Here we enjoyed watching families having fun. Kids riding bikes, roller bladers doing unusual stunts, and people just generally enjoying themselves. This Park is also home to the Museu Afro BrasilThe Museum tells the story of the links between African culture and Brazilian culture and how the two are interlinked. There was also an interesting exhibition "I Have a Dream: From King to Obama" a stunning exhibit of photos of the Civil Rights Movement through the campaign of Barack Obama.
On leaving we side stepped our way around roller bladders, bike riders, and joggers on our way to the car. We left the park and were on our way to what was to be the most expensive shopping centre in Sao Paulo if not the world. Iguatemi Shopping Centre. Our mission this afternoon was to see the Film "AVATOR".
We travelled through the centre aghast at the high prices. I thought I had been conditioned by the "furniture experience" the day before but I was wrong. We made our way to the high altitude level where the cinemas were located( Why is it that Cinemas in Shopping centres are never easy to get to ?). Our ears had popped and we were at the box office to purchase tickets when I heard one of the Brazilians exclaim "22 Reais for a Ticket"!! Yes you guessed it we were now at the most expensive cinema in the world!!.
Finally we were in our seats empty handed ready to watch the film. We did not go near the candy bar for fear that a box of Pop Corn and a couple of drinks may have used up our remaining 15 days budget in one hit.
The Verdict by the four professional critics was that AVATAR was a bit of a dud although it did have some good moments. I just knew that if David Stratton ( Supposedly famous Australian film critic) liked it, I would not.
We left the Cinema/Shopping centre bankrupt and penniless but still managed to laugh about the experience. Brazilians like Australians find great humour in irony. So we laughed and made many Jokes. "I think I will go have my hair done. It will only cost 3,000 Reais " Yes I think they have a special on nails", that's 2,000 Reais per nail.
One good thing about shopping in Sao Paulo is that everything is so expensive. You end up not buying anything. So it turns into a cheap trip.
The daytime activities had finished. We went back to the hotel for siesta and reconvened about 9:00pm for dinner. After dinner we went dancing.
The dance club was a lot of fun. A great variety of music was played and we danced the night away.
About 2:00am we spilled out onto the street and decided to go look at the Christmas lights on Paulista Avenue. This major artery of Sao Paulo was transformed into a night time wonderland of beautiful lights. Even the tallest Sky Scraper was dressed in Christmas lights.The spirit of Christmas still lingered days after the event.
We took many photos and enjoyed the experience like excited children. We exited Paulista Avenue for one more visit to where our day began at the park. Here, a giant Christmas tree in all its flashing glory beckoned us. The area was deserted and isolated as it was now 3:00am.
Cautiously we exited the car aware that possible danger could be seconds away. We happily snapped away until we heard movement in the bushes. Quickly we snapped our last photo and headed straight back to the car. Driving away from the Tree of Lights it descended into darkness. There was a blackout but we were grateful that tree had held out until we had taken our photos and had allowed us to enjoy its magic, creativity and splendour.
We had a great day made even more enjoyable by being able to share it with our Brazilian friends and as we departed company in the early hours of the morning we silently knew the dread of saying "Goodbye" was just a little more than 24 hours away.
