Many sides of Brazil

This weekend we got to see Brazil from a variety of angles.  With no meetings to go to, we were pretty free to enjoy Belo Horizonte.  Keeley and I kicked it off with a run in the Praca da Liberdade (Liberty Plaza) Saturday morning.  I of course just walked, in order to save my back (which is feeling better every day).  We came back to the hotel to shower up and meet up with Wanessa for some lunch.  Then it was off to the museum, which showed the history of the city.  The museum is located in a house from the original village that gave the great city of Belo Horizonte its start.  Once done with the museum, we swung back by the hotel to freshen up and head out to one of Belo's thousands of bars - a feature that helps give the city its fame as the bar capital of the world.  Wanessa, Valico, Fernanda, Margo, Keeley, Ryan, and I all had a great time enjoying little appetizers and a drink or two - along with a lot of laughs.  They are a great group!  Valico offered to take us out dancing afterwards, so dancing it was!  Keeley, Ryan, and I went with him, and in (almost) true Brazilian fashion, were there until 3:30 or so in the morning.  I say "almost" because true Brazilian fashion would have kept us out at least a few more hours.  We were in bed by about 4:30 and up at 6 in order to get to the Hippie Fair with Fernanda.  This is not just any Hippie Fair, however.  It's Brazil's largest, with over 9,000 booths!  We were there for an hour, and as you might guess, it wasn't nearly enough time to see it all.  But we had to get back to the hotel, as Valico was to pick us up and take us to our next engagement.  The 45-minute drive took us to the house of Claudia - a friend of Margo's.  It was not just a house, though... It was in a gated community.  And by community, I mean small countryside.  It was complete with hills, lakes (presumedly man-made), and - of course - a bar.  Virtually every house had its own pool.  We got the tour of their place first, which included their chickens, roosters, ducks, and dogs.  We got to see the monkeys only at the end of our stay.  During the 5 hours or so that we spent at their house, we laid out by the pool, talked, had lunch, and even toured the neighbor's house.  It was a nice day!  We ordered pizza last night, watched a movie, and called it a day.

The three amigos outside the museum.

 

Fernanda, Keeley, and I at the "buteco" as the bars are known around here - Bar do Doca.

Just a glimpse of Brazil's largest Hippie Fair. 

Beautiful house!

 

It may be an awkward picture, but we're all in there - Valico, me, Ryan, Michael, Claudia, Keeley, and Margo.  And the two dogs - Bela and Gabby.