One of our favorite stops on the trip was the 17th century colonial hill town of Ouro Preto. This town sprang up when gold was discovered here by the Portuguese – its name literally meaning ‘black gold’. There were baroque churches seemingly on every corner and the whole town was full of college students due to one of Brazil’s few universities being located here. We stayed in a hotel designed by Niemeyer – one of the only ‘modern’ buildings in town, though it did remarkable job at blending in.  Walking into Ouro Preto from the bus stop we were met with this panoramic. Our hotel is on the bottom right.  Lots of cool doors. Igreja de São Francisco de Assis - built in 1731 Igreja Nossa Senhora do Rosário - built in 1785 A chocolate that was colored like a gold nugget. Fruit market Soapstone Carving market The Grande hotel in Ouro Preto designed by Niemeyer in 1938. Another shot of the hotel. Our room had this amazing spiral staircase to get to the bedroom and bathroom.