253 Rua Quintino Bocaíuva, Amparo, SP

Before (2002)

2009


What is across the street - they all think I am nuts for taking pictures of these old places, but they are being restored little by little, sometimes with disastrous consequences. But as you can see there is a certain charm about the colors and materials.










I have been returning to photograph this house / and door for a number of years. A picture of it is always on my website. A few years a back, I got Milton's sister Tata, to call the realtor when I walked by and it was for sale. So we went inside, pretending to be able to buy it... I think it was an amazing R$450.000.00 (about $225,000, US).

It is a huge old house with a nice back yard, that would be perfect for a B & B. To the left of this door is a garage. When we went in, this somewhat modest door opened to a grand staircase to the second floor with a large room in the corner of the house, with large windows, perfect for summer breezes. Around the other two sides of the room are bedrooms, at the time full of antiques, and a small hallway that leads to the kitchen and outdoors, and an old senzala and kitchen garden. At the time it needed an enormous amount of work. One can see now that they are undertaking it, with care. I hope they saved the murals in the livng room.

I could really see myself running this palce, but alas there is only a small college (FIA - Faculdades Integradas de Amparo) here that, well, isn't exactly what we are looking for. Its hard to come back to your own town and assume a higher position, from a public school math teacher to college professor. So our dreams and sights are still are set on Ouro Preto (M as a professor, me running a little barzinho, and teaching a class or two in my retirement).

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