Four Days in Montevideo, Uruguay

At the beginning of August, I made a trip to Montevideo, Uruguay to work an event there. Although, I did not get to go to Punta del Este, which is about two hours away, I did get to see and do some wonderful things in Montevideo.

One of the largest cities and capital of Uruguay, Montevideo is a vibrant place to visit. From the street art to picturesque buildings, Montevideo gives us a glimpse of the old and the new.

While most of my time was spent in the beautiful Sodre Auditorium for the event, I did get to tour Uruguay quite a bit. Even though this wasn’t my first trip to Uruguay, it was my first time as an adult.

Day 1

When I arrived, it was about 5 am. I was so tired, I took a nap, but not long after that, I headed out to check out the Sodre. It’s such a beautiful auditorium and being behind the scenes was even better. I was able to capture a bunch of photos without many people in it.

After checking out the auditorium, I went to a nice restaurant called Los Leños. I never thought of Uruguay as modern, but this restaurant was very modern. The decor was beautiful with simple touches of plants along the brick wall. The ambiance was relaxing and warm, and the food was excellent. I tried the Milanesa, which is breaded meat.

After that, most of the day was spent preparing for the two day event. This required the set-up of the stage, the wardrobe, rehearsals and so much more.

Later that day, I was able to see family and people I hadn’t seen since I was a kid. It was such a great time spent along with some delicious barbeque. I’m sad to say I didn’t take photos of this, but Uruguay is known for their barbeques. From steak to sausage, they definitely know how to grill.

Side note: One thing I’m not a huge fan of which is sometimes included in the barbeques are the blood sausages. These blood sausages also known as Morcilla, are sausages filled with blood that have been cooked or dried.

Day 2

Most of my day was spent at the auditorium preparing for the show. However, I did get to eat some more delicious Uruguayan food. From Chivitos to Chaja, I was literally in paradise eating my way through Montevideo.

No worries, my dear foodies! I’ll go into details about each one of these foods in a later post.

Day 3

Since the event was already prepped from the night before, I got to explore the city. Along with my mom and a friend, we went out to la Plaza Independencia and got to see la Ciudad Vieja. When visiting la Plaza Independencia, you can see the old along with the new side by side. While walking towards La Rambla, we passed by the Solis Theatre and took a mini detour. The Solis theatre has been around since 1856 and is located in Montevideo’s old town (Ciudad Vieja).

On our way to La Rambla, there was a bunch of street art along the way. We kept stopping due to the fact that I love street art and admire the time people take to create such beautiful masterpieces. Once we reached La Rambla, I learned that it is an avenue that goes along the coastline of Montevideo.

It was such a cold day, but it was definitely worth it. Not only did I get to see a beach area while in La Rambla, but I also got to see a beautiful wall known as the ‘Mural del Dique Maua’, which was painted by approximately 1,200 people. Now that’s a lot of people!

After walking around this beautiful city, we decided to do something unexpected. We decided to eat Peruvian food in Uruguay. It was actually one of the only places opened on a Sunday as well. So I ate a combination of two of my favorites – Lomo Saltado and Huancaina Pasta (this was the first time I’ve ever heard of Huancaina Pasta, but the results were amazing). After that, I focused on the show and then later ate some Pizza and tried something called Faina, which is a Chickpea flatbread.

Day 4

This was my last day in Uruguay, so to make sure I didn’t leave without getting to know more of Montevideo. My mom and I decided to go on a bus tour. We went on Bus Turistico, which is a great hop on-hop off bus and the tickets are valid for 24 hours.

We took the bus at the corner of la Puerta de la Ciudadela (Gateway of the Citadel). Once we got on the bus, we sat at the top of the bus so that I could take photos. There were about 8 stops we made:

First stop – Centro

The first stop took me around the center. Here I got to see a few of the museums, the Intendencia Municipal de Montevideo and a nice theatre. I also got to see the Gaucho monument ( Monumento Al Gaucho).

Second stop & third stop – Palacio Legislativo & Mercado Agricola

The second stop took me to the Legislative Palace and the third stop took me around the agricultural market.

Fourth stop & fifth stop – La Diligencia & Jardin Botanico

Out of all the stops, the fourth and fifth were my most favorite stops. Although, I didn’t get off at either one of the stops, I did enjoy the scenery. We went around the botanical gardens and some wonderful monuments.

Sixth stop & seventh stop – Terminal Tres Cruces & Estadio Centenario

The sixth stop was mostly just shops and a bus station. The seventh has the Futbol Museum and stadium, so if you’re a huge fan of Futbol (Soccer) then this is a place you’ll definitely want to stop.

Eighth stop – World Trade Center

The eighth stop took me to some more shops and the World Trade Center, which is the most important private International Trade Organization in Uruguay.

As someone who wasn’t familiar with Uruguay, taking this tour showed me all the things that Montevideo has to offer. From beautiful botanical gardens to interesting monuments, there’s a lot of different activities one can do while in Montevideo.

I enjoyed every part of my trip and I really appreciate the vibrant culture Montevideo has.

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