The reason we were able to experience four days at the beautiful Uruguayan beaches was the family connections we have through "A" (an uruguaya living in the states) who happened to seek my mom out for childcare services the same week we came to Uruguay. From there, contact information was exchanged, emails went shooting off back and forth, and ET and I have had the pleasure of feeling like a part of their Uruguayan-American family. Suffice to say, we are also eternally grateful for Mom, whose love of people and exceptional personality have led her to meet such "buena gente."
On that note, I must say a few things I have learned and observed about the Uruguayan family.
I speak from my experience, from what I have heard, and from generalities and thus I do not doubt that there are multiple exceptions.
To the Uruguayos, family is very important. Christmas, New Year's, King's Day, and birthdays are all reasons for families to get together, eat BBQ, drink a bit, and share each other's company. But it doesn't stop there. Sundays are huge family days, and from what I can tell, the majority of people have a large lunch each Sunday at the house of their parents or grandparents. The thing that is impressive to me, is none of this seems forced. Rather, it is natural that they meet on these days, and they genuinely enjoy each other's company.
I went to get my hair trimmed the other day and was talking with the stylist who had traveled to the U.S. a few years back. I asked her if she would ever consider working in the U.S., as we were both aware how much more salary her profession would earn there. She said she would never go, because she could never get used to the mentality. She felt that here in Uruguay, time with family is given much more importance and more attention. She did not like the idea of children moving away, families being separated, and family vacations only lasting a week. It is true that here families often vacation together for a month or two in the summer, nephews will live with uncles while they are attending school, daughters and sons with live with their parents until they are married and often work for the family business. While we all may pass our own judgments on these situations based on our own beliefs and experiences, I have to say that there is something beautiful about the feeling of the Uruguayan family. There is an importance placed on time spent with family, as well as a feeling of helping one another, be it giving a grandson a job, renting an apartment at a low cost to a niece, or taking the time to make a large meal for 10-20 family and friends.
During our time at the La Aguada, a beach near La Paloma and Costa Azul, we stayed with "A's" brother "J" and we were treated as part of the family. People started saying.. "Oh, you must be the daughter of so and so." We replied..."nope, just visitors!" Our eating habits turned Uruguayan, eating bizcochos and café con leche in the morning, going to Popi for artisan ice cream, savoring buttery corn on the cob from stands on the beach, , and of course eating dinner with 15 or so family members at 12:30 AM.
I have more to tell, including pictures...but for now I must sign off. Till then...lots of love, and cheers to family and friends both near and far.
-GG
17 January 2007
Family
16 January 2007
We're back....
Hey everyone, ET and I had a little vacation to the beaches of Rocha, a couple hours away from the city. It was lovely to come back to emails and phone messages. We will write more soon about our wonderful time at la playa!
10 January 2007
Sunbathing
One of our friends here in Uruguay came over for a visit and the first thing she said was how pale I was! I glanced at her gorgeous bronzed skin and noted the difference. It is true, though the sun is out and I am too, I have maintained my light skin. ET and I have found the sun to be particularly strong here in Uruguay, due the fact of where we are in relation to the hole in the ozone layer.
On this side of the equator, the sun is forceful and beats down for most of the day. But no matter where you live, I encourage everyone to lather up with protective sun creams. We did some research and found that hands down everyone is recommending La Roche-Posay In fact, New York Times recently published an article called "The Cosmetics Restriction Diet", encouraging consumers to limit their number of skin care treatments to three products, one of them being this skin cream. Until recently, you could not buy it in the U.S., as the FDA was dragging their heels on approving it. The ingredient "Mexoryl" that the product contains, is said to fight against harmful UVA rays, while most sunscreens only fight UVB. It is a little pricey, about 25-30 dollars depending on where you buy it. But as a fight against the more serious skin cancer and and the more vain avoidance of wrinkles, I think it is worth it.
09 January 2007
Piriápolis
ET and I took a day trip out to Piriápolis, a beach town about 1.5 hours away from Montevideo by bus. We originally set out to explore "Bella Vista" but were persuaded by the ticket collector that Bella Vista had "nada que ver" and that Piriápolis was a better option. We were a little reluctant at first, as we had a recommendation from an Uruguaya, but in the end it turned out well that we listened to the advice of this man. As we passed Bella Vista on our route to Piriápolis, we noted that the ONLY thing that was there was a "Bella Vista." (beautiful view)
I really liked Piriápolis, it reminded me of a smaller version of Catalina, a small but lively island off the coast of California. In my opinion, it is worth a day trip, but unless you are going to stay at the casino-resort Argentino Hotel, you might not have enough reason to stay for two days.
