Tag Archives: architecture

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Montevideo

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March 9, 2020 – Montevideo, Uruguay

2020 South America cruise

I’m on a standard city tour today, with the Carnival Museum added on at the end. We pass the Graf Spee anchor as we leave the harbour for the historic part of the city. As with Buenos Aires, Montevideo’s harbour is on the Plata River estuary, which is the widest river in the world, and is formed from the confluence of the Uruguay and Paraguay Rivers. Montevideo is on the north shore of the Plata River, and Buenos Aires is on the south shore.

Our first stop is the Plaza Independencia, where the impressive Salvo Palace is located. It is a 1930s colonial building designed by Mario Pisner and is now used for offices, residential and a tango museum. The Embassy of Canada is also located on the edge of the plaza, as are both the new and old Presidential buildings, and the impressive Teatre Solis. The centre of the plaza is dedicated to a monument and mausoleum to Uruguayan hero José Artigas. As found in Buenos Aires, Montevideo is full of neoclassical architecture emulating European cities during that era.

Horse-driven freight wagon outside the Mercado Agricola de Montevideo
Horse-driven freight wagon outside the Mercado Agricola de Montevideo

Our second stop is to visit the Mercado Agricola de Montevideo, or agricultural market. It is raining, so its nice to have a roof over us as we explore the produce, meat, and seafood being offered for sale. A horse-drawn freight cart goes by on the street outside as I return to the bus.

Our third stop is the Palacio Legislativo – the country’s seat of government. Nearby is a Burj al-Arab hotel lookalike and some nice murals. Our guide Lilianna shares that the price of meat is very low since it is the main industry in the country. Consumption is 100kg/person annually. Maté is a national tea-like drink, which virtually everyone drinks. Sharing maté is a symbol of friendship. There is both private and public health care available, and education is compulsory, with university being free for everyone (even foreigners).

Our final stop is the Plaza de la Armada where we get a good view of Plata river shoreline and city skyline. There is also a nicely-designed bronze monument dedicated to the fallen heroes of the Navy.

The tour wraps up at the Carnival Museum, which is back in the dock area of the city. The focus of this museum is the Candombe dancing, which is one of the most popular Carnival themes followed in the country. We are seated and served wine, baked cheese, and beef (sausage, steak, blood pudding) while we watch the cultural show. Some members of our group get up and dance after being given costumes and props!

Montevideo
Montevideo
31 photos
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Buenos Aires

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March 8, 2020 – Buenos Aires, Argentina

2020 South America cruise

I had a good sleep last night and have breakfast in the room. I have lots of time to go to the Explorations Cafe for my all-important cappuccino since my shore excursion doesn’t leave until 10:20am. We start with a city tour in a bus, where we learn Buenos Aires aspired to be “the Paris of South America”. Neoclassic architecture obviously influenced by European design is to be found everywhere in the city. One of the widest streets in the world – Plaza de la Republica is a result of civic leaders ploughing whole city blocks just to emulate the wide streets of Paris. The city also has many huge office towers and other amenities found in all modern cities.

We are then dropped off for our Culinary Walking Tour, where we have a second, local guide to describe all the samples of food, wine and beer as we walk to three local restaurants, representing a variety of the Argentinian meat-focused cuisine:

  • La Carita Cafe & Bar
    • Chimichurri – beef sausage on a bun with two sauces
    • Aperative 14% wine – Bermu or Gancia – sweet
  • La Guitarrita
    • Empanadas – beef and banana
    • 2-wine blend, including a muscat – fruity, dry, white
  • Las Cholas
    • Sirloin and skirt steak – probably the best steak I’ve ever eaten!
    • An Italian cheese designed to not run when grilled
    • Malbec – a robust red wine
    • Andes Origen – a light-tasting lager beer
  • Cream Roll Cañitas
    • Gelato-like ice cream treats

My travel buddy took the subway from the dock area to downtown and found the wool shops she was seeking with help from some very kind locals, but the shops are closed since it is Sunday. She then ends up marching in a parade marking International Woman’s Day, which she found very moving. Guardian article

Buenos Aires
Buenos Aires
31 photos
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Muscat to Dubai

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February 22, 2015 – Muscat, Oman to New Dubai, U.A.E.

