Welcome to the Olivia

Uruguay Trip March 2004

It was a long journey to Uruguay, but it was well worth it! Our trip began on March 7th 2004. We flew from Midway Airport in Chicago to Miami that afternoon where we stayed one night in Coral Gables (Holiday Inn). Luckily we got to relax a bit before our next flight. There was a street fair near the hotel that night so we wandered and had some Cuban food and music. Olivia enjoyed the walk and managed to get a balloon from a little boy. We went to bed early that night and the next morning we had some breakfast and chilled-out by the pool. Our flight didn't leave until 7:30PM, so we have extra time. I went for a jog and almost got lost, but I finally made it back to the hotel.

We got to the airport around 4:30 and ran around with Olivia at the gate (to get her nice and tired before the flight.) Luckily, she slept through 90% of the flight to San Pablo, Brazil. I sat next to Olivia and Maria sat next to a crazy guy. Not a good flight for her.

In San Pablo, we had a 3 hour lay-over. Our last leg of the journey was a short 2 hour flight to Montevideo. We arrived on March 9th around 10:30AM. It was a beautiful sunny day in Montevideo! The rental car I had reserved was not there so we took a taxi to my grandmother's house.

Tuesday March 9th
When we arrived at grandma's we were welcomed by her and a friend and balloons and a welcome sign! That day we took a walk around the neighborhood and took it easy. We were really tired from the flights.

Wednesday 10th
The next day we called the rental company and reserved a car for Thursday-Wed. They even delivered it, just like all the other things (supermarkets, bakery, stores, etc) It was like stepping back in time. That night we went to Graciela's house for dinner. We had asado. Great food and great company. Everyone was there!

Thursday 11th
Today we began our excursion along the Atlantic coast. We drove to Piriapolis where we were to spend the next 2 days at Graciela's beach house. The house is just outside Piriapolis in Playa Verde. A very nice and peaceful little area only 2 blocks from the beach! That day we drove around Piriapolis. We stopped at the Cerro de Pan de Azucar Zoo and walker around a bit. We drove to the top of Cerro San Antonio, had lunch and a great view!

Friday 12th
We pretty much relaxed this day. Went to the beach a bit. We went into town got a few groceries for a cook out. It was really nice to get fresh breads and cheap wine! Prices were very very cheap. We would buy good bottles of wine for $3.

Saturday 13th
On this day we went to Casa Pueblo on Punta Ballena, and had lunch in Punta del Este. We also took a few hours to wonder around Punta del Este and got a few souvenirs. We had decided to experience staying in a hotel in Piriapolis this night. We stayed at the Argentino Hotel. It was a beautiful 1920's resort type hotel and casino. It seemed like we were in another time. For around $100 it included 3 great meals! Plus all the other entertainment that was available.. movie theatre, live music, and many other activities. And of course we had an awesome view of the ocean!

Sunday 14th
On Sunday, we headed for the countryside. We went to el Parque de Vacaciones and had lunch. Bought a few snacks for the rest of the drive and walked around. Olivia had a great time in the park. From there, we went into Minas and got a little lost trying to find the Cerro de Artigas, a huge statue of Artigas on a horse said to be the largest equestrian statue in the world. We headed back through Minas and drove into el Parque Salus, where they make the famous Agua Salus and Pilsen beer. We didn't stop, but drove through. That day the Salus workers began there strike. From that day forward, we had trouble finding beer and water at the stores. From Minas, we drove to Atlantida and stopped at la Tienda Inglesa for some items. We also stopped at a nursery to purchase a bird bath for Gladys. We got back to Montevideo later that afternoon. Glady's loved the bird bath!

Monday-Tuesday
On these days we relaxed a bit in Malvin. Took walks on the beach and in the neighborhood. Got to meet more people that I didn't remember, but that knew me. We managed to force my grandma to go out to eat on Tuesday at Pecos Bill. She seemed to have enjoyed it. We also went and picked up Beba and visited Ramon and Asusana that day.

Wednesday 17th
On this day we had to return our rental car so we decided to drive around downtown and also visit a big Walmart type store (Geant). We took some pictures downtown and headed back home via la Rambla. This night we took a taxi to Graciela's house once again for our going away dinner. They were making nocis and Maria managed to help and make them too. It was a great time!

Thursday 18th
Well this is the day we headed back home. We had a nice morning at Gladys's house and bought some more empanadas from the store down the street. Maria loved those things. Gladys, Carmen and Mary were there to wish us well. Our flight was scheduled to leave at 5:30PM so we left for the airport via taxi around 3:30PM. When we got to the airport, we found out that our 2nd flight from San Pablo to Miami was cancelled and there wasn't one until the next day. We got really lucky and they put us on a United flight to Buenos Aires and then to Miami. It was a much better flight and we got to Miami ahead of schedule. Unfortunately, we had booked separate tickets with ATA from Miami to Chicago which didn't leave Miami until noon.

Friday 19th
We arrived in Miami at 4AM and had to wait 7 hours for our ATA flight to Chicago. When we got to Chicago the temperature was around 50 degrees, but we had heard that it had snowed 4 inches the previous day. We had perfect weather in Uruguay. Everyday was a sunny 85 degrees and awesome ocean breezes! We had a great time and we hope to return next year. Maybe we'll stay longer next time...