A visit to the Bouza winery in Montevideo and some other sites of the city.

1. Visit to Bouza Winery and Montevideo

2. I head out from my hotel and notice this fish stand on the beach

3. On the way to Bouza Winery, we are forced into a detour and when we get back on the highway I see a dead person on the road covered with a blanket. When I get to Bouza a very pregnant lady gives me a tour. Death and new life in less than 15 minutes. Here are the tannat vines and the national bird of Uruguay protecting them.

4. The winery is spotless and immaculately maintained. Here is a view of tannat vines. Tannat is the signature grape variety of Uruguay. Probably brought over by the Basque from Madiran in the South West France.

5. Uruguay is a catholic country. This plaque on the front of the winery is to thank San Isidro for bringing rain after a long draught.

6. Someone has money to play with, because all the gear is state of the art and perfectly maintained

7. A room full of French Barriques and not a cobweb in site

8. A view of the outside of their restaurant

9. The owner is quite a collector. Here is a picture of a railroad car he hopes to convert into hotel rooms and a view of the winery

10. The owner has a collection of antique vehicles, including a few model Ts and this very unique 3 wheel car made by Messerschmitt. After WWII they could no longer make fighter planes, so this is what they came up with.

11. Here is the dining room. All the tables were reserved but I ate alone. I guess Uruguayans don’t eat lunch until around 1:30 pm.

12. Their parilla

13. The first course. Shrimp with leek confit, cherry tomatoes and shellfish butter sauce.

14. Best steak I had in Uruguay. Served with a red wine sauce and pesto. They seem to love to garnish with arugula.

15. A gorgeous flan served with dulce de leche

16. They brought some of the vehicles out for some air

17. This very buxom lady came into the restaurant and then left. As I was leaving I noticed she was with a video crew shooting a TV segment

18. This was one of her takes. Gratuitous use of silicon to sell this presentation.

19. I took a cab to the Mercado del puerto. The haze is from all the parillas.

20. Here is a parilla in action

21. A market stall in the old city

22. I stumbled across this really crazy restaurant not far from my hotel

23. La Rambla

24. One last shot of La Rambla as the sun sets on Montevideo