Sunday,
20 January 2013
From my room - Ipamema Beach
Along the road to Petropolis
Along the road to Petropolis
Roadside stand - sold bananas, cocanuts, water, purses and rugs made from bikinni left overs
Along the road to Petropolis
Former Cassino in Petropolis
Me with former Petropolis Cassino in background
Royal Family just before they were expelled from Brazil
Royal summer residence of Pedro II
Royal summer residence of Pedro II
Royal summer residence of Pedro II
Railroad engine used in the past
Carriages used by the royal family
Carriages used by the royal family
Carriages used by the royal family
Carriages used by the royal family
Brazil Tree with me in front
Cathedral spire
Cathedral spire
Cathedral spire
Tomb of Pedro II, his wife, his daughter and her husband
Inside Cathedral
Tomb of Pedro II, his wife, his daughter and her husband
Houses near the cathedral
Mark swimming
Me on the beach at Ipanema
Me in the water at Ipanema
Farewell Banquet
Farewell Banquet
I woke up with my 7:00 am wake up call. This was the first night that I slept
through. I had a problem in that I
couldn’t turn off one of the lights near the bed, but I really slept. Once I woke up, I figured out how to shut the
light off! I uploaded my pictures and
wrote my log before I headed downstairs for breakfast.
The breakfast was quite good. Most of the people made a sandwich to take
with them. I supposed I should have, but
I didn’t. We got on the bus at 9:30 and
headed for Petropolis, which was the summer home of Emperor Pedro II. I was aware that Brazil had a “royal family”,
but I really didn’t know anything about it.
When Napoleon Bonaparte conqueror Portugal, the royal family fled to
Brazil. When Napoleon was thrown out of
Portugal, the King returned and his son Pedro I became the emperor of
Brazil. The King advised his son to declare
independence from Portugal, because virtually all the countries of South
America were declaring their independence.
Pedro I was a playboy who fathered quite a few
children by his various mistresses. He
was married twice and had some legitimate children by his two wives. When Pedro I’s father died, he became King of
Portugal. Since he never really liked
Brazil, he returned to Portugal, where he was born. His son, Pedro II, at the age of 14 became
the emperor. Apparently Pedro II was
quite well educated and he was successful at ruling Brazil. At a appropriate age, Pedro II sent his
representatives to Europe to find an appropriate bride for him. The only royal who was willing to come was
from Italy and she was not very pretty.
A very flattering portrait was painted of her and sent to Pedro II. He agreed to marry her and when he saw her
for the first time, he was shocked because she didn’t really look like the
portrait he had received. Despite a
rocky start, the marriage was a success.
They had several children, but only two girls survived to grow up. Isabella the older signed a decree which
freed the slaves in Brazil. The support
for royalty came from the farmers who depended on slavery which meant that
there was no support for royalty, who were then thrown out. There were strong positive feelings about the
royal family and were permitted to return as private individuals. Pedro II, his wife, Isabella and her
husband’s bodies were brought back and buried in the cathedral in Petropolis.
We stopped at a stand (the only stand on the road)
where they were selling cocanuts for the milk, bottles of water and items made
from the leftovers from making bikinis.
I bought a small purse for my little Muffin, which means that I have to
find something additional for my little Avi.
We continued on the road to Petropolis.
We went to the summer residence of the emperor and I was quite impressed
with the building and its contents. We
wee asked to wear slippers so that we wouldn’t damage the floor. We were not allowed to take pictures inside
the building. From the palace, we went
to the cathedral, which contains the tomb of Petro II, his wife, his daughter
and her husband. The cathedral was much
nicer than the cathedral in Rio, but I’ve seen more impressive. From the cathedral, we went to the place
where we had lunch. It started
raining. Driving down the mountain in
the rain was not exactly my favorite thing, but the driver got us there in one
piece.
By the time we got back to Rio, the rain had stopped
and we went to the hippie market. I
treated myself to a necklace and a pair of earrings. I was looking for a wallet like the one I had
seen at the ranch, but I didn’t see anything like it. I did see one lace dress that I’m sorry that
I didn’t buy for my little Shoshi. One
of the people was not on the bus when she was due which had most of us
concerned because she is not the type to be late. Most of us were quite concerned. It turned out she went to the wrong corner!
After we got back, I raced up to my room to change
into my bathing suit. I had to go on the
beach at Ipamena. A few people came down
and Barbara took pictures of me on the beach.
I actually went into the water and went out a short distance. I didn’t trust my swimming skills since it
has been so long since I’ve gone swimming in the ocean. At about 6:40, I went up showered and changed
into suitable clothes. Naturally I wore
the jewelry that I had treated myself to.
The food was quite good. I had a
glass of wine. At about 9:00 pm, I came up to my room.
We were warned that tomorrows trip may fall apart as
a tree fell down on the railroad tracks which leads up to the cross. We have to leave at 7:30 am to make sure that
we get back on time.
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