Petropolis, Brasil - Rio de Janeiro Is The State Im InPetropolis, Brasil, is a city in the State of Rio de Janeiro where intellectuals, artists and craftsmenhave long congregated. It is ayoung and beautiful city filled with university students and gardens.This is the Pousada da Alcobaca there.Petropolis, a city in the mountains above Rio de Janeiro, is known as the Imperial City. In 1830,Emperor Pedro I planned a progressive forward-thinking community on the site of spring plants desmoines farm called Corrego Seco (EURoeDry StreamEUR in Portuguese.) Six Hundred Europeanfamilies were brought in as the first settlers. When agriculture proved too difficult on the steepmountainous slopes the people turned to crafts to support themselves. Today Petropolis is stillknown for the handiwork and craftsmanship of its people.In 1843 Pedro II continued his fatherEUR(TM)s vision by building the EmperorEUR(TM)s SummerPalace there. The large pink building is now the wonderful museum Meseu Imperial. Pedro II alsobuilt formal gardens on the palace grounds using plants imported from all corners of the PortugueseEmpire. These gardens are open to the public, as are several major gardens in the area. Over thedecades, artists, intellectuals and nobility were attracted to this beautiful setting.Petropolis is also a university town, with students making up the majority of the population. Thatyouth and vitality make Petropolis a vibrant and exciting city. So, besides culture, crafts and itsyouthful outlook, Petropolis is also known for its gardens, especially for the beauty of its hydrangeas.I spent my first night in Rio de Janeiro (the State) at Pousada da Alcobaca, in the cool high mountaincity of Petropolis, escaping the 100 degree heat of Rio de Janeiro (the city) as privileged Brasilianshave done for centuries.Stepping into Alcobaca was like going to my grandmotherEUR(TM)s house. Even though I arrivedat midnight, hostess Laura Goes was as gracious as if it were midday. She kissed me on both cheeks.EURoeCome into the kitchenEUR she invited, EURoeI fixed something for you to snack on aftersuch a long journey.EURAnd, just as when family arrived, she ushered me to a seat at her tableand began putting a dinner together over my faint protests. The flight into Rio de Janeiro from JFKon TAM airlines was pleasant, but long. I was hungry, dirty and tired, having been up since two AMthat morning. Laura made me feel at home with her maternal ministrations. The aroma ofbakingempadinhas (little pies) mixed with the fragrance of the leek and potato soup bubbling on the stoveto complete the feeling. I was home. The soil for gardening des moines I looked around the kitchen the more I realized how special it was.My great-grandmother ran an Irish boarding house with ten rooms. Both her kitchens combined (shehad a summer and a winter kitchen) still wouldnEUR(TM)t equal this one. There was a wood stovewith big burners that also heated the water for the sinks. There was asix burner gas rangenearby, with the huge stump of a eucalyptus tree between them as a cutting block. That also came inhandy when the bubbling cauldron of soup came off the stove. Laura had stacks of soapstone potsunder the gas stove. They fit as neatly into the wood stove burners as they fit comfortably on thegas, and they held their heat so well that the soup continued to boil long after it was removed fromthe flames. IEUR(TM)d love to have even one of those pots for my kitchen range. At first, her kitchen seemed an example of excess. Where I have one set of measuring cups hangingin my kitchen, Laura has ten! Ditto the strainers, mixing spoons, graters and everything else neededin a well equipped kitchen - all hanging like bunches of grapes - handy, on the walls. Cupboards heldteapots and pitchers, windowsills held herbs, some growing in through the open window. Bowls ofeggs on the table, bowls of water filled with water cress by the sink, and a bowl of manioc withvegetables sitting covered on a worktable all set the stage for a real working kitchen. I found outlater that Laura and her small staff routinely turn out 100 to 300 meals a day. Besides being a smalleleven room posada, Alcobaca is a very busy restaurant!Late night snack in PetropolisEmpadinhas, little pies, the pastry made with half lard and half butter (the same asI make) bakedin muffin tins, filled with any empanada mix (these were both shrimp and chicken.) Small pieces ofquiche, plus bowls of steaming hot leek and potato soup, with local native potatoes. Red winecompleted the midnight snack for me, but a chocolate tarte and coffee were offered. I politelydeclined, wishing not to disturb my sleep with the sugar and caffeine. Satisfied that I had eaten enough, Laura showed me to my room. It reminded me of my old boyhoodbedroom, 8000 miles away