The beach was nice, but the water was speckled with "aguavivas", or jellyfish. For this reason I did not enter the water, but did see one or two people jumping away from the floating creatures as they neared the shore.
We ended up finding a great little Armenian restaurant for lunch. I was happy there was another option besides La Pasiva or the countless Parillas. The food was tasty, and I also enjoyed a lovely tea of cloves and cinnamon. I know that there is an Armenian delivery on Av. Brazil in Pocitos. Has anyone tried it?
After soaking in the sun, we went in search of new adventures. The tourist office was helpful and told us of the wilderness tours, long horse rides, etc. that we could experience. Unfortunately, all these things had to be planned in advance. However, there were some men that rented horses by the hour...
We took a short walk and stumbled upon the sight of caballos. As we quickened our pace, we noticed two other people who seemed interested in renting horses. "Great," I thought. "We are just in time to join a group and get a guided tour." Hmm...a naive thought. After discussing prices, the pair casually hopped on the horses and trotted off, without a guide or accompaniment.
The man renting the horses, who clearly seemed to be the owner asked us how long we would like to ride. I decided a half hour was good, as I was a little unsure about this excursion. "Pero, vamos a tener un guia, si?", I asked. Luckily my request was accommodated, and Fermin, who could not have been older than 16, followed us on our way.
So did I have fun? Yes! But why they gave me the drunken horse I am not sure....
ET's horse was mainly calm and well behaved. That is to say, it actually walked in a straight line most of the time. My horse seemed to have problems with walking in a straight line, going up hill, turning, and in general, just moving. Every once in a while Fermin would rap my horse's butt with the stick which got him going. On one hand this was good, on the other hand, I practically pounced right off when the animal went from a trot to a canter. As I was struggling to hold on I heard ET say, "just squeeze the saddle with your legs." I looked over at his nice cushy sheep skin padded saddle as I squeezed my legs against the bare, hard saddle with which the drunken horse was dressed with. Ah, I just laughed and held on. I was glad we chose "media hora" (half an hour) for our excursion.
It was a fun, quick ride, and I would recommend it.
The views of the beach were gorgeous, and the summer homes were cute and quaint. Just make sure and ask for the horses that have not been drinking medio-medio the night before.
Best,
GG
05 January 2007
Belleza
Warning: this post maybe female-specific.
For all you ladies who are considering a visit to Montevideo, I recommend that you wait and do all your hair styling, hair dying, waxing, pedicuring, manicuring, and whatever other "high maintenance" services you require, here in Uruguay.
Belleza means beauty and there are countless Centros de Belleza here in Montevideo. The services are incredibly affordable, and I have paid only a fraction of the price I would pay in the states. To give you an idea, the above picture has some common prices of services. "Lavado" is a hairwash, "Corte" would be a hair cut ("dama" = female, "caballero"= man), "mechas" are highlights, "Depilacion" is waxing, "cejas" are eyebrows, "manos" are hands, "pies" are feet, and "piernas" are legs. For the conversion from pesos to dollars, divide by 23.
I have also heard that you can have a lady come to your house to do a manicure, pedicure, waxing, and massage. I have not checked the prices yet, but I assume they would be similar. I do have a card of an esthetician and a number of a recommended massage therapist. If anyone is interested, send me an email.
For those who are local and who will visit, I hope this information helps! (P.S. Though the waxing is less expensive here, it does not hurt any less. ) =(
01 January 2007
HAPPY NEW YEAR
Happy New Year Everyone!!! Feliz Año!!! GG & I wish you much peace, grace and joy in 2007; time to spend with friends, both old and new; and the dedication it takes to live the dream you want to live and be the person you want to be.
We hope you had a great New Year's Eve... Our Noche Vieja was fantastic!
We spent NYE with an eclectic group of new friends at an apartment in Centro. We arrived at about 10pm with our contribution to the "lluvia" (rain) party, better known to Americans as a potluck. Appetizers included fresh veggies, homemade hummus, and delicious daiquiris. Interesting conversations and great music kept the spirits high and quickly bought us to the end of 2006.
We rushed up to the top of the building at about 7 minutes till the New Year, sidra (cider) or Medio y Medio (half white wine/half sparkling wine) in hand and awaited the ubiquitous fireworks that seem to mark all important celebrations. It was simply amazing. Watch it here.
After a half an hour of continuous fireworks and wishing everyone a Happy New Year we went back to the apartment to eat dinner of numerous salads, curried chicken, veggie lasagna, and albóndigas and finished up with flan and cake. Everything was homemade, except for one dessert. Together the thirteen of us represented four different continents, 3 native languages, and a general feeling that 2006 was a good year and optimistic about 2007.
