Uruguay Day 1 – Arrival and Exploring Montevideo

We arrived in Montevideo after a 24 hour trek (two layovers before taking a redeye from Miami) at 10:15am. Our friend Daniel, who was born here and spends 3 months here every year, met us at the airport. We took a mini tour through some of the barrios (neighborhoods) on the way to our hotel. We dropped off our bags then Daniel took us on a walking tour of the area around our hotel before stopping at Bar Tasende for an early lunch.

Bar Tasende is a wood-fired pizza bar in the Ciudad Vieja (Old Town) barrio, near Plaza Independencia. They serve Uruguayan style pizza, which is a fluffy square of dough topped with sauce and toppings (very similar to a Sicilian style), usually cut into squares. They serve it with a side of fainá, a chickpea flour flatbread baked like pizza. They also serve Argentine style Fugazza pizza, but we opted for the Uruguayan style. It was delicious! (So delicious, in fact, that I forgot to take a picture!)

After some more exploring, admiring the varied architecture which is a mix of colonial and modern, we finally checked into our hotel and took a much needed nap. One thing we noticed on our walk was the abundance of tree-covered plazas with benches for sitting, as well as little corners with sitting areas built-in. Everywhere we went, people were taking advantage of these public spaces – there were always people sitting and relaxing! Also, the architecture is an interesting mix of colonial and modern.

After our nap, we went to La Tienda de Quesos Doña Isabel (Doña Isabel’s Cheese Shop) for happy hour, which they call “after office” (in English, no less!) The jet-lag must have been getting to me (we’d been up over 30 hours at this point, minus a short siesta) as I forgot to get a picture here as well (aside from my delicious oatmeal stout). Update: turns out Teresa managed to get some photos of our after office food! (see below)

We had some wonderful mini empanadas and a charcuterie board filled with delicious meats and cheeses. The cheese and caramelized onion mini empanada was especially tasty.

Tablado del Barrio

After our snack, we walked to the Museo del Carnaval (Carnaval Museum) for the Tablado del Barrio. Although we missed the Carnaval parades, the festivities continue past the official end of Carnaval, with stage (tablado) performances in the various barrios. We made it to the final night of the festival, with performances in the courtyard of the museum. There were drum lines, dancers, and stage performers doing various vaudeville-like routines. There were vendors selling grilled chorizo en pan (aka choripán – chorizo served in a crusty break roll), churros, and other treats. It was a fun ending to the Carnaval season.

Here’s a video of some performers:

Here are some photos from inside the Carnaval Museum:

Here’s another video of some performers, followed by a few more photos:

The Dog Who Smokes

Next door to the Carnaval Museum is an historic bar called El Perro Que Fuma (The Dog Who Smokes). We stopped in for a couple drinks to end the night. The owners were gracious and fun, and the bar has a funky-cool vibe. We’ll probably be back at some point!

On our walk back to the hotel, we passed by an artist’s gallery, and the artist was busy at work:

Final Thoughts from the Day

Many of the streets were lined with trees, even those with tall buildings. It’s very nice to have all the greenery amongst the buildings, although it does have one side effect: the roots cause the sidewalks to buckle and crack. You need to always be watching where you step!

Number of steps for the day: 14,774

Additional photos from the day