2015 Gems of Arabia

I get up at 6AM this morning, since our bag pickup is 6:30AM and we leave on the bus at 7:30AM. We have five hours of driving time to Dubai, and the time we spend at the border will add to that elapsed time.

Unlike UAE citizens, Omanis work in service jobs. Our guide Yacoob shares with us that he worked as an airport bus driver, then a switchboard operator before learning enough English to become a guide. He has six children and is also a grandfather at 42 years of age. He lives in Muscat.

Today is the first day it is cloudy and it might rain. We have had very good weather so far, with every day being clear. We are not stopping for lunch today, so I saved a few snacks from the hotel buffets last night and this morning to eat along the way. We drive along route 1 from Muscat, through Sohar, Bani’ Umar, then inland to the border, continuing to Dubai. We get some rain along the coastal route. Although we are on an expressway, there are some roundabouts along the way. We stop at 10:30AM for a rest break in Sohar.

Crossing the UAE-Oman border 3 times - map
Crossing the UAE-Oman border 3 times

Our bus takes Route 5 in Oman and E44 in UAE (green arrows) which looks more direct to Dubai than the route chosen by Google Maps (blue), but it means crossing the border between the two countries three times! Obviously, crossing a border once takes a lot less time, even if the distance travelled is a bit longer. This concept escaped our travel company’s planning process…however we arrived in Dubai unscathed, albeit a bit later than planned.

We are staying in the new section of Dubai at the Manzil Hotel, which is across the street from the massive Dubai Mall, and within walking distance to the Burj Khalifa, the tallest building in the world.

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Rome

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September 11, 2014 – Thursday – Rome walking tour, Italy

Rick Steves Best of Europe in 21 Days tour

Upon our arrival in Rome, our driver Sylvain has to maneuver through some pretty challenging turns and narrow streets to get us to the drop off point in the city at Repubblica Square. Driving a vehicle that large in Rome is a real challenge! Once we are parked, we schlepp our bags the few blocks to Hotel Nardizzi Americana in sprinkling rain. A bunch of us have lunch on our own at a nearby salad bar deli. I have a delicious prosciutto panino (we say Panini in North America, which is actually the plural form of panino in Italian).

Group photo in front of the Roman Forum
Group photo in front of the Roman Forum

We go on an extensive walking tour of Rome this afternoon with a local guide who succeeds in bringing the Coliseum, the Roman Forum, and the Pantheon alive for us all. Several of us are tired after all the walking this afternoon, so we return to the hotel on our own using the Rome subway. Jennifer taught us well earlier in the day when we started our tour by taking the subway, so we have no problem reversing the route.

Three of us have dinner at Ristorante Esperia, which is a trattoria only a couple of blocks away from our hotel. I have Spaghetti Carbonara, which is very rich and tasty. We all enjoy our meals, although the wine is a bit expensive.

