The Many Faces of Colonia del Sacramento

We made a weekend getaway of Colonia del Sacramento in nearby Uruguay. Well, us and 300 or so of our closest friends were on the ferry. The ferry went quite fast and was so rocky everyone was glued to their seats. Now we know why there were so many couples. What a delightful and romantic old city awaited us!

The streets were cobblestoned and lined with birch trees that dappled the sunlight on the tiled sidewalks. With a little direction we found our way from the ferry to our bed and breakfast, Posada Plaza Mayor.

The hotel had a darling inner courtyard with a delicate blue-tiled fountain and bird bath. We had fun watching the birds splashing merrily away, puffing up their feathers. And it was so cool at night we didn't have to worry about whether to leave the windows open or not (because without question there are no screens in the windows).

We did a lot of walking but perhaps even more sitting around on park benches doing nothing. We spent the most time at one bench and had the pleasure of watching the street hawkers carefully (and masterfully) setting up their displays of handmade jewelry. We were there so long I'm not sure they even saw us. We saw tattoos, dreadlocks and even a pretty young woman with lovely black hair in a mohawk. The one vendor was very savvy and charming and he had first place on the wall. People (mostly women) were enticed by him and he made jewelry on the spot for them.

At the same time dogs ran wild, tails up in the air, wagging, as they chased each other around and barked at passing cars. Eventually we decided to have a beer (what else to do while waiting for restaurants to open?) and shared a litre bottle at a small table for two.

Young is Relative, or a Relative

It's not possible that these young women are 21 years of age, is it? Rich and I went to The Brew Garden in Clearwater to hear Lee Pons tickle the (electronic) ivories and as we watched the patrons trickling in over the hours we began to feel conspicuously *old*. The kids coming in really looked like they were seniors in high school. They were not. Could it be that our perspective has changed? Hmmmmm.

There were a few other patrons who looked old enough to imbibe and the place did have some great atmosphere going on. The lighting was warm, the wood clean enough to reflect and the outdoor seating was well appointed. Guess it would be since they serve food and there's no smoking indoors (LOVE that!).

And would you believe it? They had yummy beer. It would seem my distaste for beer has disappeared along with that big hill I crossed over. Turns out I like dark, slightly sweet, no bitter beer. An enthusiastic welcome to Grimbergen Dubbel!