Today we took a 8:30 am bus from Colonia to Montevideo through green agricultural lands. The trip took about 2.5 hours. There were cattle everywhere which is not surprising since both Argentinian and Uruguay cuisine is centered around meat.
From the Montevideo bus terminal we grabbed a cab to our hostel (El Viajero Hostel), dropped off our luggage and headed to the Sunday Market which apparently is a must do in Montevideo. This market was huge. It went on for blocks and blocks in all directions. People were selling everything from pets to antiques to food to garage sale stuff.
After grabbing a bite to eat, we headed back to check into our hostel and get changed then back to exploring the city.
A lot of things were closed because it was a Sunday but we also discovered it was their national election day…and not a protest to be found.Lots of cars were driving around waving the Uruguayan flag and flags representing a political party.
I noticed some Christmas decorations around….but it really doesnt feel like Christmas with the warm weather.
We walked some of the La Rambla, the waterfront boardwalk, which apparently runs for 22km.
We next went into the Old Town. The architecture is gorgeous. We saw the Palacio Salvo, the twin building of Palacio Barolo that we toured in Buenos Aires.
We went for supper in the Mercado del Puerto which is the old port market building that has been converted into restaurants and shops. We tried the Chivito, which is the national dish of Uruguay made with thinly sliced beef, ham, mozzarella, eggs, bacon, mayonnaise and olives. Although tasty, it was heavy on the meat and eggs and I couldnt finish it.
Thoroughly stuffed, we returned to our hostel for the night.