Can´t come up with a title...

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Our first border crossing and everything went ok! However, we didn´t have to fill in any immigration paper and hopefully, they will let us out again. We had to stop for 4 hours at the border and the Argentines travelling on the bus with us explained that the relationship between Argentina and Uruquay is strained. This is as Uruquay is polluting the ´brown´ Rio Parana with industrial paper production. It seems like we need to correct our last entry as the Argentines clearly mind that the water is so brown....

What can we say about Montevideo? The first impression is that this city has vast potential, but potential it is! The sea promenade and port around the old city centre is by all means the ugliest promenade Em and Frankie have ever seen. It is fronted by buildings similar to English council estates and no, it didn´t make us feel at home (although we miss Finsbury Park and Francesco is missing his bacon roll!). Then the old centre (described as charming in the guide): nearly all historic houses have been left to rot or are already rotten. The whole area is run down, stinky and dirty. What keeps us here for 8 days? Firstly, the city beaches are really nice and are the best city beaches we have seen... To see what we are missing out on, we went to Atllantida and yes the beach was magnificient. However, it was pissing down and maybe it was good that we didn¡t not spend a fortune for staying in Punte del Este etc.. Secondly, for football fans, another historice stadium tour: the Centenerio Stadium, where the first World Cup was played and won by Uruquay. Then, we were lucky or unlucky enough to enjoy the Carneval Parade of Montevideo....Last, but not least, we are staying in a very big room with a balcony and it feels a bit like home to sit on the balcony and not having to go out all the time.

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Comments

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greetings from vienna, austria
greetings from vienna! i hope you are fine and your travel continues as planned. i am always looking forward to reading your new adventures and getting to know new places by your reports- especially soccer stadiums (who else travels there?)! i am spending a weekend in vienna at prisca's place and on wednesday i will travel to berlin, germany. lots of love from thaliastrasse