I loved the parks in Brazil. A few we went to specifically as an outing, but often we just stopped to play for a little while when we passed a new park along our route. And they were so beautiful! And so fun to see the different, unique playgrounds and jungle gyms. Such fun. And now, lots of pictures :)
AVENIDA PAULISTA
In São Paulo, we stayed in an apartment hotel just a block or so from one end of Avenida Paulista (one of the major streets of the city). So on one of our first days, we took the metro to the opposite end of the street, and slowly walked back through the day, stopping to explore along the way. And one of our stops was this beautiful park.
Those trees! They completely surrounded this pretty wood playground - what a beautiful background for an afternoon of play.
This is how Owen spent most of his time at the playground!
The kids loved having new things to try out.
The park wound through a beautiful forested area on these paths, with fun places to sit along the way.
I took a turn on the see-saw with the kids too for just a minute before a park security woman let me know that this was a playground only for children! :)
So then, I just had fun taking pictures of these happy kids in such a beautiful place.
IBIRAPUERA PARK
Ibirapuera park was one of our day trip destinations. It is one of the largest in Brazil, and was often compared to New York's Central Park in travel reviews and such with it's lake, monuments, museums and trails. We took the metro there and then just started walking, stopping whenever we found an interesting place to stop and explore a little more.
This looks like a pond, but it was really a great big beautiful lake.
Even more common than playgrounds in Brazil were these outdoor gyms. This was the first one we spotted (there were several more within the park and many more in São Paulo and in Florianopolis) and the kids (and Jordan and April too) had fun trying out the different exercise equipment.
And oh my goodness, it was sure wonderful to take this trip with Kathie and Winslow. Besides just enjoying their company, we never could have managed getting from place to place without their constant help! (And they were such good sports about waiting for the kids whenever we found another playground to try out!)
This tree! Those crazy roots!
Of course he couldn't resist climbing!
And bamboo! (Plus some drum practice, I hope that was okay...?)
Cute Porter inside one little space in a huge, long tree so nice and smooth, set up as a perfect place for climbing and tunneling and playing.
Hooray for Grandpas! (And such cool black swans)
On our way to the 'big' playground we'd seen on the map of Ibirapuera park, we had several stops at other playgrounds (that seemed pretty big too!) I loved these trains made of giant pipes.
Such fun! I just loved all these interesting playground spots!
Sometime after lunch (plus some delicious juices at a little restaurant in the park), we rented a few bikes and surreys here and toured a little more of the park that way.
What a happy group! Little Porter didn't last long in his front row seat before he started to get a little too sleepy. It only took a minute or so in Grandpa's arms before he fell asleep and enjoyed the rest of the ride in dreamland.
NEAR PUERI DOMUS
While I went with Landon to school one morning, Jordan explored the neighborhood nearby and found this beautiful park. Full of trails (that were carefully raked in many parts!) and beautiful trees, plants and flowers - it was such a peaceful lovely place.
Before we arrived, the sand here was raked perfectly smooth and flat - totally pristine. (At a playground!) Such a beautiful quiet place to play.
ITALIAN NEIGHBORHOOD
After lunch at a fun Italian restaurant, we stopped to plan our route home and the kids had a super fun time running and playing around this little green space.
A helping hand from Grammie
Happy kiddos.
Hooray for Aunt April!
Just outside the airport in Rio, they had this fun little space where the kids had a great time running and playing and climbing while we made plans for our first destination.
THE GIRL FROM IMPANEMA PARK
Of course we had to stop to play for just a few minutes, just for the park's name. (Girl from Impanema)
Another outdoor gym :)
FLORIANOPOLIS - JURERE
We stayed a few blocks from the Jurere beach, and this little playground was right next to the beach and shopping there so the kids played here a few times on our way coming or going to the beach or restaurant/shops nearby.
A cute little playground/fort
A little balance beam bridge - just so fun!
FLORIANOPOLIS SEASIDE
A quick stop at the park to play before an oceanside dinner
Kathie and Winslow took Porter out exploring and adventuring one morning while we took the big kids to Daniela Beach nearby. The outdoor shopping center by our house had a great little kids play area perfect for Porter.
Phewph! What a lot of play!
I don't think I even realized until I looked through for all of these pictures how much we really loved the parks in Brazil and how much time we spent at these great playgrounds!
