Saturday, November 26, 2011

Uruguay

Jueves el 23 de noviembre

Thursday I got up at 6:15 (ew), ate some cereal, and headed out to meet Alicia and Sonia.  We took the subte to the Buquebus station, got our boarding passes, went through customs (which was so much easier than in the US), and then boarded the boat.  The ride took about three hours, but it was nice since we got to talk, and it was really nice on the deck of the boat. 

When we got to Uruguay we all went to Mario’s house via van.  His house was absolutely amazing!   He and his husband own a bed and breakfast called Casa de los Limoneros, which is located right next to a lemon orchard.  It was beautiful and it was so nice to be away from the city, surrounded by green, and breathing fresh air.  

We ate a delicious Thanksgiving dinner, with amazing berry sauce and some delicious humus (not traditional, but who cares)!  For dessert we had the best pumpkin pie I’ve ever tasted then we all relaxed by the pool and strolled through the lemon trees.  A few hours after lunch we had choripan, and although I was still stuffed from lunch, I had one, which was very good.


View from the boat


Uruguay!


The pool


Food/table hut

Lilly pond


La casa de Mario


Tree with spikes








Mario

A feast!

My Thanksgiving dinner


The best pumpkin pie I've ever had


Lemon orchard!







Spring break IFSA style





Sink in the bathroom





Choripan!

yummmm

he smelled...







I wanted to take him home with me



Make a wish!

Mario's bed and breakfast







We all headed to our separate hotels in vans, checked in, and then took a walking tour of Colonia.
My hotel


The loft

Hola Sonia y Ludi!





Old entrance into Colonia

Flor nacional

Our tour guide









Portugese style house



The oldest street in Colonia





















First map of Colonia


















After our walking tour we decided to get something to drink.  We went to a restaurant called Drugstore that IFSA recommendedd.  We got sangria and a chocolate fondue to share, they were both delicious!  After we ate we went down to the beach and hung out with some other kids from our program, then we headed back to our hotel and went to bed.








Julia and her pina colada

Delicious sangria!




Viernes el 25 de noviembre

On Friday we all got up and had some breakfast at our hotels (our breakfast consisted of coffee, tea, orange juice, and pastries) then headed out via omnibus for Montevideo, which is the capital of Uruguay.

We all ate lunch at a restaurant pre-arranged by IFSA.  We had salad, French fries, and asado, with some delicious ice cream for dessert. 

After lunch we took a tour of the city via bus, which was kind of disappointing, especially since the tour guide treated us like we were 5.  Our tour ended at the beach, but IFSA forgot to mention that we would have 3 hours to spend there, so very few people had bathing suits.  Ludi, Alicia, Sonia, y yo ended up just sitting on the beach talking.

Breakfast at the hotel

IFSA lunch

Asado

Ludi and her blood sausage


Office of the Uruguayan President



Government house

A telephone company, designed by the same guy who designed the famous hotel in Dubai


Such tourists...






































We left to go back to Colonia at 18:15, and I slept for part of the way back.  We went back to our hotel and got ready for dinner.







We went to Drugstore again, and Alicia and I split the gnocchi with vegetable sauce and sangria.  We also got the chocolate fondue again, which was just as good as the first night.


Chocolate fondue!!!!


After dinner we went to find a bar to get a drink at, and ended up starting a dance party.  After awhile we decided to leave, much to the objections of the local men, and headed back to the hotel to go to bed.


Sabado el 26 de noviembre
Saturday we got up, had breakfast, and checked out of the hotel at 11.  We decided to walk around and explore the city before we met up with the rest of the group to go to a beach at 15:00.  We ended up at another hotel where IFSA students were staying, which had a beautiful pool then we went to get lunch.  Ludi, Alicia, and I split chivito para 2.  Chivito is a traditional Uruguayan food, which consists of steak, ham, cheese, and a fried egg.  Our platter came with French fries and salad, as well as 2 drinks, it was all really good.















Chivito del plato para dos

We met with the group at 15:00 and Mario took us to a really nice beach.  We hung out there for awhile, laid on the beach, and got in the water, which was the perfect temperature.  Mario also treated us to a drink at a bar across the street from the beach.









When we headed back to town, we stopped at a feria and looked around, then went back to our hotel to change and pick up our luggage.  Ludi, Alicia, Sonia, and I stopped at a little place to get licuados (which really screwed us over with the conversion rate, more so than any other place in Colonia that we visited) then headed to the Buquebus station. 

We were on the fast boat back, so it only took an hour.  When we got back to Buenos Aires at about 21:30 we took the subte home.  I showered and ate a little bit of rice for dinner, then went to bed because I was absolutely exhausted.


It was a really great trip, it was so nice to get out of the city and just be able to relax, I would definitely like to go back to Colonia again someday.

Un beso,
Taylor

Random photo:

Los Simpsons!