BELO...HERE WE COME!!!

When we mention to people that Kris and Demps live in Belo Horizonte, many people have never even heard of it. BUT, did you know that Belo is the 4th largest city coming after Sao Paulo, Rio de Janeiro and Salvador. It is a huge, modern city of ~2.15 MILLION people!! It is never quiet; it never sleeps; people and traffic are everywhere and it is BEAUTIFUL.

I cannot begin to tell you how grateful we are to get to go again. It's been 4 years (when Kate was born) when I last went and Tim hasn't been since 1999. Maggie has never been and in fact, she hasn't even flown since we brought her and Charlie to America from Venezuela in 1991. It is going to be such a treat to see her on the plane and what a joy for all of us to visit Kris, Demps, Meg, Duncan and Kate. I'll try to keep my blog updated while there so you all can keep up with what we're doing and the sights we're seeing. I'm sorry I can't stick you all in my pocket and take you with me.

One of the things that we love to do while in Brazil is visit the hippie fair, a market where individuals set up tents, the streets are blocked and the downtown area becomes a "flea market." Some of the things sold are typical flea market type items and some of the things are very nice. I've bought some gorgeous baby clothes, leather items, jewelry, etc. at the hippie fair. I worry about taking Maggie there though because those of you who know her, know her penchant for shopping. She is going to think she's died and gone to shopping heaven.

I found the following on the web for those of you who are interested in Belo. I'll think about you all here working away while I'm vacationing (NOT).

Belo Horizonte (pop. Approx. 2.7 million), the first modern Brazilian city to spring from an architect's drawing board, was expressly designed for its role as the capital of the state of Minas Gerais. Its wide, landscaped avenues and carefully planned residential suburbs have, however, suffered the impact of the country's high rate of urbanization. Belo Horizonte is the distribution and processing center of a rich agricultural and mining region and the nucleus of a burgeoning industrial complex. Its chief manufacturing is steel, steel products, automobiles, and textiles. Gold, manganese, and gem stones of the surrounding region are processed in the city. Belo Horizonte is also a leading cultural center, with three universities, a historical museum, numerous libraries, and sports stadiums. Because of its altitude (850m) the climate is refreshing and cool. (http://www.brazils-hotels.com/cities.htm)