To make sure we started 2007 on the right foot, we summoned up the energy to head out to the Ciudad Vieja to dance (or in our case, watch) tango. We walked the four or five blocks and entered an unassuming door, climbed a flight of stairs and were struck by the rustic beauty of the club. The dance room floors were wood paneled and bouncy and the walls were brick with high arches spanning the tall doorways. Various revelers in the street could be heard shouting through the windows, and hip-hop and rock music from the bar below, but the soft tango music and elegant dancers drew our full attention once we settled. This was tango in an almost literary form... dim lighting, younger women dancing with older men, younger men practicing their steps with a few gracious women, couples moving in and out of light, shade and smoke. It was mesmerizing. Watch the video here.
After a few dances and looking at my watch only to see it was 3:30am, GG & I resigned to heed our yawns and bid our friends farewell.
30 December 2006
Ciudad Vieja
I love the 121 bus. We have picked it up down the street from our apartment and we're dropped off right in front of beautiful Teatro Solis to watch a show. I can catch it from the Punta Carretas Mall and get dropped off a block away from my Pilates classes. It also is the bus to catch if you want to head to Ciudad Vieja and explore for the day. Which is exactly what we did today.
The first stop was lunch, which I described in Comida Vasca. From there we walked past Plaza Independencia, past Teatro Solis, and headed for Plaza Matriz. Along the way we saw some Candombe drummers, playing spontaneously in the street. Today seemed to be somewhat quiet downtown, but usually a few drummers will start, and walk through the streets and plazas. As they move along, they are joined by other drummers. The group gets louder and larger as they march along. I really like hearing the drummers, and definitely want to experience more before we leave.
We headed to Plaza Matriz because the paper said there was a special artisan fair with performers. Well, it actually turned out to be the same outdoor market they have every Saturday, with antiques, old books, and a few hand made things. We had been to this market before, so we didn't stay too long. ET did eye a Montblanc (overpriced fountain pen) that we were told was an original. Some later research on the internet proved that it was missing a piece. Oh ya, she only wanted 200 U.S. dollars.
Artisanal Mates
After the market, we headed back towards Plaza Independencia. The opening picture on this post is of the last piece of the old wall that formerly surrounded Montevideo. Technically, it seperates Ciudad Vieja from Cuidad Nueva.
Next we headed to Palacio Taranco, an old residence (which looks more like a palace) of a merchant who lived in Montevideo in the early 20th century. Only a few rooms were open, but they were magnificently decorated with antique furniture. I loved the high ceilings, the stained glass and the huge dance hall.
Finally, we headed to Mercado del Puerto, which turned out to be a quick visit. I read in the paper that people have been celebrating there everyday since December 24th and the crowds would continue through the new year. It was true, the place definitely had the stench of beer and .... well, we will leave it at that.
We were victims of a custom I had recently heard about. Apparently, around this time of the year, kids take to filling up water balloons and throwing them at innocent passersby. As we were walking down the street, I eyed three kids on the a balcony getting ready to peg their victim. I thought I was being clever, and I pulled ET along the other side of the road, only to be splashed by another three kids on the balcony of a different building! There happen to be some cops on that street, and they just stood back laughing and assuring us that it was only water. We barely were splashed, so it was humorous.
We walked back away from the Puerto, avoiding the crowded Mercado. The good ol' 121 arrived just as we got to the bus stop.
Fun day in the sun in Ciudad Vieja.
Comida Vasca
ET and I decided to check out some Basque food this weekend and had great success. Last night we went to a restaurant called "La Perdiz" which besides having the normal selection of parilla and pasta, also specializes in Basque food. ET and I both had fish, and they were both delicious. I had a salmon with a tomato sauce that included onions, garlic, bell peppers and green beans. The salmon tasted so fresh. ET had a white fish that was also very tasty. The ambiance was great. We sat outside on a hot 30ºC (86ºF) night and greatly enjoyed the company of our new friends from Australia. Great isn't it? Americans and Australians eating Basque food in Uruguay.
But today our taste buds were really impressed.
ET stumbled upon a restaurant downtown called Cantina Vasca (above picture) and we thought we would give it a try. Though the sign is simple, the building is very impressive. We entered through a marble staircase that had a beautiful stain glass image at the top. We turned to the left to enter the restaurant. Low ceilings with beautiful dark wood beams, pictures, trophies, and flags gave the ambiance of sort of a local bar and club. We sat right by the window, we had a cool breeze coming in and a view of the street.
