Petrópolis: Last day!

Your day can only start with a good breakfast! As the location for your first meal I chose the bar inside the imperial palace where you were yesterday. In addition to having a great choice of meals for your breakfast, it allows you to choose from a wide range of European coffees. It looks like you are dealing with Emperor Pedro II and his wife Teresa Cristina!

You can walk from the cafe where you had breakfast to the first attraction point: it's a 15 minute walk! The Palácio de cristal was opened in 1884 with the intention of hosting different types of flowers, birds and agricultural products. The building was designed by the engineer Eduardo Bonjean under commission of the French foundry of Count D`Eu, President of the Sociedade Agrícola de Petrópolis. When the Brazilian Republic was proclaimed, the Crystal Palace was first less used and then abandoned. In 1938, the Palácio de Cristal served as the seat of the Historical Museum of Petrópolis until the Imperial Museum was built. During the centenary of the city in 1957, the pavilion was used as a historical exhibition inside and as an industrial exhibit outside. After years of inactivity, a series of restorations began in 1970, including the gardens. The structure is among those structures called the great exhibition, which emerged with the Industrial Revolution in the last century; the Palácio de Cristal is made up of a pre-formed metal structure, which forms a cross with rectangular arms on the sides and a hemicycle in the front and rear with spans filled with transparent glass. The facility is currently managed by the Petrópolis municipality, which uses it for various exhibitions or for private initiatives.

Now I'll show you a magical place where fantasy takes its power! You have to take your car and head for an hour to the Grande Valée, a path for those who love the Little Prince's book. You should know that this place was originally called "Fazenda São José do Magé e Ribeirão". In 1912 the property was sold to Mr. Augusto de La Roque, who hosted some French people, including Jean Mermoz and Marcel Reine, the French aviators who were enchanted by the cool mountain climate. It was the pilot Marcel Reine who decided to buy the property and call it the "La Grande Vallée" farm. He made it a stronghold for his guests, among which the most famous was Antoine de Saint-Exupéry and some Brazilian intellectuals of the time, such as Alceu Amoroso Lima and Augusto Frederico. Marcel's property had become a meeting point for pilots who rested during stopovers between flights. However, in 1938, the farm was sold and split up. The building was purchased by the family of the current owner, José Augusto C. Wanderley, who today takes great care to preserve the memory of the French aviators who passed through Petropolis and has transformed the house into a Little Prince theme park. The farm's collection includes numerous documents, photos, journalistic clippings, literary works and decorative objects related to the work, writer and former owner, Marcel Reine.

The lunch I thought will be on the beautiful view of the Palácio Quitandinha, 50 minutes away by car! You can enjoy on the shores of the lake is one of the best churruscaria in the region. The price is very affordable and the quality is truly excellent for a landscape that you will hardly forget! I give you the site where you can reserve the seat!

After having lunch your museum tour begins! The first is the Museu de Porcelana and is a 45-minute drive from the churrascaria. The museum contains a collection of 1800 porcelain from the 19th - 20th centuries. Porcelains are mainly of German origin, but there are also some built in Italy, Denmark, France and other European countries. The entire collection belonged to a single collector who collected them all through auctions, antique shops and international travel. Two artistic movements can be recognized in the pieces: the Arte Nouveau, a Belgian artistic movement of the nineteenth century which has French Baroque and Rococo influences within it and the Arte Déco an artistic movement mostly present in the museum. At the time, Art Deco was regarded as an ultra-modern and high-luxury style. Mainly the style was used in porcelain with perfect representations of the female figure and animals; in these works circular movements and stylized lines with simple shapes were enhanced without having to follow a pattern. There are not only the porcelain collections rich in history to act as an attraction but the same building where the Museum belonging to the family of Marshal Rondon is housed. The building has retained all the historical features.

The second museum that I recommend you to visit is the summer residence of Alberto Santos Dumont. It's within walking distance of the porcelain museum! Dumont is considered the father of aviation for the whole of Brazil and the museum is known as A Encantada. Inside the structure you will be able to see a rich collection of objects, books, letters and furniture that belonged to the inventor. Alberto Santos Dumont was a great Brazilian inventor, born on July 20, 1873, in Fazenda Cabangú (currently renowned Santos Dumont), in the Minas Gerais region, and died on July 23, 1932 in Guarujá, in the São Paulo region. Before he died, he saw the air raids in the revolution in São Paulo in 1932. A Encantada was built on the old hill of Encanto in 1918 with the help of the engineer Eduardo Pederneiras with the purpose of a summer residence; and for this position he was named The Enchanted. The building is a French Alpine chalet. Santos Dumont had designed a large room that could serve as both a library and an office; on the lower and upper floor his laboratory, as well as the bathroom and the bedroom. On the terrace was the observatory where he spent hours gazing at the stars. A curiosity about the house is that he did not design the kitchen because the meals came from the Palace Hotel what has now become the Catholic University of Petrópolis, near the Flower Clock. You will notice the ladder that joins the floors in the shape of a racket that forces those who want to climb it to always start with the left foot. In 1918 he wrote his second autobiographical book entitled What I Saw. What We Will See inside the residence. On his death, his nephews and only heirs decided to donate A Encantada to the municipality of Petrópolis so that the world could continue to preserve the memory of Alberto Santos Dumont.

The wax museum is a five minute walk from Santos Dumont. I recommend it as an attraction if you want to spend a maximum one hour taking selfies between celebrities and historical characters. The Petrópolis Wax Museum is a recent museum founded in 2011. The museum has the silhouettes of famous people, artists or individuals such as Albert Einstein, Jack Sparrow (played by Johnny Depp), Batman, Mr. Bean, as well as Brazilian historical figures such as Ayrton Senna, Santos Dumont, Dom Pedro II, Pelé, and many others. The museum is one of the 17 in the world and is the only wax museum in the state of Rio de Janeiro.

The attractions in Petrópolis are not over yet: I recommend you to visit and to dine in the first brewery in Brazil! Cervejaria Bohemi was founded in 1853 by the German Henrique Leiden with the name of Bohemia brewery. Shortly after his death the company was entrusted to Frederico Guilherme Lindscheid. At the time of its founding, Bohemia produced 6.000 bottles per month. The product was distributed and sold directly via animal-drawn carts. At a later time, sales began to be made through resellers in the city. The beer initially had a bitter and strong taste like the German ones but were later modified to conform to the market of the time and to competing brands; the flavor became lighter and less bitter as it is sold today. When the company passed to Frederico's control he changed its name to Imperial Fábrica de Cerveja Nacional but with his death, her daughter who in the meantime had married Henrique Kremer Jr., the grandson of the company founder, created the Companhia Cervejaria Bohemia. In 1960 the company expanded through when it was bought by the Companhia Antarctica Paulista and passed to a production of 10.000 dozen bottles per month. In 1998, due to lack of space, Bohemia closed its headquarters in Petrópolis and moved its facilities to São Paulo. In 2012, Bohemia reopens the refurbished Petrópolis factory and functions as a beer museum and memorial, with games and equipment that the participant interacts with the factory and shares on their social networks. Bohemia beer is composed of pure malt following the trend of the Brazilian market. Here you can eat and order your favorite beer! For more information on museum opening times and menus, visit the website!

Hope you haven't drunk too much cerveja at the brewery and can drive responsibly 30 minutes to the hotel. If not, use taxis or any means of transportation. Safety first! Enjoy the last night in Petrópolis and Rio de Janeiro!