a day trip to uruguay
uruguay and the unesco world heritage site of colonia del sacramento sit just across the river from buenos aires. since visiting another south american country was as easy as a ferry ride away, we decided to take a day trip. as we waited to board we all oohed and aahed at this lovely (albeit a bit ragged) airedale who was greeting passengers. her name was lady and she was owned by the man running the coffee shop at the port.
i've never been to cuba, but it kept coming to mind as we walked across the cobblestone streets of this lovely town.
old cars were everywhere, brightly painted.
first things first. as the ferry was really early, we had breakfast upon arrival. i am a convert to two of the great foods in south america: one is the submarino - a mug of warm milk with a chunk of dark chocolate dropped into it.
oh. my. god.
and the other is the national cookie of argentina (and presumably, uruguay) called an alfahora. they come in a variety of flavors - this one is filled with chocolate and dusted with coconut.
voila - breakfast of champions.
the town is astride the rio de la plata river, the widest in the world - so wide at points that it seems like the sea - but it doesn't drain into the atlantic ocean for miles.
the town dates to the 1600s - part of the original gateway is still standing. a pack of jubilant wild dogs accompanied us through our walking tour, even entering a church, much to the consternation of our tour guide - see the pack leader barely visible below
colonia is a popular destination for honeymooners and weekenders from buenos aires
what - time to eat again? (if you're like me, eating is one of my favorite things to do on vacation)
we stopped at a traditional parilla (pronounced parisha) where grilled steak is on the menu.
steak is big in south america. and the steaks are actually big......
we ordered some grilled peppers to go along with it
and some french fries dusted with garlic and parsley
not only the steaks are oversized down here...
we looked out over the river - its name, rio de plata, means silver river........
entertainment was a phil collins concert from the 80s
somewhere between susudio and in the air tonight i was mesmerized by the sunlight on the water and drifted into a silvery slumber
as buenos aires appeared like a mirage in the distance
