Sunday

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Things are fairly quiet on Sundays it seems. We went out about 9:00 a.m. to try to find some coffee. We went to a place that we knew existed but they were closed. However, two doors down at a nightclub there were kids still partying from Saturday night and we could hear the music booming from inside. I don't think I did that even when I was young and full of energy.

We kept walking and eventually came to the midtown area that had some life to it. We found a place to sit down and while I was waiting for my order, I went outside to buy a newspaper and ask the guy where I could catch a bus to Pocitos, a more upscale neighborhood of Montevideo. Our actual goal of going to Pocitos was to find a supermarket as there are slim pickings in the Old City. I was given the numbers of the bus lines that went to Pocitos and a general idea of what the procedure was and a rough estimate of the cost. One thing we did not realize was that even though multiple buses travel the same streets, buses will only stop at designated stops to pick up passengers and not all buses stop at the same stops. We figured it all out and got to Pocitos. While I am not from Chicago, the area reminds me of Lake Shore Drive with water on one side, highrises on the other. There were health conscious people walking, jogging and biking along the Rambla and others just out enjoying the day.

The Rambla is any road that parallels water. They usually curve with the terrain and form natural hangouts for people. Near the Old City where the water was deeper we saw people fishing. What they were expecting to catch I don't know. The river is an estuary so it is like half fresh and half salt water. Near Pocitos the water came up to a beach where in the summer people can swim. There was also a yacht club in Pocitos.

After all this walking it was time for lunch. Checking out menus in the windows (of the places that were open) did not give me many choices of places to eat. Finally we decided to head back to the Old City and go back to the Port Market only this time I had no intention of ordering a huge pile of meat for lunch.

We decided on a restaurant that had a second floor and took seats by the window. People watching is fascinating although the sight of children begging is not a happy scene. Looking at how they were dressed and otherwise appeared, they were not starving and probably did not need the money although some would hold a taxi door open for people to at least earn something.

I realized that I have to use more than one word to describe what I cannot eat since sometimes they are more familiar with the word for flour (harina) than wheat (trigo). Maybe they think of whole wheat if I say trigo. The waiter knew which items used flour so I was able to avoid danger. Having walked up an appetite we ordered three appetizers - grilled provolone, shrimp in garlic sauce and I decided to try grilled sweetbreads since I have never seen sweetbreads on a menu in anything other than a pasta sauce. They were actually tasty.

For an actual meal I ordered grilled swordfish with boiled potatoes and a butter sauce. Jack ordered pumpkin ravioli in a 'marine sauce'. That was a variant of a puttanesca sauce. I think we were both surprised that we had no leftovers. All that food and some wine came to $81 before tip and it was like a two plus hour lunch. Nice not having to look at a timepiece.

I hope I don't get hungry later as we never did find the supermarket.

There was one other item of interest from the day's travels but for the sake of decorum I will not state it in the blog. However, if anyone is curious about public restrooms, I have a story or two to share. Just ask and I will tell you privately.

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