Our final day in Uruguay. We didn’t fly out until 10:15pm, so had a full day, including trying a new (to us) café (the oldest café in Montevideo), and a new hotel. But wait until you hear about the in-flight meal from Montevideo to Miami. It’s a doozy.
Back to La Sin Rival
We enjoyed La Sin Rival last night so much, we decided to return for breakfast this morning. It did not disappoint. They had a prix fixe breakfast for 2 for 850 Uruguayan Pesos (about $21 USD) that included: a huge portion of perfectly cooked scrambled eggs, ham and cheese croissants, fresh fruit cups, freshly squeezed orange juice, coffee (we both had café lattes), and choice of any dessert from their dessert case. It was delicious.
New Hotel
When we booked our hotel, we hadn’t booked the flights yet, so didn’t know that our return flight was going to be at 10:15pm. Instead of booking another night at Esplendor/Cervantes, we decided to book a night at the hotel next door: SMART Hotel. We booked it so that we’d have a place to relax and shower before the flight, even though we wouldn’t be spending the night. It was worth it (and very reasonable). The hotel is more modern than the Cervantes, and the bed was much more comfortable.
After checking out of the Cervantes, we sent to check in at SMART Hotel. Our room wasn’t ready, so we dropped off our bags and went out for a late morning pick-me-up.
The Oldest Café in Montevideo
We went to Café Brasilero, which is the oldest café in Montevideo, for a coffee. It’s been around since 1877. The interior was cozy, with lots of old photos on the walls, and they had what was likely their first espresso machine (pre steam-driven machines) on display, which was cool to see.
After some wandering around Ciudad Vieja and picking up a few last minute souvenirs, we got a message that our room was ready, so we got our room key and got settled. By now it was time for lunch, so we decided to try Ramona Central, which we’d passed by several times but hadn’t yet tried.
Ramona Central
Ramona Central is a nice little café and restaurant, with some fun art on the walls. The menu was a bit limited, but we both found something that sounded good. Unfortunately, they brought us both the exact same thing, without any word as to why. Were they out of what I ordered? Was it a mistake? I was pretty hungry, so just rolled with it. The food was tasty, even if it wasn’t what I ordered.
The Worst In-Flight Meal We’ve Ever Had
We eventually made it to the airport for our 10:15pm flight. About an hour into the flight, they came around with the in-flight meal. We both chose the chicken (as did the gentleman from Chicago who was in our row). It was a big mistake.
The chicken was stringy, dry, tasteless, and impossible to cut with the wooden knife we were given. We had to pick it up with our fingers to eat it (but wish we’d just let it be). The salad (I think it was a salad?) was unidentifiable and disgusting. One bite was more than enough. The bread roll was stale and crumbly. The cinnamon roll was stale and tasted like cardboard. The little pack of crackers tasted like sawdust. There were no redeeming qualities to the meal. We all laughed at how bad it was, and at one point I turned to Teresa and said: “This meal offends me!” It would have been less offensive if they’d just given us a pack of pretzels. At least we could have eaten the pretzels. The entire meal begged the question: which is worse – prison food or the in-flight meal on American Airlines from Montevideo to Miami? My bet is on the in-flight meal. I bet the prison cooks are pretty good at their jobs. (Note: the meal from Miami to Montevideo wasn’t nearly as bad).
It would be a mistake to write this off as “airline food has really gone down hill”, because we’ve had some wonderful in-flight meals recently. The meals to and from Europe on our Christmas Market vacation were very tasty, and we ate the whole thing. The meals to and from Croatia were also good. In fact, I can’t think of the last time I had a bad meal, until now.
Redemption In Miami
Once we got to Miami International, we headed for the Centurion Lounge (after going through passport control, customs, and TSA again). Our stomachs were finally happy, as the food was delicious. Perfectly cooked scrambled eggs (one batch with bits of chorizo, another with spinach), and really good French toast.
LAX Is A Joke
Our brief moment of happiness in Miami was gone once we got to LAX. After walking through the bowels of the airport (there were literally no ceiling tiles, just exposed pipes everywhere) we took a shuttle across the tarmac to a dinky little secondary terminal where American Eagle flies. There was only one place to get food, and we were hungry, so we had to choice but to pay $65 for two ham, cheese, and egg croissants, a vitamin water, and a mineral water. What a joke. I’ve always hated LAX, and that certainly hasn’t changed. (When we fly to the LA area, we usually fly into Bob Hope – aka Hollywood Burbank Airport).
This ends our Uruguayan adventure. Once we’ve both recovered from jetlag, there will be two more posts. I’m going to put together a post with general tips and thoughts about Uruguay, and Montevideo in particular, and Teresa is going to make her Cervowanderlust debut with a post about her thoughts on Uruguay as well. Until then, chau chau (the Uruguayan spelling of ciao. which they use in the same way Italians do).
Coffee and pastries look divine! Agree LAX is the pits!