Estrada Real - Things to do in São João Del Rei and Tiradentes

Two nearby cities full of things to do.
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We woke up and I couldn't wait to get to know the city. During the day it didn't even look like the same city, so quiet, peaceful and clean, with no trace of the previous night's carnival.
We got ready quickly and soon we were at the first attraction of the place, the Church of São Francisco de Assis, a building from 1774, I felt like I was in a time tunnel, immersed in baroque culture! The church is full of pieces with lots of gold and all worked out to the smallest detail, it's the only one in the region that can be filmed and photographed inside and they charge a symbolic fee of 3 reais to enter.

We took advantage of the opportunity and took lots of photos, filmed and explored the place well. Talking to a local, we discovered that there in São João Del Rei was the 4th largest gold church in Brazil. I was crazy to go and see this place, so we rushed there.
The town is so beautiful and has so many churches, we entered a street that had at least three within a distance of less than a kilometer and that's where the Nossa Senhora do Pilar Mother Church is located, which is the fourth church with the most gold.
We stopped the car and tried to get in, but unfortunately it was closed! It was Monday, in the middle of Carnival. We asked if that was why it was closed and the locals told us that the church doesn't normally open on Mondays and during Carnival it was even more difficult.

It was almost midday and we still wanted to visit the Maria Fumaça, the town's most beautiful station, with a museum and everything.
When we arrived, it was already 15:00 and the guard told us that it closed at midday for lunch, but that we could get in if we were quick. I was delighted with all the cool stuff! There was even the first wagon that ran there and transported Don Pedro II to inaugurate the line that led to the west of Minas Gerais.

It's amazing how many travelers there were back then, and it was great to relive a bit of history. We got to see the luxurious and well-preserved carriage up close, as well as several antique wall clocks and other interesting things. The visit was quick, but well worth it, and we left for our next destination, Tiradentes! Here we go, yupiiii!
Tiradentes is so close that we'll be there soon!
As soon as we arrived in town, we saw the beautiful Igreja Matriz de Santo Antônio, which is on the list of churches with the most gold in Brazil! Yes, it's in third place and it's absurdly beautiful. Unfortunately, you can't photograph or film it, but I highly recommend a visit.

We headed for the city center, stopped the car and found a place with food that was really good from Minas Gerais, a free buffet for 18 reais! The train baum wai
Now I've made myself and killed my craving for food from Minas Gerais! Ymmy! My belly is full and the city even more so, what a lively carnival, happy people and a crazy desire to stay, we have time to get to Ouro Preto, are we going tomorrow? I want to enjoy the most charming city in Minas Gerais.
And so it was, we started looking for places to sleep, but everything was so full that it was impossible to get anything there, unfortunately we resigned ourselves and started packing up to leave, until we stopped at the candy store to buy our last treats and like someone who doesn't want anything, I asked if the girl didn't know of a place to stay, but I said it without really believing in a positive answer, until to my surprise!
She knew and caught the owner of the hostel on the hop, it was just next door!

The guy came to meet us and said that he was closing the hostel since the people who were there had to leave and the others who were going had given up, but that it would be a pleasure to receive us, that is, we had the hostel to ourselves! It was great and we loved the place, very cozy, tidy and clean, we felt at home, we loved it!
Now we're going to enjoy the carnival, yay!
It's not a party carnival, if you want one like that go to São João Del Rei, Ouro Preto or Diamantina, in Tiradentes it's more family-oriented and quiet, very good for couples or people who just want to party, I really enjoyed it.
We enjoyed the city, sat in bars, went back to jumping in the blocos and at night we sat in a more refined place for dinner, delicious food, live music, carnival for all types and after dinner there was even more street carnival, with people jumping, dancing and singing.

But as usual, the next day we woke up very early to finally go to Ouro Preto! After all, it would be our last night on the road and we wanted to see the famous carnival!
Would we make it?

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