Well, it’s actually both days of a weekend, in september each year. Many public buildings, musuems, galleries, historic buildings, theatres, places many of them that usually charge entrance give free entry, groups give free public performances, and so on – so that citizens can visit venues and through enjoying them and the displays they often contain, make themselves more aware of Uruguayan culture and history – a great example that could be taken up by Australia, for sure. So, last year we missed going into a building I have always admired, the Russian embassy, and so that was first on the list, and the interior was just as fascinating as I thought it would be. It was not orignally built as an embassy but was once a family’s home and has always seemed to me to be a classical slightly intriguing south american mansion, pillars and palms, and lovely proportions. From there we hurtled onto the Uruguay Club, and then down to the port where naval ships were decked out in flags, a band was playing, people going on and off ships , lots of activity all round. Since the Navy’s HQ, one of my favourite buildings, I have shown it before, is just opposite the Mercado del Puerto, what else could we do but enjoy lunch there. ..again! We had Aus visitors and some Uruguayan friends with us, and a table reserved out in the sunny fresh air, well located to enjoy the passing parade.

The man who sells flowers in season outside one of the supermarkets is always so amiable, we are regulars. DH had his doubts, but I was intrigued, had never seen this before, so think it’s something very new here. This was his last bunch and approaching lunchtime….

These are ordinary white funeral type lillies, and they are flowering all through the swampy parts of the countryside just now. By spraying them they look at first glance like those tropical red anthuriums….

There are increasing numbers of artisan workshops and galleries down in the port area, and next week, when we have some Aus visitors with us, for whom lunch at the port is a given must-do, we’ll have on our walking shoes and check all the new stuff out, it’s been a while since we gallery hopped and really explored what’s new down there, as opposed to lingering over lunch, crowd and people watch, and enjoy the passing parade of colour and sounds, qwhich we enjoy any time.

These pics show what I found when we went to investigate the rug hanging on the wall outside (see below)

Carlos demostrating the piecing on what looks to me like an industrial serger…
The one horizontal needle can be seen here, single thread only

Piecing the stars then setting them into the background, just as a quiltmaker would do.

Drving along near the port yesterday, the sun shining on something large, and richly coloured hanging against a wall, caught my eye, and DH wound back through the one way street maze to get us back to where we could go and investigate.

A marvellous rich combination of colour and texture was created with red-brown suede in between the sheepskin stars of this one, which we bought. DH had been thinking about moving the one inside the front entrance up into one of the upstairs bedrooms, since it is showing a little wear, so what more justification was required?

The most common way people cook meat here is over the open fire in some form or other, next common comes baking in the oven, then egg and breadcrumbed before frying (milanesa) probably, and things like stewing and casseroles, the economic gentle way to treat the less tender cuts, don’t figure much at all. Most people either have some kind of woodfired bbq equipment out on their deck, in a metal half drum or some metal arrangment on legs, combining firebox and meat rack, but in houses certainly and even many apartments this is standard and built into the external brickwork. Those with only an internal fireplace can find a variety of racks and metal plates/dishes on legs that allow them cook meat over a fire inside the house. Our setup is built into the exterior brickwork, and is a rack that holds the burning wood, and a mesh rack that can be raised and lowered in relation to the coals which are raked and spread out beneath this rack. And is usual in most places we’ve ever been, men understand all the various little nuances of procedure and ritual involved, and women happily let them go with that.