Happy Holidays to all of our friends and families back in the US. Many of you may be wondering if Christmas is celebrated here. And, yes, of course it is. All the retail stores are decorated and Christmas music is playing and Christrmas movies are on TV so it is pretty much the same. People just seem to be more laid back about presents, and all that stuff. I think the focus is more on family. Don't get me wrong, the kids are expecting gifts under the tree on Chrismas morning but I don't think it is quite the spectacle that we are accustomed to in the US. On Christmas Eve, there will be fireworks on the beach. That is one custom that is different. We will head down to the beach around midnight and then back home to open a gift or two and have some champagne. Our celebration will begin when the girls arrive on December 27th.
Last night we attended an ExPat holiday party. It was a potluck for about 70 people. Very nice. We even had someone singing Christmas carols at the end. We attended with two other couples that we know that have moved here from the US, BA and Crotia and Austria and London. It is so fun to meet people from all over the world. We met some folks that actually live in our neighborhood so that was nice, too!
Our house continues to be a project. We are working on our pool right now. Uruguay has alot of rules and regulations so you have to be careful. We have had an architect out to survey everything to make sure we aren't on anyones property, etc. So far, so good! We hope to have the pool completed in a couple of months but things do move SLOWLY around here. We are trying to learn about all the trees and plants that are indigenous to this area. It is alot to learn so we have been taking our time. Right now we have only a couple of puny fir trees in the front yard and no sod at all. Can't do anything until the pool is in. I just hope we don't get alot of rain in the meantime. It is very messy and tracked into the house by Ollie and Hal.
We had our second dinner party a few weeks ago for our friends, Phil and Graciela. They enjoyed our cooking so much they suggested we open a restaurant. Mark is getting really good on the prilla and has been studying the different cuts of meat. Lomo is filet mignon and we fixed that along with several good appetizers and sides. We have discovered a wonderful butcher shop right in our neighborhood. They people there are great, friendly and they trim all your meat up and give you the scraps for your dogs. The prices are unbelievably cheap for what you get. We buy beef, bacon, pork, chicken and eggs there! Everything is extremely fresh and tastes delicious! We have figured out what is a ribeye and a strip so we are happy now but need to experience the Uruguayan cuts, also. Needless to say the BEEF is GREAT!
We have been going down to the harbor in Punta in the morning to buy fresh fish. The fish here is really good,too, particularly the Bortola. It is a very mild but meaty white fish, similar to grouper. I have cooked it everyway possible and always love it. They also have chiparones, octopus, squid and other types of fish. Unfortunately, they do not have lobster or crab legs!!! They do get seabass in the restaurants but it is not local. It is fun to go to the harbor and watch them filet the fish. They throw it out to the sea lions and seagulls so everything is recylced.
We are enjoying many of the fine restaurants and shops in Maldonado, which is the colonial town near Punta del Este. They actually have some great restaurants there. Maldonado is actually closer to our house and is where the locals shop, etc. Punta is a resort town and so most of the shops are very upscale and expensive. I like to shop in Maldonado because I think I can find a bargain now and then. The downtown is very busy unlike most downtowns in the US. We actually spend more time there than Punta. (I think it has something to do with being on a fixed income!) The rainbow in the picture was a bonus from our night out in Maldonado.
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