Curitiba - February 28th
From reading the guidebooks Curitiba seems to have enough to
divert us for at least a day, so we are staying two nights, and therefore spend
today exploring the city. After making
some travel arrangements, we get on board the local open top tour bus. Because the city is so big, and because the
sights are spread out all over the city, this is a must. The ticket is not cheap, but the full tour
takes 2 ½ hours and allows you to get on or off at four stops. We begin by travelling through the centre of
the city, which has some nice historical sights, but they are not easy to take
pictures of from a moving bus.
Our first stop is at the Oscar Niemeyer museum. Niemeyer is one of Brazil’s most famous
citizens, and one of the leading architects in the world. This, one of his more recent works - he is
104 and has been doing this forever, so there are lots of Niemeyer buildings
across Brazil, if we go to Brasilia it will be all about him. Anyway this museum which is shaped like an
eye, is pretty good, and has a number of exhibits in it, including a visiting
Goya exhibition, and one by a Lithuanian photographer who took a million
pictures of the people’s hardships during the soviet days. If I had one complaint it is the bit that is
in the eye itself, as opposed to the underground sections, is not very good.
After this we walk to the next sight rather than get the
bus, but it is pretty much next door.
This is the Bosque del Papa (Pope’s Forest) which was dedicated to Pope
John Paul II when he visited. However it
contains the monument to Polish Settlers which we of course want to visit. These are some cabins built and furnished in
a Polish style. But better than this,
next door is a restaurant which sells a lunch of Barszcz, Pierogi, and Bigos. A surprise, but as it is lunch time we tuck
in.
After that we get back on the bus and visit one of the best
buildings in town, the Opera de Arame.
This is Curitiba’s rival to the great theatres or opera houses of South
America, and it might just be a winner.
Made entirely from steel pipes and glass it is set in a landscaped
quarry and it just looks great. How the
acoustics are is another question, and one we won’t get the answer to as there
is nothing on this evening. Back on the
bus we see more monuments and parks around the city, showing how diverse the
ethnic makeup of Brazil is, and then we get off at the Telecom Tower to take a
panoramic view of the city.
Unfortunately one of those regular afternoon thunderstorms is rolling in
so the views are a bit impaired (although some look pretty atmospheric).
Because of the rain our sightseeing back in the historic
quarter is a bit patchy. And as often
seems to be the case the cathedral is getting a makeover so it is shrouded in
scaffolding. But it is a pretty enough
centre, even if my shopping advisor does advise me that the shops are a bit shabby. For dinner we go to a restaurant which is
part of a chain that advertises that it has the best burger in the world. This is an intriguing enough claim,
especially as I have been to Fergburger in Queenstown, New Zealand. I have to say the burger was good (interestingly
advertised as Uruguayan beef), and it may be the best in Brazil, but it isn’t
quite the best in the world. Still it
was a good end to the day. As we walked
back through the centre to our hotel we did notice a change in the atmosphere,
where it is not as nice as before. It is
a disease that affects a lot of South American cities, that the centres empty
out after dark, and it looks like it is something we will have to watch out for
in Brazil as well.
From reading the guidebooks Curitiba seems to have enough to
divert us for at least a day, so we are staying two nights, and therefore spend
today exploring the city. After making
some travel arrangements, we get on board the local open top tour bus. Because the city is so big, and because the
sights are spread out all over the city, this is a must. The ticket is not cheap, but the full tour
takes 2 ½ hours and allows you to get on or off at four stops. We begin by travelling through the centre of
the city, which has some nice historical sights, but they are not easy to take
pictures of from a moving bus.
Our first stop is at the Oscar Niemeyer museum. Niemeyer is one of Brazil’s most famous
citizens, and one of the leading architects in the world. This, one of his more recent works - he is
104 and has been doing this forever, so there are lots of Niemeyer buildings
across Brazil, if we go to Brasilia it will be all about him. Anyway this museum which is shaped like an
eye, is pretty good, and has a number of exhibits in it, including a visiting
Goya exhibition, and one by a Lithuanian photographer who took a million
pictures of the people’s hardships during the soviet days. If I had one complaint it is the bit that is
in the eye itself, as opposed to the underground sections, is not very good.
After this we walk to the next sight rather than get the
bus, but it is pretty much next door.
This is the Bosque del Papa (Pope’s Forest) which was dedicated to Pope
John Paul II when he visited. However it
contains the monument to Polish Settlers which we of course want to visit. These are some cabins built and furnished in
a Polish style. But better than this,
next door is a restaurant which sells a lunch of Barszcz, Pierogi, and Bigos. A surprise, but as it is lunch time we tuck
in.
After that we get back on the bus and visit one of the best
buildings in town, the Opera de Arame.
This is Curitiba’s rival to the great theatres or opera houses of South
America, and it might just be a winner.
Made entirely from steel pipes and glass it is set in a landscaped
quarry and it just looks great. How the
acoustics are is another question, and one we won’t get the answer to as there
is nothing on this evening. Back on the
bus we see more monuments and parks around the city, showing how diverse the
ethnic makeup of Brazil is, and then we get off at the Telecom Tower to take a
panoramic view of the city.
Unfortunately one of those regular afternoon thunderstorms is rolling in
so the views are a bit impaired (although some look pretty atmospheric).
Because of the rain our sightseeing back in the historic
quarter is a bit patchy. And as often
seems to be the case the cathedral is getting a makeover so it is shrouded in
scaffolding. But it is a pretty enough
centre, even if my shopping advisor does advise me that the shops are a bit shabby. For dinner we go to a restaurant which is
part of a chain that advertises that it has the best burger in the world. This is an intriguing enough claim,
especially as I have been to Fergburger in Queenstown, New Zealand. I have to say the burger was good (interestingly
advertised as Uruguayan beef), and it may be the best in Brazil, but it isn’t
quite the best in the world. Still it
was a good end to the day. As we walked
back through the centre to our hotel we did notice a change in the atmosphere,
where it is not as nice as before. It is
a disease that affects a lot of South American cities, that the centres empty
out after dark, and it looks like it is something we will have to watch out for
in Brazil as well.
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