Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais

Hi guys,

Sorry I've been MIA for the last two weeks of my Brazil trip...

The end of the trip has been, well, agitated...

The fact that this happened didn't help much:

We were in my aunt's house in Petropolis when the torrential rain and the mudslides happened.

We are very fortunate and grateful that cleaning up the mud after the water seeped away was the worst we were confronted with. So many have lost so much more: their entire houses, or loved ones. There are no words to describe what has happened there.

Apart from the scare at the end, our trip has continued to be wonderful. Below are some pictures of the week we spent in Belo Horizonte, in the Minas Gerais province, where my uncle, aunt and three cousins live.

On the first day we took a trip to the farm of my aunt's father.

We shared a hearty Brazilian meal at the big kitchen table.

Rice and beans, and cooked maniok: typical Brazilian everyday food. The boyfriend likes.

My aunt's mother serving typical Brazilian desserts: goiabada with Minas cheese, and homemade lime ice cream.

The second day, we visited the historic city center, of which the Praça da Liberdade is the heart.

We visited the new Museum for Science and Technology.

The next day, we visited an open-air museum about 80km outside Belo Horizonte, called Inhotim. It is an enormous garden, with a large botany collection, that houses several modern art galleries.

Unfortunately, the weather didn't cooperate: the whole drive to Inhotim was sunny, but as soon as we got there, the heavenly gates opened and water poured out for the entire duration of our visit. But we are Belgians, and it takes more than a little rain to stop us.

Even the gardeners look artsy at times.

Some of the art installations even allowed participation. The hammock room with the loud Jimi Hendrickx music was our definitive favourite.

THE coolest profile picture ever taken...


... with the enormous kaleidoscope:


The earth is rusty red, as in all Minas Gerais.

The steps of this pool are meant to represent a telephone book. Arty.

The day before my cousin's wedding: grooming!

*** For all the people expecting pictures from my cousin's wedding, I must disappoint you: my camera didn't fit in my teeny tiny bag... and I'm still awaiting pictures from other sources.
Sit tight. ***

Brazil still nurtures a few old traditions, like the ambulant "scissor sharpener" (what are they called?) who has a particular whistle to alert the people of the block of his presence.

On the night before the wedding, we went out to a special bar in Belo Horizonte... o Bar do Belga! Unfortunately, ALL their Belgian beer had sold out. Logically. It's that good.

On Friday's, there's a flower market down the street from where my family lives.

On my birthday, which was last Saturday, my cousin's friend Bruno Senna took us to a belvedere high up a mountain with a stunning view of Belo Horizonte.

Bruno is an fantastic photographer by the way. Check out his photoblog here.

Here are a few pics Bruno took:

Picture by Bruno Senna.

Picture by Bruno Senna.

The view from the Belvedere is simply stunning. Here is an original idea I'm allowing Bruno to steal. ;-)

Taking a shot with his amazing equipment.

Well, and that's it for Belo Horizonte for now... I hope I can work my way through many more pictures and share some more images from our wonderful trip with you over the next few weeks. Thanks to all the people who have been following us during our voyage!