Holiday 'taint

It aint Christmas any longer and it aint New Year yet. That's why this week seems to be the taint of the holidays; a sort of in between if you will.

For the big night, we had par-tay at our place, deciding it was big enough for everyone and easiest for me to escape in case I become suddenly "out of charm" as the always charming Mathew Rosenberg has been known to say. Big shout out to Matty and Sally, I do miss those guys.
Anyway, it's easily debated whether I had the charm to begin with, but here it was held and there were no surprises.

Flopa was great and looked fab all while keeping things on a low boil. Keep up the good work.

 Luca has made peace with what passes for a Christmas Tree here. He was pleased with his gifts and talk of some days at the beach. Cross fingers and toes kids.

 Ama was holding up well. I shuttled her home after midnight (I saw dozens of people just like me doing the same), but for 90 not a bad night.

















Ceci and Matius. No fuss from this guy, he was enjoying the party or asking questions all night. Well, in his own way.

Ama (caught off guard but alert) with daughter Janine and grandaughter Florencia.

 Vincent was super excited about the whole thing. As soon as the fireworks were finished he was doing something else.

I loved Jani's groovy Christmas outfit. Hope to see more of that, rrrrahhhhr! 

Here, Ximena is also amazed

at something. Maybe those canapes are frightening her.

Merry Christmas everyone and to all a good fight.

It's All Good

Just cresting this latest hill and with no time to rest, we are poised to start up the next incline. 
I've just finished with a large closet and shelf unit (squeezed into a tiny hallway) and can now begin in earnest on our long awaited COFFEE SHOP. You can keep track of that adventure by clicking the link above. 
We are all very happy about finally securing a space. Here's Janine looking satisfied. Let's see how long until opening day.

I had to head into City Center (El Centro) to a specific Abitab to score some of the few remaining tickets to a big Penarol match. They are in the quarter finals in something called 'Libertadores' against a team from Chile and the stadium sells out for things like this. 
I found myself right in the middle of a protest march. I think it's the sanitation workers. It was loud, but peaceful and completely snarled traffic for a while. 
People take to the streets often here when they need to make a point.  
 Right On.

This impossible looking jalopy is a Ford Consul, made in Great Britain in the 50's and 60's. Yikes, it's odd but beautiful. I checked collectors on-line and naturally there's a whole society and when restored they are quite impressive. Meanwhile, here in Uruguay, this is just someone's car. Es lo que hay.

Lastly, here's Vincent (self portrait) attempting to prove some win or high score to his gaming buddies.
I can see a little "In Your Face!" in his face here.





That's the latest from us. Thanks for reading.

Vincent, he's 12

Although Vincent turned 12 on March 26th, his party was this past Saturday.
Standard operating procedure: secure futbol field, invite all the boys from his class, make a zillion burgers.
It went well with the exception of one injury.

Balta recovers bravely.

Baltazar took an elbow to the nose. We have word that it was indeed broken. He handled it like a champ and was right back on the field the next day at another party.

Gabriela and Amalia were there to help out.

We cooked burgers on the parrilla and Janine had some great cakes, but the real star was the field. We celebrated at Defensor Sporting our club, where the kids do their sports. The field is large and lit for night playing and as usual they couldn't get enough.

You can hardly talk to Janie when she's working a party.

Can you notice how sweaty some of the kids are?

Fun for all and another one in the books.

Rocha

We lucked into a friend's house in Valizas for the last half of Tourism Week here in Uruguay. 

We'd had a great time in La Paloma, but Valizas is way up into Rocha, the department (or county, sort of) that holds all the really good beaches.

The farthest town in Rocha, before Brazil, is Chuy a border town that's know for duty free shops and deep discounts. A kind of SA Tijuana. I haven't been that far yet.

We have made it to Punta del Diablo which is nearly as far and awesome. This blog's cover shot is from there. We checked out the old fortress  of  'Santa Teresa'. Built by the Portuguese, taken by the Spanish and eventually dealt to whomever the waring powers favored during the land divides of the mid 19th century, it ended being abandoned and covered over by sand. Check the link for more.

This groovy street sign even had a map.

But Valizas has always held a special charm for us. We've been coming here since I was brought to Uruguay in 1995 and for Janine, uh, I probably shouldn't say when she started coming, but it was a long, long time ago.

It's very quaint and decidedly unpolished. Homes range from really decent places that would be nice anywhere, to cute little get-a-ways like the one here. 

There are a few ramshackle dwellings to round things out.





However, one of our first orders of business (after the direct path to the ocean) was a trip to the Dunes. This unmistakable landmark is what's unique about this part of Uruguay.

These huge sand dunes front the ocean and are accessible by foot, but it's no stroll in the park. You'll feel it by the time you reach the top.

While walking up, I was imagining those guys reaching the top of Everest. You can see your companions, but with the wind you can't really hear anything and the blowing sand seemed like snow. 

It was very cool, but all that sand killed the camera so these were the last shots I have from this trip.

 

On the way we spotted this likely sick Sea Turtle. The sea animal rescue squad was on their way, we were told. Something like 35 had come ashore for reasons unknown.

These guys were ready for the trek, but by weeks end they will have walked enough. 

Later in the week  we walked the shore to Cabo Polonio: just 4 hours! Cabo is my favorite beach here, accessible only by four wheel drive trucks, it's a rare place. I wouldn't venture there in January though;  apparently it's special to a lot of jet-setters too.

Climbing.

So off we went to climb the dunes. 

They feel a lot bigger than they look here.

Yes, it was surreal.

