ouro preto

i arrived in ouro preto after an overnight bus from vitoria at 5 a.m.! and it rained like mad, so i wasn't sure what do to, if i should stay in the rodoviaria until the sun arrives or looking for the hostel in the rain and in the dark, well there wasn't really a possibility to sit on the upper floor of that rodoviaria so i thought i'll i have a look for the hostel, in the guide it said that it be quite close, i asked a taxi driver if it's far, he said it's impossible to walk there and convinced me to drive there, it took him less than a minute and he asked for 7r$!!! unbelievingly! but the way there was really steep, so it would have been uncomfortable to walk there with my suitcase! i got in the hostel where someone was still awake! he asked me where i came from that i arrived at this hour! i asked for a couch until 10 o'clock when check in time was, but he let me get a bed, and for that morning it was even free! i was very glad cause i was really tired!
next morning i got breakfast which was a bit disappointing, no fresh fruit and the juice wasn't good as well, and that in minas (the state with the best food of the country!) but i was exited to be in ouro preto (= black gold) one of the 3 most beautiful cities (architecturally) of brazil! in the past they found gold there, a lot of gold! that's why the state is called minas gerais (mines in general)! they found all sort of things there! the city ones was the biggest of brazil, and you can see that, the entire city is build in the baroque style! pretty impressive! you have a great view from the hostel, the city is build in a really steep hilly countryside, and the hostel lies above it! to get to the center you have to walk down for about 1 km! (to get back you have to walk up again, and it's really steep! i'm swiss i have an opinion about steepness!) that was the first place with real character in an european sense i saw until now! first i went to the museum of coins, because it crossed my way first, and there is this sculpture gallery next to the entrance hall, very nice, the house has a lot to see, i was most impressed with the cellar there they show tools they used to keep slaves, i'm very glad that this time is over!
after that museum i had a typical minas lunch, in a gorgeous restaurant, the owner made me eat there, but it wasn't that expensive and really delicious!
than i climbed a street to get to the center place where the townhall was, from there you have again a great view! i liked the city so much i was walking for hours until it got dark, so i had a look for a supermarket, but that wasn't easy to find! i was glad to find some spaghetti and tomato sauce (i know very difficult to cook!!!) and than i had to get up that hill again to the hostel, i was really out of breath when i arrived! that night 2 girls from austria and sweden arrived at my hostel, so i had someone to chat for!
next day i went to the other side of the town where there was this beautiful baroque church, from there i walked again through the town, sadly the weather wasn't to good so it rained all the time!  for lunch i went to a small coffee where i had a "pao de queijo" the most typical food from minas, that was really delicious! in the afternoon i didn't do much, because of the rain, i searched an internet place, where i stayed until it got dark, that place was really cheap just 1r$ an hour, so it didn't got expensive!
at night i saw on the television that there was a huge explosion in sao paulo, so i was worried that my friends where in danger, but they were fine!
next day i left for belo horizonte.