We got into Rio airport around 6:30am and had to wait until 3:20pm for our flight to Montevideo. So we hung out, wrote in our journals, blogged and had some lunch. We´re surprised at how small Rio´s international airport is--it does not seem like it has the capacity to serve the crowds that will arrive for the World Cup and Olympics. Hopefully that will be solved. It was late when we got to Montevideo so we grabbed some dinner at a bar after checking in. For a very reasonable price, we had a juicy 1/4 chicken with mashed potatoes and steak and fries.

The next day we walked to Centro and the old port. Montevideo is a beautiful city with many old buildings giving the city a European feel. Many of the streets we walked on felt like we were in Germany or the like. There are many small plazas and parks as we walked through the town, giving us many opportunities to stop and rest and people watch. We checked out a great artisan craft market and bought a few items. On one corner, there was an old random fountain with a fence around it. There were many locks on it, most of them rusted. We learned that couples would put their initials on a lock and lock it to the fountain to secure their future together. We also walked by the Teatro Solis, which is their opera house. There was a poster advertising their partnership with New York´s Metropolitan Opera and the ability to watch the Met Opera´s similucasts of the upcoming season. We made our way to Mercado del Puerto and was immediately transported back to the Victorian era. The market no longer sells fresh produce or raw meats, instead it is all restaurants. However, each restaurant is an open counter and tables with Victorian style details. Each restaurant has a large grill and you can watch the grill master cook up your meal. With the smoke coming from the grills, the market is smokey, but the haziness paired with the wrought-iron beams and old styled fans and with the light streaming through the smoke make for great photos! We loved it and of course took lots of photos. We sat at one of the counters and ordered a mixed parrilla for two; this included steak, 1/2 a chicken, chorizo, blood sausage and intestines, and a side of salad. It was delicious, but Ching Jen didn´t feel like eating all of the intestines. We were very full by the end of our meal but we were very satisfied.

When we finally were able to pull ourselves away from the market we made our way down to the Ramble or as we call them, an esplanade or promenade. The Rio water is brown and choppy and wasn't really a "pretty" view but it was nice. We briefly stopped at the hostel before heading out again to explore the neighborhood of Pocitos. It started to rain however and we discovered that there wasn't a lot going on around here. We took cover in a bookstore for a little while before finding a cafe for dinner. We each had already bowl but Jon's was filled with rice and sausage & vegetables, while Ching Jen's had pumpkin soup (we think).

The next morning we packed up and went to the bus station to catch the bus to Colonial del Sacramento. We liked Montevideo a lot, for the feel of the city, the easy going atmosphere and especially the people who were always very friendly, curious to know where we are from and why we are in Uruguay. They were always ready to assist us in finding our way.