I knew I wanted to try fish again. If was as good as last night, I would be pleased. ET and I decided to chose a different fish each, and than swap half. Good decision? Excellent decision. After a few nibbles of cheese squares and bread with seasoned mayo, our plates came of the kitchen pipping hot and ready for us to dive in.
They were both simple white fishes, but cooked two different ways and with a slight variation on the ingredients. I am not even going to describe them further. Just look at the picture and drool.
In all seriousness, if you are in Montevideo, you really should go and check this place out. (But be sure to wait until after the 15th of January, as they are closing for vacation tomorrow. ) For something very sweet and very different for dessert, try the zapallito en almibar. Yes, I know...zapallos are vegetables. I did say something different, did I not?
Ahh...it makes us so happy to find new dining experiences that are worth the buck!
27 December 2006
Nochebuena y Navidad
I hope everyone enjoyed their holidays! ET and I had a great Christmas. We were able to celebrate with both Christmas Eve and and Christmas Day with new friends whom we have met here. We feel so blessed to be invited in as part of the family.
We were also able to talk to many our family back home and see some of them through webcam. Wow, technology is great!
Here in Montevideo, most families celebrate "Nochebuena", or Christmas Eve, more than Christmas Day. In our case, we went to our friends house around 9:00 pm for dinner. Dinner did not actually start until much later, but of course there were drinks, appetizers, and conversation. Dinner was delicious. We had pork stuffed with prunes, chicken and garlic sauce, a "torta de queso" and a delicious selection of salads. The "torta de queso" was similar to a quiche, but had a sweet bottom crust and was filled with a mixture of heavy cream, eggs, and Parmesan. The salads ranged from Greek salad, lettuce and tomato salad, and few others that we were less familiar with. For instance, grated carrots, mayo, and peanuts. Sounds odd, but it was really tasty!
After dinner, everyone awaited midnight. As it got closer to the hour, we started to hear firecrackers. Uruguayans LOVE fireworks, and around this time of year they are a part of the celebration. Finally midnight arrived, and we toasted with champagne, and then headed for the front door. Fireworks were now in full "boom" and were going off from and in every direction.
I felt like I was in a war zone.
It was really impressive actually. Every few houses there were small groups of people lighting small, medium, and large firecrackers in the street. Some crackers just made noise. Kids had sparklers and those little pop things that you throw. Everyone was having a great time. We were outside for about a half hour, and I was told that this is the time that "Papa Noel" visits your house and leaves presents under the tree. As one American observer asked, "Don't the kids wonder why they do not SEE Santa overhead?" (I think the more provocative question is : Don't they worry that Santa or one of his reindeer are going to get singed by one of the firecrackers? I guess you give it up the magic of Christmas.)
We happily trudged back inside to find our presents and open them. ET received a very cool black and white poster of Montevideo and I received a beautiful silver necklace. Thanks Papa Noel!
Dessert followed. We had American Brownies (from the Ghiradelli mix..yum!) and a homemade Uruguayan dessert with alternative layers of crushed chocolate cookies and a mixture of heavy cream and ....you guessed it....dulce de leche. It is frozen after it is prepared, giving it an ice cream like texture in the soft layers. It was delicious and reminded me of mud pie.
We did not leave until 3:00 am, and as we walked home there were still people in the street lighting fireworks, drinking, and chatting. When we got home we crashed from happy exhaustion. As you can see, we had a lovely Christmas Eve.
We did not awake until 11:30 the next morning, but it was a treat to have a few presents to open that had been sent from the U.S. (Thanks mom and F! ) After, we head to our other friend's house were we spent a great day chatting, relaxing, and of course... more eating. They prepared a delicious spread of sweet breads, fresh fruit, cheese, prosciutto and eggs. I particularly enjoyed my two cups of coffee! Again their generosity was so abundant; inviting us over, giving beautiful gifts, and best of all sharing their warm hospitality and friendship.
A memorable Christmas!
25 December 2006
New Christmas Tradition
As this is our first Christmas as a married couple and we are geographically separated from family, we decided that we would take it upon ourselves to start our own Christmas traditions.
While images of Santa and white Christmases have been evident in the stores, and decorated trees in people's homes, mistletoe has not been introduced to Uruguayan pop culture and is nowhere to be found...
So our new tradition, improvised and based on wonderful availability here of a plant we can find in California, is to string up some chiles to remind us of our first hot South American Christmas. And since it will forever take the place of mistletoe in our home, we will look forward to finding ourselves under it every December.
Merry Christmas! Peace and grace be with you always!
