Punta del Este, Uruguay
Ahh, the beautiful Punta Del Este—A resort town full of lots of yachts, beaches, and people who all seem to be working out. But who can blame them when they have a path right along the ocean and free outdoor gyms. That’s right, outdoor gyms! U.S, take note!
Our first stop was at Brava Beach, where we saw “Mano de Punta del Este”, or The Hand of Punta del Este. The massive sculpture is impossible to miss and frankly a symbol of the town itself. Those Uruguayans are very proud of their giant hand.
From here, we headed to Beverly Hills. No, not California, though it is quite similar. Beverly Hills is a neighborhood here for the wealthy that you have to drive through in order to get to The Ralli Museum, which was our ultimate destination. The Ralli Museum holds some work by Salvador Dali, many sculptures of people doing odd things, and colorful paintings of cows—Your typical art museum. Safe to say I had a good laugh posing with some of the sculptures.
We continued onward to Casapueblo, designed and built by the Uruguayan artist Carlos Paez Vilaro. Honestly I am not a huge fan of his artwork, but his casa is another story. The unusual white house lies on a cliff and overlooks the azure water below, which almost reminds me of Santorini to some extent. It is a huge tourist attraction though, which at some points left me feeling claustrophobic due to the narrow corridors. We squeezed our way out of the house and could finally breathe again. Praise!
Following Casapueblo, we made our way back to the beachy shores. On our drive back we passed... wait for it...A TRUMP TOWERS being built. Some people never stop following you, and I feel like Donald Trump is one of them. First, he is all over the news, and now all up in my vacation. Sigh. We also passed a unique bridge that I know my brother would have an appreciation for. It was basically going on a mini rollercoaster. Up, down, up down.
Once we made it back, we walked along the ocean and stopped for lunch at a seaside café. The seating was on a deck overlooking the yachts and the actual restaurant where they made the food was across the street. Just imagine seeing a smiling man in a fedora carrying a full tray of food running across the street. It was beyond precious. The food was some of the best we have had so far as well. I ordered a chivito, the national dish of Uruguay, which is a steak, ham, egg, and cheese sandwich. NOM.
xoxo,
Em