Looking Back: Montevideo, Uruguay

January 20th - Montevideo is very much like Rio in that you see the modern city amidst the tattered remnants of their colonial pasts.  

Fanciful architecture

Some of the old architecture is amazing, however most of the buildings are simply falling apart from neglect and lack of funds.  I liked the feel of Montevideo - it seemed comfortable and laid-back - though we were there on a Saturday and that may explain everything.

Palace Trancato

I escorted a walking tour of Constitution Square, Palace Trancato (a museum), the Metropolitan Cathedral, and Teatro Solis
. 

After I dropped off the tour paddle and changed clothes, I decided to head out on my own and walked back to the square we had toured earlier in the day.  As we were in the Southern hemisphere (their summer), it remained daylight until almost 9:00 pm.  At the Metropolitan Cathedral, which bordered one end of the square, a huge wedding let out and I stopped to watch all the beautifully dressed people.  I then went to a lovely restaurant named La Corte located in a grand, historic building, Club Uruguay.  

Club Uruguay

Carolina, my waitress, spoke English very well and we had a nice chat as I drank tannat wine (a Uruguayan red wine), ate and people-watched out the window.  We were scheduled to leave the port at 1:00 am and so at 11:30 pm I decided it was time to take a cab back to the ship.  The exchange rate is so favorable that I was able to eat (a lot), have a couple of glasses of wine, dessert and coffee, purchase two bottles of the tannat wine, and be driven back to the ship for around $50.00 - not a bad deal for a Saturday night.  It was really nice to actually be able to spend an evening in a port since we usually have to reboard the ship at 4:00 pm for a 5:00 pm departure.

Looking Back: Rio de Janeiro

Another travel adventure from my time on the ship.

January 18th - We have made our first stop on the World Cruise - in Rio de Janeiro.  I was really excited to be in Rio, but I went on a god-awful tour "for guests who prefer little or no walking" which translated to a busload of the oldest, crankiest and most decrepit guests.  Plus, Rio is known for sun and sand, but it was a rainy, overcast day which did not show Rio at its full glory.  

Rio on a rainy day

The tour guide, Thelma, was charming and as we drove around the city and I got to see the famous Ipanema and Copacabana beaches, plus I got to see the Christ The Redeemer statue, but only from a distance.

Christ the Redeemer - from afar

Beach Art

Confeitaria Colombo

After the tour, Lisette (a coworker who was on the same tour but a different bus) and I got the name of a decent restaurant downtown and we practically ran there and immediately ordered glasses of wine so we could rid ourselves of the unpleasantness of the tour. Egads! We ate at Confeitaria Colombo, built in 1894, and it was a grand place with a stained glass skylight and huge mirrors placed in panels around the room. We sat on the balcony overlooking the main dining room and had a very nice meal.

We then walked around window shopping until it was time to reboard the ship.

I then went to sailaway and got some beautiful pictures of Rio in the late afternoon light.

Leaving Rio