Monday: June 22, 2015 Belo Horizonte, Brazil

After another great breakfast, with fresh fruits, a sister and sister-in-law came by to pick us up at 10:00. They are taking us to an area called Pampulha in Belo Horizonte.  A famous Brazilian architect, Oscar Niemeyer began his career in the Pampulha district where some of his early work is located.  We first stopped at the church Sao Francisco de Assis, then Museu de Arte, followed by Casa de Balle.  All of these buildings are located around the Pampulha Lake.  There is a walkway around the lake – 18 km long, but there is not a road for you to drive directly around the lake.  It is a large lake in the middle of an area, with homes, and apartments. It was a beautiful setting, and we were so glad we were not driving.  We kept making turns- we have no idea where all we went!  Our last stop was at the church where Pedro & Daniela were married 5 years ago. The gals who were hosting us this morning do not speak a lot of English, but we communicated in one way or another! Having confidence to speak English is the biggest issue.   

The Church of Saint Francis of Assisi, Pampulha

Modern Interior

House around the Lake

Museu de Atre (Museum of the Arts)

Museum Grounds

View of the lake from the Museum

Casa Do Baile (Another Museum around the Lake)

Church where Pedro was married

At about 1:00 we returned to their home, where we had lunch of the delicious leftovers we had last night.   When we were almost finished eating, Pedro’s brother Tiago stopped by from his law office.  His English is very good, so we were able to ask him questions we would have liked to ask the gals during the drive. 

This afternoon was spent catching up on emails, the blog and a nap. After Pedro’s parents returned home from work tonight we drove over to see Pedro’s condo on the 4^th floor. They have a lovely condo.  While we were there we looked at their wedding photo album and later at a video of their wedding.  We had received an invitation to the wedding but it arrived too late to make plans to attend.  Attending would have been a special honor, but we were thrilled to see the video tonight.  

We returned to his parent’s condo where we had soup for supper tonight.  Very good, plus it was light and we were finished eating before 10:00!

Tomorrow we are off on a tour to two old towns located nearby. 

Sunset from the Capparelli Condo