Uruguay Day 11 – Legislative Palace + Baar Fun Fun

Palacio Legislativo

Light day today. We started by walking to the Legislative Palace (Palacio Legislativo). The next tour wasn’t until 45 minutes after we got there, so we decided to skip it. The outside of the building is impressive, though, and we saw some good street art on the way, so it wasn’t a wasted trip. I don’t recommend walking there because the neighborhood is mostly offices. Very few cafes or restaurants (which means, very few places that have public bathrooms).

Marching Band

On our way back to the hotel from the bus stop, we ran into a marching band. Looked to be a military band.

Public House American

We tried the restaurant next door to our hotel for lunch, Public House American. It’s the hotel bar for the SMART Hotel. Every time we walk by we say “we should try it”, so we finally did. It was fine. Not great, but fine.

The seafood risotto was a tad chewy, but had good flavor, and the sorrentinos (Argentinian ravioli) were a bit doughy, but the Bolognese was good. Service was also a bit slow, but they’d just opened for lunch, so we’ll cut them some slack. 3 out of 5 stars.

Baar Fun Fun

Baar Fun Fun was another spot we’ve been meaning to try. We met Daniel there for an early (6:30pm) dinner. It was a great spot! If we didn’t have an early day tomorrow, we’d have come back at 10pm for the live music.

The bar has been around since 1895. There are tons of old photos on the walls (Danny Glover, Maradona, Bryan Adams, Obama, and a lot more), soccer jerseys and banners, a collection of old Coca-Cola bottles (some from 1899-1906), and other nicknacks.

They make their own wine liqueur called Uvita. They make a sweet version and a bitter amaro. We tried them both, and they were both delicious! We bought a bottle of the sweet one to bring home. The food was also very good. The beef chivito al pan was excellent – the bread was very soft. Danny had the milanesa with fries that were topped with mushroom gravy. Very tasty.