February 27, 2025

SAO PAULO - BRAZIL

Not knowing when I may ever be in this part of the world again, I made a quick decision without much planning to day trip to SAO PAULO, BRAZIL when we pulled into the port of SANTOS on Monday morning 2/24/25. Scott was of same opinion and he worked out a driver deal, while I started focusing on what we should seek out to see. We also canvased our friends, to see who  wanted to join us on this impulsive adventure. Gary and Christy were game, but had commitments till 10:30 am, so we got a little bit of a late start. Also finding our driver, who was a friend of another driver already engaged, took some time in the busy port, but we squeezed into her Fiat ( tight for 3 in back seat) and arrived in Sao Paulo at our first stop by 1pm. Did I mention driver spoke hardly any English, so we had to translate everything with an app. Regardless, first stop was giant park called Parque Ibirapuera similiar to central park in NYC. Gary wasted no time embracing his coconuts and got the party started!

Next we went to Metropolitan Sao Paulo Cathedral - sadly a lot of homeless and drug addicted in square all around Cathedral.

We then drove by Central Square & Performing Arts center  ( which was covered by a lot of renovation scaffolding) on our way to the Beco do Batman neighborhood. Back in 1980 one artist did a mural of Batman and then more mural started to sprout here, now several blocks are dedicated to street art and their are lots of artisans and cool cafes mixed throughout.

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We grabbed a quick bite in this neighborhood and then went to find the most beautiful church I think I have ever seen Parroquia de Nuestra Señora de Brasil. It looks like a fancy hotel at the entry and the ceiling and mosaic tile work are stunning. An evening Mass was just getting ready to start - so we were limited in where we could stroll but the grounds and auxiliary spaces were equally charming. Was such a gorgeous little find.

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Final sights to see on our list was the Whale Sculpture, Baleia Espelhada Metallica and the Octavio Frias de Olivera Bridge.

KOH SAMUI, THAILAND - Final Day

By Pat Patrick • July 14, 2026
I really enjoyed my first trip to Thailand! On our final morning here we went to try breakfast at this spot, down the road, we had been hearing rave reviews on, King Of Bread . The hype was correct, the breakfast was delicious and they had some unique choices. I had eggs benedict on a croissant, in lieu of the standard english muffin and Bosco had it on Milk Bread, which was equally tasty.

KOH SAMUI, THAILAND - Cooking Class

By Pat Patrick • July 14, 2026
We love having authentic experiences with locals to really get a chance to see how they live and thrive in the Ports we visit. So when I found a cooking class, by a local woman offered in her home, we were excited to book. Um ( our teacher) picked us and brought us back to our hotel along with the family of 4 from Sydney, Australia, that had also signed up for this afternoon class. Um's house, which has a lovely open air kitchen, garden and dining area, was about a 30 minute drive and turned out to be on the beach, right next to the Grandparent Rocks.

KOH SAMUI, THAILAND - NIGHTLIFE

By Pat Patrick • July 14, 2026
The nightlife scene doesn't really get going till after 11pm and goes till 5 am in the Chaweng section of Koh Samui . We made our way over to the club district, and one of the hot spots called the ArkBar a little past 10pm to have some dinner, while watching the beach fire shows.