Kewl.. Kewl.. Kewl...
My dayout to Petropolis!! Heard from Larry for SOOOO many times, finally i got a chance to witness its beauty with my own eyes. It's a city in the mountains, located abt one and a half hr drive from Rio.
The journey itself was quite a highlight of the trip. The car followed a one way highway up to the mountains and the other highway when we came down. The road twisted and winded its way up through the lush, verdant forest known as the 'Serra de Orgoas'. The scenery was dramatic with one side of the highway dropping away steeply. Sitting on the left hand side of the bus on the way up afforded me the best view.I am quite sure at one stage this tropical rainforest covered most of the hills all around including Rio itself. Too bad, i couldnt stop by the roadside to take a photo for your viewing pleasure.
Besides of the breath-taking drive, Petropolis which is known as the Imperial city, used to be the holiday resort where the Emperor, his family and his court went to escape the summer heat in the 1800's. There are many museums and residences of the Royal family that you can visit in the town including the Cathedral and the Imperial museum. It gives a glimpse into life during the the 19th century, well... life of the rich of course.
However... we din go to any of these tourist attraction coz our stomach are grumbling for hunger. The old birds brot me to a very nice restaurant facing the Imperial Museum, called Lago Sul Churrascaria. There, we were served very nice foods (well.. the evidence is obvious from the approving look of the guys), (free-flow...!!) AND the ambience was so rockin'ly fantastic. 
Can u imagine facing the lagoon while drinking a glass of caipirinha (Brazil Signature Alcoholic Drinks, as popular and well-known as to our 'Singapore Sling')? whew!!! 
Ooh.. ya.. hvn I mentioned the heavenly, wickedly, sinfully, no-reason-to-reject dessert! (*Slurp*)
The most interesting and famous piece of fact of this city is its distinguish climate. However, i din get the experience of it as its rather shiny this afternoon. I heard Petropolis is a favorite weekend getaway for Cariocas(means Rio residents), esp in the summer to escape the heat and humidity of the city, or in the fall and winter for a chance to experience "really cold" weather, wear winter clothes, eat fondue, and sit by the fireplace. People also flock here to visit the Rua Teresa, the so-called best shopping street in Brazil. This is becoz the area around Petrópolis has many textile factories, and the Rua Teresa has become the prime retail and wholesale outlet for cotton and knitwear at unbelievably low prices.
Well... Pls dun hold my words as the bible 'coz Pauline and I do hv our bad experience. We sure had a GREAT shock after trying our luck in one small outlet. The clothes there were nothing special but the price tags were absurdly ridiculous even to look at!! As if its carrying those branded stuff like AX, Zara or brand of that range.. Arrgh.. thou i m quite well-known of my weakness for nice clothing, this is still too irrational to spent R$80 on a normal top. As a conclusion, the shopping spree wasnt dat fantastic, leaving me absolutely sweaty, foot-crampy and grumpy.
Disclamer: For complete set of pic taken @ Petropolis, it's just a click away. (Seen the Flickr badge at the right column of this blog? Thats it man!!)
Labels: Brazil, Days of My Life, Lets Tuck In, Sheepish Breakaway
