Belo Horizonte | Blue Lapis Road

DAY 16 – (1 OF 1) INHOTIM, BRUMADINHO, BRAZIL

The main reason for our stay in Belo Horizonte was to visit Inhotim in Brumadinho, about 55km from Belo Horizonte. Inhotim is a open air contemporary art complex. It was formerly a botanical garden and was transformed into an “artscape” with additions of new pavilions and collections of contemporary art from all over the world. Inhotim opened to the public in 2006. Unique in architectural design, each pavilion houses various kinds of artworks from sculptures, photography, paintings, installation art to multimedia displays. We spent a pleasant day in this “artscape” to check out more than half of its art pavilions and outdoor artworks, admire the diverse variety of plants, and have a great dining experience at the garden restaurant. We were particularly impressed by the “Sonic Pavilion” by Doug Aitken – a pavilion designed to amplify and deliver the murmuring sound from 200m deep in the ground to visitors. There were many local visitors and student groups. At the last pavilion we visited, it was a delight for us to find Canadian artist Janet Cardiff’s sound installation called Forty Part Motet.

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More posts on Minas Gerais, Brazil
Day 15.2 – Museu des Minas do Metal, Belo Horizonte
Day 15.3 – Brazilian Churrascarla, Belo Horizonte
Day 16 – Inhotim, Brumadinho
Day 17.1 – Ouro Preto
Day 17.2 – Cafe Geraes, Ouro Preto
Day 17.3 – Afternoon Stroll, Ouro Preto
Day 17.4 – Rua do Pilar, Ouro Preto
Day 18.1 – Townscape, Ouro Preto
Day 18.2 – A Walk to Igreja de Santa Efigenia dos Pretos, Ouro Preto
Day 18.3 – Sunset, Ouro Preto
Day 19 – Ouro Preto to Rio de Janeiro

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South America 2013 – Our Destinations
Buenos Aires (Argentina), Iguazu Falls (Argentina/Brazil), Pantanal (Brazil), Brasilia (Brazil), Belo Horizonte & Inhotim (Brazil), Ouro Preto (Brazil), Rio de Janeiro (Brazil), Paraty (Brazil), Sao Paulo (Brazil), Samaipata & Santa Cruz (Bolivia), Sucre (Bolivia), Potosi (Bolivia), Southwest Circuit (Bolivia), Tilcara, Purmamarca, Salta (Argentina), Cafayate (Argentina), San Pedro de Atacama (Chile), Antofagasta & Paranal Observatory (Chile), Chiloe (Chile), Puerto Varas (Chile), Torres del Paine (Chile), Ushuaia (Argentina), El Chalten (Argentina), El Calafate (Argentina), Isla Magdalena (Argentina), Santiago (Chile), Valparaiso (Chile), Afterthought

October 25, 2013 | Categories: Brazil, Day 11 to 20, Minas Gerais | Tags: Architecture, art, attraction, Belo Horizonte, botanic, Brazil, design, destination, garden, Inhotim, installation art, must see, South America, thing to do | Leave a comment

DAY 15 (3 OF 3) – BRAZILIAN CHURRASCARIA, BELO HORIZONTE, BRAZIL

After the museum visit, we walked to Praca da Savassi, the primary shopping district of Belo Horizonte. The area was crowded with shoppers and people dining out. We settled for a local churrasco (grill eatery) at a side street. We picked a table on the street, and had our first Brazilian grill meal. The grill meat was made on charcoal, and it tasted really good.

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October 25, 2013 | Categories: Brazil, Day 11 to 20, Minas Gerais | Tags: Belo Horizonte, Brazil, churrascaria, churrasco, food, grill, local, restaurant, Savassi, South America | Leave a comment

DAY 15 (2 OF 3) – MUSEU DAS MINAS E DO METAL, BELO HORIZONTE, BRAZIL

It was already 4pm by the time we checked in at our hostel in Belo Horizonte. We quickly took a bus out to the Praca da Liberdade at the heart of the city. More than half a dozen of the historical buildings at Praca da Liberdade have been transformed into museums. Known as the Curcuito Cultural Praca da Liberdade, this program has turned former headquarters of the state government into a hub of cultural institutions since the end of 2000s. Today, the state government of Minas Gerais is relocated to a new site with a number of buildings designed by Oscar Niemeyer. Today, we visited one of the museums in Praca da Liberdade. Nicknamed the Pink Building, the former home for Secretaria do Interior and then Secretaria de Educacao has become the Museu das Minas e do Metal (Museum of Mining and Metallurgy). We had about 45 minutes to tour the museum. We came here primarily to see the new additions and historical adaptive reuse design by Brazilian architect Paulo Mendes da Rocha. We were surprised to find that the original historical building was also quite engaging, so as the interactive display of the permanent exhibits. We wished we could have more time for the visit.