My first view of Montevideo, really, was also my first day of Spanish class. Lillián, la madre de mi ‘host’ familia, went with me in a taxi to show me how to get there. And she pointed out key buildings and plazas so as to get a quick look at part of the city, too. Glimpses. Impressions.
As we were zooming towards Ciudad Vieja, the old city, Lilián also explained which bus to catch at the end of the day, pointing at corners and side streets where I would find the 117. Too fast, too jammed together, to make sense in my jet-lagged brain, now on overload. It will take me a while to find the landmarks.
Kami’s photographs of Montevideo are terrific. Found them on her blog and there are lots of them, far more than this one of mine, here, taken at Plaza Independencia. Government buildings, hotels and monuments, gateway from the daily life part of Montevideo and the very busy main street, 18 de Julio, from the older part.
Crazy mix of classic buildings in various stages of repair, disintegration or restoration with more modern architecture. Just the one photograph is all I can manage at this point.
From this morning’s ride, I’d agree with Kami. It’s not overwhelming like a bigger city: “Lively but not overwhelming. And it kind of looked like the time has stopped there but at the same time it felt really modern. The sun was shining and the day was just gorgeous…”
The sun is quite intense (we’re just in autumn, here in the Southern Hemisphere and that will take some getting used to) and it rains a lot more than in San Diego (anything would be more) so it’s rather more humid. Sunscreen definitely required!
Looking forward to my own explorations and photographs in the next days and weeks.
Departure