I think after living in the U.S. for so many years you come to expect a certain standard of living. McD's for one, you come to expect it as the last place too see rich brats and know it as a dirty place filled with fat people and defintely not the place to take a date. I think what McD's couldn't accomplished on its home turf it did abroad. There's this McD across the sreet from my hotel here in Punta del Este and it is nothing like one you find in the U.S. For starters it has a McCafe whose bakery serves eateries like tiramisu and lemon merengue and the killer coffee drinks. Oh yes, it also has a nice lounge with WIFI. Across the way the main food restaurant, the deco is very contemporary, a far comparison to the McDs on its home turf. I who avoid McD like the plague decide to check it out just coz I saw the bakery. I had the usual Big Mac and then hung out at cafe with a cafe con leche and a slice of tiramisu. Like all of Uruguay the cafe con leche is what is a latte by Yankee standards but way better. Uruguay is an expensive country and there was a fair spread of spoilt brats at McD. McD prices at dinner was actually more than McD in Phoenix, just to give an idea, about 150% more. It's just Punta del Este is more expensive than rest of the country. On the way to Bikini Beach today I got off the bus at the wrong place and had to walk a mile in the heat. TG I spoke Spanish to find my way around. It was enough of a hassle trying to find the right bus to Bikini Beach. E! Entertainment and Travel Channel reports it as one of the top beaches. Fox Sports had some volleyball thing here and some beach fashion show had something down there too. The walkway and Fox sports flyers were there today. As one guy put it makes South Beach look amateur. Well, I didn't see that as I was there at noon but by 5pm some of Fashion walkway models were showing up, just a figure of speech ;) Among the designer swimwear on Bikini Beach you find 10 year olds strutting their stuff as if they were big girls. It was quite amusing to see. I mean they knew how to hold themselves and show off. As I got lost earlier getting off the wrong place off the bus, it gave me a chance to check out the expensive beach front properties along the way. This place reminds me off the developed beach area around Sharm el Sheikh (Egypt). The street where my hotel resembles an American suburb. Yeah, very Americanized but no English spoken. A lot of money around here and you would expect otherwise. Of course the ritzy rich people I stop and ask for directions speak Ingles! but otherwise you need Spanish about 90% of the time. Once in awhile someone will speak English to you once they hear my non Latina accent. You can tell I speak Spanish like a Yank or Chinita. Yesterday I stopped in Colonia for a few hours and had a quick glimpse of the capital, Montevideo. Those will be a separate entry. I am using my WIFI enabled phone to make this entry from the hotel so I will have to upload pics later. The room I am is a dump and the listed night per Single is USD70 not what I am paying with my Buquebus package. Yesterday was another frustrating day. I decided to get to Punta del Este on my own in orderto explore Colonia so the price for transport to my hotel was deducted. Boy, finding a bus to get from Colonia to Punta was not as easy as the lady at Buquebus said. They forget you are struggling with Spanish. Well after asking 3 people I was able to find the right bus to buy my onward ticket. That and carrying my travel pack around with me on my back was frustrating. TG I had no roller bag it was impossible to roll it on Colonia's pebbled streets. I am glad I know Spanish I think I would be losing it by now. The people in Uruguay are good looking people, maybe because I just came from Bikini Beach today! In a couple of hours I will go clubbing with some rich Argentines (so it seemed. Well only wealthy Argentines vacation in Punta since by Argentine stds it is expensive here) I met at Bikini today. They were happy to speak English! So i anticipate another all night of partying. And in Punta del Este, it starts at 2am!
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