Vincent had his pal Manuel and Luca brought Santiago, whom you may recognize from our La Paloma vacations. 

They were wild, but mostly well behaved. Throwing water balloons around town at night and running home for cover when they got caught, things like that. 

Hey, we asked for it.

Up at the top the view was spectacular and the back slope was very steep. The kids tried to sand board, but that was a tall order for these inexperienced sand surfers. Plenty of fun sliding around though.

The back slope was serious.

So they had to jump. They had to.

I wish I could show some of that walk to Cabo Polonio. I've been asked about a million times how many kilometers it was, so I'll have to find that out. It was a lot, just ask my barking dogs.

I am still tired from this trip, but in the best way.

Today is Luca's first day, back for his second year of High School. This 6:00 am is gonna take some getting used to.

Later.

More La Paloma

This Summer was full of fun for everyone.

Black Bikini Club

As you can see, nobody had any fun before I arrived.

I don't know about that highlighting move, it's supposed to be blue type with, eh whatever.

good view from the porch

Claudia has still got it. She's single you know.

I like Cacho because he's worn, like me.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

'El Emi' is Emilio

Gabriela can still bring it too.

Gabriela Darre is responsible for most of these photos, not for instance this one of her. She always says her photos are not so good, but as you can see she can use the camera as well as anyone. That's her son El Emi.

Where's the fire?

If you're getting sick of these two and their fabulous tans, your not alone. They did make fire, I mean, a fire. Oops.

The beach was always the place to be.

It seems so long ago already. It's been just a month and the world seems different. Vincent goes back to school next week, Luca shortly thereafter.

Onward and upward. If we take our progress in the slow doses our suffering was ingested, we should be just fine.

Thanks for reading. 

Campamento y Feria

Street fairs, or 'ferias' are somewhere, every day in Montevideo. 
Each neighborhood has a version of a Farmers' Market on the same day of the week. If you get out early, (by lunch they are winding down) you can get all of your fruit, vegetables, some dry goods, fresh fish and there's even a butcher. It's a big savings from the supermarket, more eco-friendly and a good way to get some fresh air and exorcise.
A morning stroll through the bustling market, vendors calling for your attention, beautiful smells and sights everywhere is a great start to your day.

Feria Biarritz

Additionally the weekend has some big fairs that set up. Tristan Nirvaja is an old neighborhood in el Centro and has everything and has more booksellers and antiques than the others.
Feria Biarritz in posh Punta Carretas assembles Tuesdays and Saturdays. 





Janine, Vincent and I went this past Saturday. Vincent was looking for a PlayStation game (found it) plus a groovy beaded bracelet caught his eye. 
I found leather laces for my boots (40 pesos-about 2 bucks) and a new cell phone holder (50 pesos-$2.50).

Vincent buys

Game Stop

Mate supplies


Luca was away on a school trip called 'Campamento'. The class goes for two nights and three days, west to Colonia, just across the Rio de la Plata from Buenos Aires. 

 

 

Here's a glimpse of Luca as he heads out. 

Thanks for reading.

Holding Steady

As we near the end of 'Mom's trip away', I'd have to say that it went alright. 

Janine left behind all kinds of help. Like these frozen Milanesas ready to cook. I especially like that they're labeled.





The boys have been great. Luca is helping plenty and Vincent is, well ok Vincent takes a little convincing, but he's been good. I know they miss their mother a lot, I'm grateful for so little whining.

 Even Sofie has been on her best behavior. Here she is expressing herself, woof.

Things have changed a bit regarding our plans, but we are forging ahead. 
Next time: The jobs I'm finding.

New York state of mind

A bit more of my trip to the States:

W.10th Street

Although it was surreal to be plucked from the daily routine of life in Montevideo, I couldn't help but be awestruck by how beautiful NYC can be. 
It's not hard to see how America developed it's sense of superiority, magnificent accomplishments abound. You can almost overlook the wretched excess and oppression that created it. 

Farmers Market

Bonneville beauty

 

The Boivin's

I had a few chances to connect with friends and family during my stay. The trip to the Hamptons was great, but in some cases a visit was bestowed upon me.
My brother-in-law Gabriel and his wife Rebecca came down from Westchester to visit. This was kind enough, but they also brought a huge cache of gifts for Luca and Vincent.  We had a great night of catching up with a side of reminiscence about the neighborhood. They had both lived in Greenwich Village many, many, many years ago (kidding) and met while working together at the West Village landmark; Chumley's, just two blocks from Holly's place. I was treated to a nice dinner, gellato and sincere well wishes on my travels and group back home.



 

Grant Neale

My long time friend, Grant also took me out on the town. He's a fellow carpenter and talented actor somehow still managing to do both, successfully! He's been a friend to Holly for years and also stopped by to check on her recovery. I'll probably see him on TV before I see him in Uruguay. Well......?

Yes, he looks a little like Roman Polanski. He's performing a one man show about the very same. Topical, nutty.



Our dear friend Samantha was on the must-see list. I had a couple of nice visits to our old neighborhood in Park Slope to see her and her son Aidan.  Not enough time, I need more time for crying out loud! Well, they are likely candidates to visit us (again) and as always, we all hope for another visit to the US soon.

Aidan

 

The days passed quickly and as always, there's not enough time to do all you'd like. Still, it was amazing and refreshing. I stocked up on design ideas and the sheer magnitude of incredible business ventures gave me an inspirational boost to take home.

The 'Friends' building was in our neighborhood.

Subway tile art, wow!

 

Bagels with the works at Murray's

Thanks for reading.
Peace