. Here, you can not only see European works of art, but also important works of Brazil from the Middle Ages to the present, and the collection is the crown of South America. The Sao Paulo Museum of Art is next to Paulista Avenue, and these two places can be arranged as a one-day tour route, which is more convenient to visit.
I went to Ibirapuera Park before, and it is to Sao Paulo what Central Park is to New York. Covering an area of 1.6 million square meters, it is very popular. People run, fish and play here. It is a good place for local residents to get close to nature. There are also several museums in the park. There is not much time to continue to stop, the trip to Sao Paulo has come to an end here, and the long-awaited “Rio Adventure” is taking place.
Rio de Janeiro meets the city of passion
A group of people drove from Sao Paulo to Rio. The atmosphere here is completely different from the elegant and quiet Sao Paulo. When you come to Rio, the enthusiasm here will definitely overwhelm tourists. Brazil, like Germany, seems to be tied to football and beer, especially after seeing Copacabana Beach. The end point of this trip was chosen at the Solbara Hotel not far from the beach. It’s a ten minute walk from the hotel to the beach. At noon, the enthusiasm of Rio de Janeiro was transmitted to us through the sun, and the heat wave was almost unbearable. The sand on this shoal is super dense and the sea water is clear. The most attractive thing is the flock of pigeons walking lazily everywhere. Even the pigeons are enjoying life in this free-spirited country.
In addition to the beach, what I have to mention is the landscape design of the beach. This beach design is an excellent case of the world’s top ten seaside revitalization projects, and it was completed by the Brazilian landscape architect Brey Marcos. The wave-like paved road extends from the promenade to the beach, and the rows of palm trees along the road are very beautiful. In the evening, the sun was fading away. On the way back from the beach, I accidentally saw the slums standing on the top of the hill in the distance from the beach. behind the gorgeous.
Early the next morning, I planned to go to see the famous Mount Jesus (Mont Cristo). This mountain range, known as one of the New Seven Wonders of the World, is not too high, but it stands majestically. To go up the mountain, you need to take the small red leather train, which has a special sense of time travel. From the bottom of the mountain to the top of the mountain, it will pass through the forest sea, sometimes bright, sometimes dark, as if traveling through a time tunnel. The statue of Jesus is bigger than we imagined, solemn and solemn. Walking to the top of the mountain, you can overlook the magnificent sea view, just like overlooking Rio from the perspective of God.
In addition to Mount Jesus (Mont Cristo), the second most iconic attraction is the Bread Mountain not far from Mount Jesus. You can choose to take the cable car or hike up the mountain. If you choose to hike, you can see the little monkeys in South America along the way. First hike to Mount Urca (the shorter one, about 25 minutes), and then buy the cable car ticket directly to the bread Mountain. On the top of Urca Mountain, there is a delicious Brazilian cold drink. It is recommended to try it. The taste is very sweet and delicious. Climbing to the top of the mountain, you can have a panoramic view of the beach and the Niteroi Bridge. The Christ Statue in the distance will make people marvel at the magic of Rio, and it will also make people linger. If you can get up early and use God’s perspective to watch the sunrise here, it will also make the journey an unforgettable memory.
Brazil is a land that is extremely favored, and what grows on this land grows. In history, whether it is sugar cane (sugar) or tobacco, once planted, the yield and quality are amazing. Then gold and diamonds were dug out, and wild cotton (clothing), cocoa, rubber, iron ore, and oil were discovered. And the diverse plants unique to the north and south gathered in the Rio Botanical Garden are also so beautiful that people can’t move their feet.
Foz do Iguacu fall in love with a waterfall for a movie
On the way to Iguazu, you can see the Iguazu Falls. It was hard not to notice the steaming smoke. Foz do Iguaçu is a city with a big difference in elevation but amazing. While driving, I saw a steep slope in front of me, but I didn’t feel it at all when the car drove past. Finally, the group discussed and concluded that because the length of the slope was long enough, the feeling of undulating height difference was eliminated. On the afternoon of our arrival in Foz do Iguacu, we went to the famous Bird Park. In fact, both the Bird Park and the Iguazu Falls are in one place, and the location directly opposite allows us to freely choose which one to visit first according to the weather.
Iguazu Falls is the widest waterfall in the world. It is located at the confluence of the Parana River and the Iguazu River on the border between Argentina and Brazil. It is a horseshoe-shaped waterfall with a height of 82 meters and a width of 4 kilometers. The average drop is 75 meters. Three-quarters of it is in Argentina, but the panorama of Iguazu Falls can only be seen in Brazil. It will take 15 minutes to walk along the plank road from the periphery to the “Devil’s Throat” waterfall, and the further you go inside, the stronger the shock will be. Due to the large water vapor and smog, a beautiful rainbow is formed under the refraction of the sun, just like being in a fairyland. It is worth mentioning that on the way to the waterfall, I was lucky enough to meet many cute raccoons.
Hard to say goodbye to Buenos Aires
Reluctantly leaving Iguazu and entering Argentina, I learned the Spanish Hola greeting in Buenos Aires. The streets of Buenos Aires are also horizontal and vertical, and the main attractions are so concentrated that they can be reached on foot. Although Argentina and Brazil live next to each other, the cultures and landscapes are very different. The entire urban planning of Buenos Aires is relatively neat. The Cathedral of Buenos Aires is a typical ancient Roman style. The 12 tall Roman columns are isosceles triangles with an acute angle of 15 degrees. The triangles form a herringbone roof. Biblical stories are carved on the triangular walls. lifelike. Congress Square, the largest square in Buenos Aires, is also a representative work of modern architecture in Argentina. Pigeons foraging and people feeding pigeons can be seen everywhere here. This atmosphere also made us deeply feel Argentina’s yearning for freedom.
We took the bus to the colorful Boca district. As the base camp of the local youth team, the colorful graffiti here seems to be loose, but very artistic. After leaving beautiful photos with bright colors, we returned to the urban area, and felt the life and business atmosphere of the city on the 9th of July Avenue, the widest road in the world. You can buy a lot of local souvenirs here, as well as the cafes in Buenos Aires, which have a unique South American flavor. In the evening, I went to El Ateneo Grand Splendid, the Athenian Bookstore, one of the places that need to check in most in the city of Buenos Aires. This bookstore converted from a theater is known as one of the most beautiful bookstores in the world, and it really deserves its name. There are also quite a few people who love books in Buenos Aires. The store is full of people reading books, it is very quiet and has the atmosphere of Buenos Aires. On the way back to the hotel from the bookstore, feel the atmosphere of the city carefully. Under the night, the bustling traffic and the intertwined flow of people and vehicles are really beautiful like heaven. And in a blink of an eye, the trip to South America is coming to an end.
epilogue
There is a Brazilian proverb “Even if we lose everything during the day, God will give us back at night”. Anyone who has been to South America loves the chaos, the strangeness, the warmth and the uncanny, the city of God is beginning to enter the night, and I will eventually return to my hometown.
