ABC Wednesday - P & Q

Last week I didn't join the fun created by Denise, so today I'll have a double post.

P is for Petropolis, the Imperial City in the forested hills of Serra dos Órgãos, where I lived for many years (from '82 to '97) and where my mother and brothers still are. It's about one hour and half away from Rio, and it's a charming place to live. The town's name ("city of Peter") honors the Emperor Pedro II, the nation's second monarch. The city was the summer residence of the Brazilian Emperors and aristocrats in the 19th century, and was the official capital of the state of Rio de Janeiro between 1894 and 1903.

There are beautiful, historical places to vist, like the Summer Palace of the second Brazilian Emperor, which is now a museum, specializing in Imperial history and memorabilia. I used to spend long hours reading my books in its gorgeous garden:

The Crystal Palace, created for exotic flowers and birds exhibitions during the Imperial time. Its structure was inspired by London Crystal Palace, now used for classic music concerts and art exhibitions. Tisa is where my mom used to take me to sunbath when I was a baby:

The aviation pioneer Alberto Santos Dumont in 1918 built a small house there filled with imaginative mechanical gadgetry including an alcohol-fueled heated shower of his own design. He used to spend his summers there to escape the heat in Rio, and affectionately called it A Encantada (The Enchanted), after the road, Rua do Encanto (Street of Enchantment). The stairs, designed for easy climbing, make the visitor starts with the right foot (he was notoriously superstitious):

For Q, still in Petropolis, there's the Quitandinha Palace, built in 1944 to be Latin America's biggest Cassino-Hotel. A lot of Hollywood stars had fun in the cassino, like Orson Wells, Lana Turner, Henry Fonda. When gambling became forbidden in 46, the Hotel had to be sold and became a luxurious apartment group. Its halls now hold commercial and cultural events:

Its beautiful main dome (with extraordinary acoustic) is the second biggest in the world, with 30m in height and 50m in diameter:

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