in a house that no longer exists. I eerily revisited my youth as I duckedunder the eves of the steep tiled roof into bed. The smells and sounds of city of des moinesemployment my childhood comforted me into a deep sleep; a sleep in which I relived, rather thandreamed of, a comforting family home gone these 25 years. I slept the sleep of innocence. Foreignbird songs awakened me to a strange but somehow familiar room. Looking for lawn care, lawnmaintenance, lawn fertilizer, lawn irrigation, weed control, lawn aeration, landscaping, flowers,landscape lighting, holiday decorations and snow removal in Des Moines, Iowa? Visit our office at2473 SW 7th St. Des Moines, IA or call us at 515-279-4008.The illusions of the past evening meltedaway as I stood on the small deck and viewed the lush tropical gardens below me. What a night! Ishook off the cobwebs of fading memory and went in search of the pool, hoping that a swim wouldclear my head. Day one of ten days in Rio de Janeiro had dawned.Alcobaca is so much more than an inn and restaurant. There are several acres in vegetable gardenson the rich river banks below the pousada where all the food for the restaurant is grown organically.So much is produced that those who tend the gardens sell the excess at the local markets. And thenthere are the exquisite flower gardens. On my first day there, thirty-five horticulturists from Englandarrived for lunch and a tour through the many paths and along the borders Laura has planted in thedecades sheEUR(TM)s owned the pousada.They were accompanied by a guide from the gardens of the world-famous landscape architectRoberto Burle Marx. (Laura later told me that he asked for cuttings from plants the Burle Marxgardens didnEUR(TM)t have. IEUR(TM)ve toured those gardens and know what an honor thatrequest was!)In a personal tour later that day I learned that the formal European-style gardens inplace when Laura and her husband opened Alcobaca were transformed by Laura herself into thetropical splendor I witnessed. Every time she found an interesting plant along the river or whenclearing the fields for the vegetables, she transplanted it into her gardens. Over the years thisunique mix of gardening styles - English cottage garden and Burle Marx EURoejunglesqueEUR -grew into a stunning collage of color and form that is now a stop on international horticultural tours. There are other public gardens in the area, other pousadas and other restaurants, besides themuseums and craft shops. I was so busy exploring them I missed just relaxing in the gardens atAlcobaca. Maybe next time. Petropolis would make an excellent destination any time of year, but it isespecially pleasant when the temperature soars in the lowlands of Rio de Janeiro. I canEUR(TM)twait to return.Spelling note: Brasil, not Brazil, is how they spell their country.I followed their lead.TurisRio (Tourism Company of Rio de Janeiro State)http://www.1Rio.net Email Miriam Cutzmiriamcutz@turisrio.rj.gov.brRio Convention & Visitors Bureauhttp://www.rcvb.com.brPousada da Alcobacahttp://www.pousadadaalcobaca.com.brMuseu Imperial(24)2237-8000open Tues - Sunday / 8 RealsTAM Airlineshttp://www.tam.com.brRoberto Burle Marxhttp://www.travelroads.com/article/id_1455Richard Frisbie, FOOD Correspondent:RICHARD FRISBIE is published twice a month to Gather Essentials: Food.It is a food junkie's take on growing, raising, preparing and - above all else - eating food. TogetherweEUR(TM)ll explore the trends, addictions, equipment and regional specialties that make up thesometimes mundane and sometimes sublime cooking and dining experience. You can keep up withmy other postings and Gather activity by joining my Gather network -- I look forward to hearing fromyou.You can read city of des moines employment all of my articleshttp://rfrisbie.gather.com/ or findthem with those of the other Food Correspondents, plus celebrity chef content and plenty of otherFoodies athttp://foodtalk.gather.comBIO - Richard Frisbie writes culinary travel articles, is a columnist for his local newspapers, and is aregular contributor to the many Hudson Valley, Catskill Mountain and other regional New Yorkpublications. Online, he writes frequent articles for EDGE Publications, GoNomad and Travel Lady,as well as Gather.JOIN MY GROUPS:Everything About New York State http://aboutnewyork.gather.com/Travel/Food/Wine BOOK Reviews http://tfwbookreviews.gather.com/Food Videos Forum http://foodvideos.gather.com/Join to see some of the kitchens and techniques you read about here at GatherBLOG - http://www.bloglines.com/blog/rfrisbieWhere some of my Gather work and other things, primarily about New York State, appears.BOOKSTORE - Specializing in New York State books since 1959 http://www.hopefarm.comhttp://gather.com/petropolis-brasil-rio-de-janeiro-is-the-state-im-in/