The greens
What a special day, again! And, how noisy is the city. Not my cup of tea.
The hotel reflects the architecture of the 30th. Lot of original elements. What they now use for breakfast was probably the ballroom of the old days.
They say, that Belo Horizonte means ‘pretty horizon’, you supose to see the mountains arond the city from every spot in the city. Certainly, since they started to build skyscrapers, that is not true. The city keeps some charme, anyway.
After some homework, I walked for lunch over to the Central Market. Because I choose not to walk along the mainroads, it was a bit a challenge. Also because of what I had seen on the map before I left the hotel didn’t quite fit into the landscape I saw. Certainly in the city center, it is strongly advised not to walk around with your phone in your hands. Choose your moments wisely. I did (I think). On crossings of main roads you find little maps. Thing is, they display only streets and landmarks in a walking radius of 5 minutes. Mostly, it’s 15 minutes or more, what you need. Not much of a help.
There are not much thing you can not buy in the Central Market. Who is buying all this stuff? In the corner of fresh produces, I found a little restaurant for my lunch. Your meal comes on two plates: one with what you have ordered and a second with … rice, noodles, french fries, beans, salad, eggs, … You could easily feed a family with it. That’s, maybe, the point. In Brazil, you order per table, not per person. If you order per person, you have to make specifically clear, that this part of the order is for one person only. Otherwise, you get all you order for whole the table. Just that you know.
Juices are a seperate foodgroup, here in Brazil. Fresh, amazing, tasty, in all kinds of combinations. A lot from fruits (and/or vegetables) you never heard of.
For an after-lunch walk, I went back to the City Park. Kind of workout… had to climb a few steep (not very high) hills. The City Park is a kind of mini-Central Park (where I’ve never have been): water, boats, playgrounds, mini-fair, sports, music dome, café, museum, theater… From a bench, I watched the scenery. A couple came for their wedding pics. What a procedure! Including changing clothes and all kind of activities.
Next landmark for me: Liberty Park. The greens are a kind of lifeline for me in the city. Luckely, a lot of streets are actual avenues, with quite some trees along. Liberty Park is a symmetrical garden. They started to prepare the stage for a concert on Sunday. Won’t see it, might be great. Finally, I went into the CCBB (Centro Cultural Banco do Brazil). Normally, they have several expositions, now, there was only one. But worthwhile, for sure! Antonió Obá. Scetches, portraits, sculptures, a film, poems. Deeply looking in the human soul, sometimes haunted, sometimes with a smile. Impressive!
Back in the park, I took a spot to process what I just had seen. After a while, a young woman came next to me. Olivia. We talked for over an hour.
Lizandra, I should meet in the restaurant of the CCBB. Only thing: It was closed for the day because of an event. She picked me up and took me to a classical Brazilian place. Loved it. Seemlessly, we talked for more then three hours. A amazing open conversation, with somebody I met here and now for the first time. Touched my heart! Glad, I contacted her! Amazing woman!
