From Buenos Aires, we travelled to Colonia del Sacremento which took about 1 hour by fast ferry, We then caught a bus down to the capital of Uruguay, Montevideo.
This morning we set off from our hotel to see the highlights of the old part of the city, known as Ciudad Vieja. These included Plaza Independencia which is surrounded by the grandest buildings in Montevideo. The Palacio Estevez which for decades hosted the president's office, is now a museum and next to it the Torre Ejecutiva which is now the presidential office, the Teatro Solis (theatre) and the Radisson Hotel which now looks rather tired and shabby.
We particularly liked the Palacio Salvo which when built in 1928, was the tallest building in South America. In the centre of the square is the statue of General Artigas, a national hero. Below the statue, is his mausoleum, guarded by 2 soldiers in dress uniform.
We strolled down the Sarandi, a pleasant pedestrian street, towards the port and stopped at the Plaza Matriz with its centre fountain surrounded by an antiques market. Adjacent to this is the cathedral.
We eventually reached the port and the very busy Mercado del Puerto. The cruise ship, Celebrity Infinity was at anchor where we would have been and the place was very busy as a result. There are many barbecue restaurants and the Uruguayans give the Argentinians a run for their money in the art of cooking a barbecue.
A most interesting stroll broken up with a pleasant lunch but we had to walk uphill all the way back to our hotel.
The markets in the Matriz Plaza.
1 comment:
now that architect works for whatever firm did the housing development at Newington ;)
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