On Friday, we took a day trip to Punta del Este, which is about a 2 hour bus ride away from Montevideo and full of beaches. It was a beautiful weekend - the weather was perfect. We decided to follow a circuit thing around Punta del Este that had different stops and cool things to see, but we ended up misreading the map and going the completely wrong direction and getting quite lost. However, it was an adventure and we ended up seeing a part of the city tourists don't normally see! After getting un-lost, we went and hung out at the beach for the afternoon. It was awesome being able to relax and catch up with some Northwestern friends in South American. After the beach, we went back to Montevideo, cleaned up, and went to a parrilla for dinner. It was so delicious - I'm going to miss these parrillas when I go back to the US!
On Saturday, we took a walk around the boardwalk of Montevideo in the morning. It was beautiful, and made me wish that Buenos Aires had beaches. Everywhere we went we saw people drinking their mate - they're super obsessed with it there. After walking around the boardwalk, we went to la ciudad vieja (the old city), which is the oldest part of the city, and walked around. They had a bit of a craft fair, so we did some shopping. We also got chivitos for lunch, which are the food to eat in Montevideo. They're like hamburgers, but with ham, bacon, cheese, lettuce, tomato, onions, different kinds of mayo, and tons of other stuff. They're huge, but super delicious! I have no idea how people can finish them (see below for a picture). Saturday evening Meghan and I returned to Buenos Aires, and she stayed here for a few days with some of her friends from Santiago and I got to be Tour Guide Sarah once again.
On Sunday, we went to the feria in San Telmo and bought some souvenirs - specifically, some awesome, colorful, super comfy Argentine pants! Afterwards we went to La Casa Rosada (the pink house) which is where the president works, and got a tour inside. It almost looked more like a museum than a government building. After that, we went to dinner and had some delicious pizza with ice cream for dessert.
On Monday, I took Meghan and her friends to Recoleta. We went on a tour of the cemetery. I've been to the cemetery a couple times before, but never took the tour, so it was cool to hear the history behind several of the tombs. After that we walked around a bit, got lunch, and saw the giant metal flower that opens during the day and closes at night. We tried to go the the Museo de Bellas Artes, but it was closed. After that we went to a parrilla where they were having a happy hour - 40% as long as you finished in an hour. It was super, super delicious, and a mountain of food. After we were stuffed from dinner, Meghan and I went back to her hostel and we skyped some friends together.
Tuesday was a dreary, gray day. However, we didn't care and went to the Jardín Japonés (Japanese gardens) and walked around a bit. This was my first time going there, and they were very beautiful. I'm sure they'd be much prettier on a sunny day. After that, it started to rain more so to get out of the rain we went to the Evita museum. I'd been before, but it was just as interesting the second time as the first. After that, Meghan had to catch her flight to return to Santiago, ending a super busy but super fun weekend. I'm so happy that I got a chance to hang out with friends while in South America.
Tomorrow I leave to go back to Uruguay with my program to celebrate Thanksgiving. This is my first Thanksgiving ever not at home, which is kind of weird. I miss my family, but I'm excited to celebrate it with all my friends here! We're going to the house of our program director in Colonia, then spending a couple days in Punta del Este. It should be a great weekend. After that, I have 1 day in Buenos Aires and then I leave with 2 other friends to go to Patagonia for a week, which I'm SUPER excited about. We're going to the "end of the world" to see glaciers and penguins! After that, I only have 3 days left in Argentina, and then it's back to the US for a few weeks. So much to do, so little time!
Here are some pictures from my travels this weekend:
No comments:
Post a Comment