I am a BIG fan of activity-filled days that somehow also feel lazy and relaxed. Today was one such day :)
Montevideo is a great place for understated taste and culture - ie. where it exists it hasn't been monopolized by arrogant posers. Unfortunately people foolishly tend to associate kitsch cafes, funky bars, unique venues and memorable music with modern metropolitan cities - Montevideo may be small, but under its greyish outer layer there exists a colourful array of places to be found and treasures to be sampled.
Today I finally made it to one such treasure - La Pasionaria, a little place of many titles! Choose from cafe, restaurant, boutique, art store, design studio, bookshop, art exposition and more - either way, it all equals good fun (and a million colourful corners to feast your eyes on!).
Whether you peruse the eclectic array of intriguing coffee table books in the libreria (plenty of nudity in the name of art, always good), gawk at the collection of fantastic Uruguayan photos and artworks in the design studio, or simply chow down on some of the great (and reasonably priced!) food in their cafe "El Beso", you're sure to enjoy yourself.
La Pasionaria is in La Ciudad Vieja, on Reqonquista no.587, on the corner with Juan Carlos Gomez. They're open Monday-Friday 10am - 7pm and Saturdays 12 - 6pm. And if you like La Pasionaria you're such to get a kick out of Cafe La Pausa just around the corner. These two spots are sure to become my favourite weekend morning hangouts.
Cafe La Pausa is fantastic....one of those places that is both hidden and yet right in front of your eyes. It is also located in La Ciudad Vieja, along Peatonal Sarandi just after Plaza Matriz (walking away from the city). It is an ordinary looking front door, sometimes with a sign, sometimes without....but if you head up to the first floor you will find the lovely Alicia offering a gorgeous little cafe filled with fantastic books and magazines to rummage through, a menu of home-made goodies to feast on, and the wonderful soothing sounds of soft jazz and classic tango wafting casually through the air.
The tall windows not only allow you to curl up in the afternoon sunlight with a coffee, tea or freshly squeezed juice of your choice, but it also makes it a perfect spot for a little bit of people watching along the bustling Sarandi....and the owner Alicia really strikes me as a person with some great life stories to tell...if you're looking to practice your español! :)
Afterwards take a stroll through the feria that takes place in Plaza Matriz...there are so many old photos, records, keys, postcards, jewellery and intriguing snippets of other peoples lives to help you piece together an elaborate history of how Montevideo once was. Don't actually buy anything though - the prices are massively inflated and Sunday holds something even better - The Tristan Narvaja Market (I'll get around to writing a post on that one someday!).
Until next time....go out and find Montevideo's secret treasures (and let me know about them!)
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