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...
After hitting up our hotel’s breakfast buffet, we met Daniel and took a leisurely walk to the Sunday street fair/market. It’s by far the biggest street fair we’ve ever seen, and it happens every Sunday! It’s called Feria de Tristán Narvaja, and if you’re visiting Montevideo, you shouldn’t miss it. (Come early for slightly smaller...
We began the day by picking up some delicious pastries at La Coruñesa Confiteria, then ate them with some espresso drinks at The Lab Coffee Roasters. Our hotel buffet has brewed coffee, but I need my espresso! Daniel’s favorite confiteria Just a few of the huge selection at La Coruñesa A display case at The Lab Coffee Roasters This particular location of The...
We were both a little run down on Tuesday, so we had a very light day. Wednesday was also light, but had a few highlights including a museum dedicated to the 1972 crash of Uruguayan Air Force Flight 571 carrying a Montevideo rugby team that crashed in the Andes mountains, as well as a cool bar that Anthony Bourdain visited on his 2nd trip to Montevideo, and Palacio...
Barrio Pocitos & Barrio Punta Carretas We spent the morning and afternoon exploring the Pocitos and Punta Carretas neighborhoods (barrios) of Montevideo (after our daily visit to Pausat, that is). There’s a long stretch of sandy beach in Pocitos, lined with high-rise apartment buildings. It was a windy and overcast day, so nobody was at the beach. As you...
We started the day at Pausat (of course), then got pedicures at Estilo & Arte, dropped off dirty clothes at a fluff & fold (Lavadero Pa’Lavar), then headed for a cat cafe called Cafelindo Café and Adoption Center. The café (and cats!) were adorable. Cafelindo Café and Adoption Center A Void (Mauricio) and a Tuxedo (Tito) get pets from Teresa You can see...
Today we explored Parque Rodó, both the namesake park, and the barrio (neighborhood). We also scoped out the beach where we plan to return tomorrow. It’s now been one week since we arrived. Breakfast deal at La Pasiva Pausat, our favorite coffee house, doesn’t open until 4:00pm on Saturdays, so we went to La Pasiva instead. They had a good breakfast deal:...
Daniel and I went to the beach this morning at Playa Ramírez, which is in Barrio Parque Rodó. Teresa stayed back to relax at the hotel, not wanting to brave the wind. It turned out to be breezy, but not too bad. I got sand-blasted a couple times when it briefly picked up, but there are some places that will charge you for that privilege, and I got it for free! The...
The highlight of the day was the flamenco show at Teatro Solís, but first we went to Montevideo Shopping Center, which is a huge shopping mall in Pocitos. We, of course, started the day at Pausat (now that they were open again in the mornings), then took the bus to Montevideo Shopping Center in Pocitos. It’s a big, modern, 3-story shopping mall. I bought a nice...
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...