Rome
Rome
45 photos
The Colliseum and the Arch of Titus
The Colliseum and the Arch of Titus
The Colliseum being restored
The Colliseum being restored
Detail on the Colliseum exterior
Detail on the Colliseum exterior
The Colosseum arena showing the hypogeum's partially restored floor
The Colosseum arena showing the hypogeum’s partially restored floor
The Hypogeum's passageways under the former floor
The Hypogeum’s passageways under the former floor
The Colosseum arena showing the hypogeum
The Colosseum arena showing the hypogeum
Colliseum raked seating area
Colliseum raked seating area
Arch of Titus
Arch of Titus
Roman Forum and the Via Sacra Roman road in front of the Palatine Hill
Roman Forum and the Via Sacra Roman road in front of the Palatine Hill
Jennifer and our group inside the Colliseum
Jennifer and our group inside the Colliseum
Roman arches made of bricks
Roman arches made of bricks
The hypogeum walls detail
The hypogeum walls detail
The back of the Colliseum from the Arch of Constantine
The back of the Colliseum from the Arch of Constantine
Original cobblestones on the Via Sacra Roman road
Original cobblestones on the Via Sacra Roman road
Arch of Titus
Arch of Titus
Arch of Titus central soffit coffers
Arch of Titus central soffit coffers
Arch of Titus reliefs
Arch of Titus reliefs
Santa Francesca Romana Basilica
Santa Francesca Romana Basilica
Santi Cosma e Damiano
Santi Cosma e Damiano
Columns in front of the Santi Cosma e Damiano
Columns in front of the Santi Cosma e Damiano
Antoninus and Faustina Temple
Antoninus and Faustina Temple
The Roman Forum is a busy place...even today!
The Roman Forum is a busy place…even today!
Temple of Saturn with anti-crepuscular rays behind
Temple of Saturn with anti-crepuscular rays behind
Temple of Saturn
Temple of Saturn
Carved piece of a Roman column
Carved piece of a Roman column
Septimius Severus Arch
Septimius Severus Arch
Temple of Saturn
Temple of Saturn
Group photo in front of the Roman Forum
Group photo in front of the Roman Forum
Septimius Severus Arch, Roman Forum and Temple of Saturn
Septimius Severus Arch, Roman Forum and Temple of Saturn
View of the ancient city from the Piazza del Campidoglio
View of the ancient city from the Piazza del Campidoglio
Statutory embedded in a wall of the Capitoline Museum
Statutory embedded in a wall of the Capitoline Museum
Fashion shoot beside a statue of Zeus/Poseidon
Fashion shoot beside a statue of Zeus/Poseidon
Window detail in the Musei Capitolini
Window detail in the Musei Capitolini
A copy of the David in the Musei Capitolini
A copy of the David in the Musei Capitolini
Cordonata descending from the Piazza del Campidoglio
Cordonata descending from the Piazza del Campidoglio
Elephant and Obelisk in the Piazza della Minerva
Elephant and Obelisk in the Piazza della Minerva
Rear view of the Pantheon where the old Roman wall is located
Rear view of the Pantheon where the old Roman wall is located
Front entrance to the Pantheon
Front entrance to the Pantheon
The Pantheon interior
The Pantheon interior
The Pantheon interior dome
The Pantheon interior dome
The Pantheon interior
The Pantheon interior
Our group using the Rome metro on our own
Our group using the Rome metro on our own
National Monument to Victor Emmanuel II
National Monument to Victor Emmanuel II
Castel Sant'Angelo on the Tiber River
Castel Sant’Angelo on the Tiber River
Joggers run beside the Tiber River
Joggers run beside the Tiber River

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Puerto Quetzal & Antigua, Guatemala

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2011 Incan Empires Cruise

Wednesday, December 14, 2011 – Day 24 – Puerto Quetzal & Antigua, Guatemala

The cruise ship port in Puerto Quetzal is a welcome change from most of our previous ports, where we usually docked at container terminals. Today, there is a nice, clean dock, with lots of souvenir vendors, and a café and bar serving snacks and beverages, including coco loco (coconut cocktail with or without booze).

JoeTourist: Antigua &emdash; Volcan Fuego emitting smoke

We take the Antigua On Your Own shore excursion, which provides transportation to and from Antigua, a small Guatemalan town designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Our guide refers to Antigua as St. John, since this is the patron saint of soldiers, and the Spanish conquistadors established this town after the original site was destroyed by the nearby volcano. It takes the bus about 1.5 hours to travel from the port to the city. We pass three volcanoes along the way: Volcan Fuego and Volcan Acatenango to the West, and Volcan de Agua to the East. Volcan Fuego decides to put on a little show for us as we pass by, sending puffs of smoke skyward.

I can see that Antigua is normally a nice town to visit, however with all the cruise ship passengers drifting around, there are scores of Guatemalans selling trinkets everywhere. They are constantly after us to buy stuff, so it quickly becomes annoying. We wander the few blocks from our drop off point to the big town square with a cathedral and shops all around. There is a large tour group about to enter the cathedral, so we decide to walk a bit further to see La Merced Church, which is very ornate and very quiet, since it is off the beaten path. Along the way, we see the famous arch at El Carmen, and take photos of the Volcan de Agua framed by the Arch.

We stop to have some cappuccino made with genuine Guatemalan coffee, which has to be one of the best-tasting coffees I have had on the trip so far. I distract myself from all the persistent street vendors by giving myself a photographic assignment as we find our way back to the drop-off point: take photos of all the beautiful and ornate door knockers found on many of the big wooden doors to be found as entranceways to shops, restaurants, and inner courtyards.

Antigua
Antigua
32 photos