I first heard of Curitiba in a documentary about sustainable cities. That was way before Brazil ever came into the picture. What I remember was that the city sounded somewhat incredible. Massive parks and green areas with lakes and grazing sheep, super-efficient public transport, affordable housing built according to the needs of the population. Everything they said about Curitiba sounded too good to be true. Especially the sheep. I needed to see those sheep. Once we moved to Brazil, I was very keen on visiting Curitiba and check out what it has to offer.

Many museums to being with. The most famous among them is ’The Eye’, a museum dedicated to Oscar Niemeyer, a genius architect who designed modernist buildings that even today appear quite futuristic. Naturally, we put Curitiba on top of our travel list and visited the city several times.

Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. — The Eye, Curitiba

Our quest for park-grazing sheep hasn’t been successful, and I suspect the sheep might have been retired to some other area. As disappointing as this is, I also understand that having a bunch of cuddly animals in the park might be a bit distracting. We did, however, discover many other parks, as well as the gorgeous Botanical Garden.

Curitiba is also a place of good food. Mercearia Bresser, for example, is not to be missed. It’s one of those traditional timeless places that never go out of fashion. We visited them on two separate occasions and marveled at their delicacies. Note that the portions are quite big, still, we couldn’t resist ordering a few of their specialties, including the oven-baked aubergine, sausage bread (pão de calabresa) pizza bread, and of course, pizza.

The place I’d love to return to, is the ‘wire opera’, an open-air opera house set inside a former quarry. If you’re lucky, you might catch a free concert while having a cup of coffee.

But my absolute favourite part is Sunday crafts market that snakes throughout the historic centre. The selection of arts and crafts is nothing short of incredible: you’ll find anything from hand-made candles, miniature furniture to design clothing, funky cookie cutters and artisanal jewelry. There’s a strong presence of street performers along with that oh-so-delicious street food, which we enjoy. On the photo is a Bahian specialty, acarajé, a delicious fried ball of cooked and mashed cowpeas, filled with onion, spicy sauce & shrimp.

If given a chance, we’ll gladly return to Curitiba for another weekend or two. We didn’t find sheep, we did however discover other cuddly wildlife, lounging peacefully in one of the city’s parks.

Capybaras are adorable, but resist the urge to cuddle them. It’s hard, I know, but they are wild animals and carry horrible diseases. For the rest, sit back and enjoy the view.