RIO DE JANEIRO (PART 3) INCLUDING PETROPOLIS, THE IMPERIAL MUSEUM, AND CRYSTAL PALACE--Saturday, December 21, 2013

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PETROPOLIS, THE IMPERIAL MUSEUM, AND CRYSTAL PALACE--Saturday, December 21, 2013

This morning we walked down the street to the next door hotel to wait for the van for the tour to Petropolis. I don't know about your education, but Valerie and I had never learned that Brazil had been ruled by a monarchy that set up Rio de Janeiro as their capitol. This came about when on 27 November 1807, one day prior to Napoleon's invasion of Portugal. On that day, the Prince-Regent, Queen and the entire Royal Family, accompanied by many rich merchants, the administration, judges and servants, (approximately 10,000 people) fled in fifteen ships that were escorted to Brazil by English ships. The Empire of Brazil was proclaimed and they built a palace and government buildings in Rio.

In the 1830's, the emperor's son, D. Pedro II, built a summer home in Petropolis about 68 km (about 40 miles) into the mountains from Rio. This summer palace was built mainly by a ton of recruited German immigrants and is now a museum. It was mainly this museum we planned to tour.

Traffic out of the city and into the mountains was absolutely horrible. I think we crawled at about 10 miles per hour when we did move. People were out in full force in the city shopping for Christmas bargains and huge groups were waiting for buses all along the highway. On the 2-lane windy road up into the mountains, after leaving the toll-way, were vendors selling hooked rugs and fruit from little stands.

Plants on the sides of the road again looked like house plants; corn plants, impatiens, philodendrons large and small, yellow and rust-colored shrimp plants were just some I saw growing wild. Trees like mimosas but yellow in bloom, bamboo, figs and jack fruit could be IDed since we were traveling so slowly.

The first stop we made on the outskirts of Petropolis was to overlook a huge hotel and the lake and grounds around it. We then drove through the narrow one-way street along a river to a chocolate factory. Here we got out to look around at the store, sample, and price very expensive--more expensive, and not as good as Godiva, chocolates. It was $9.60 for 100 grams which makes it about $43.00 a pound. Last time we bought See's Candy it was about $18 per pound and way better candy. The driver and guide got drinks they called hot chocolate that looked to be thick melted chocolate in a cup with little or no milk added.

The town is set along both sides of a river in a deep canyon with little flat area for shops and parking. The homes are European in style with a heavy German influence since so many Germans were recruited to build the town. We saw a number of pretty German style homes on both sides of the river.

When we arrived at the palace it was raining but warm enough that we walked onto the grounds without concern that we would melt. The setting for the palace among the trees is lovely and it has a neat and tidy look painted in pink and white. The 2-story, 44-room, building with a central hall down the middle and rooms opening off each side has an open airy feel with large windows and doors that allowed light and fresh air to circulate in the summer.

We were told that pictures could not be taken in the inside, but, ould be taken outside and in the carriage house. The group was fitted with a sort of slipper over our shoes to protect the lovely hardwood floors. Valerie's were too small and kept sliding off her shoes. Everyone thought the "slippers" were a good way to get the floors polished for free.

Furnishings, art, crystal chandeliers, musical instruments, fabrics, jewelry, diamond encrusted gold crown and scepter, silver and tableware displayed in the palace were befitting royalty of that time--grand and of the finest quality. We looked into the carriage house to see an old locomotive and several of the Royal carriages.

We piled back into the van and were taken to an all-you-can-eat lunch buffet that was more expensive than we wished to pay, but we saw no other option as it was late by now and we needed to eat. We think the guides get a cut or a "gift" of some sort for each person they take to these places. The food was ok and some of it was quite different from our usual American fare.

The next stop was at the Sao Pedro de Alcantara Cathedral built in the French neo-gothic style. Construction started in 1884, under the patronage of D. Pedro II, and his daughter, Princess Isabel and completed in 1925. The Imperial Chapel holds the remains of D. Pedro II, his wife Teresa Cristina, Princess Isabel and her husband, the Count D'Eu.

The Crystal Palace, a glass and iron building made in France and assembled in Brazil, was a wedding present to Princess Isabel from her consort, the French Count d'Eu. During the imperial years the palace was used as a ballroom: the princess held a celebration dance here after she abolished slavery in Brazil in 1888. The day we visited, the park around the Crystal Palace had Christmas booths like the German traditional Christmas Market and large Christmas displays. Inside, was a children's choir singing Christmas music.

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