2-09 Montevideo, Uruguay

2-09 Day 35 Montevideo, Uruguay

Two years ago we had the best ravioli lunch in this city, and today we hoped to find the restaurant again and repeat the experience. So, on this around the world cruise, in this port, it was all about ravioli. Doug thought he could remember how to get to the restaurant even after two years.

So, after an Internet connection near the ship, we set off in search of the best ravioli ever! We found the street it had been on – with all the other restaurants and shops and outside markets as well. This area is called Mercado del Puerto (market by the port) and is only a few blocks from the ship. It is very colorful and a fun gathering place. Doug immediately found the restaurant – it was still there. The name of the restaurant is El Palenque. We not only sat at the same table as before, we had the same waiter! We recognized him, and told him why we were back. And the menu looked the same with our ravioli still there (called ravioli Palenque au gratin). After we ordered, I was taking a picture of the menu so I could remember the dish, and our nice waiter just gave us the whole menu. When our dish arrived, it looked like we remembered it – but Doug was going to give it the taste test – and sure enough, it was the same and as good as we remembered it. What a culinary joy to have found this once again! So, we enjoyed our ravioli AGAIN. When we were getting ready to leave, our waiter not only brought the bill, but a book about this restaurant commemorating its 50th anniversary. Our waiter's picture was in it, so we asked him to sign that page. His name is Pablo. The recipe for our ravioli was not one of the ones in the book, so he went back and got a basic recipe for it – just the ingredients basically, but no measurements. I'll try to play with it, but I think the best solution is another trip back to El Palenque!

We needed to walk off our heavy meal, so we strolled around the town. We met an American man who had moved to Montevideo two years ago and he told us about an old palace that was now a museum just a few blocks up the street – and it was free! So, we did that, and walked some more. Found a grocery to buy cokes for our upcoming 8 day crossing of the Atlantic to Africa. So, now I'm stocked until Cape Town! It turned out to be a very hot day, so we headed back to the ship. I had hoped to have one last dulce de leche (their wonderful sweet caramel), but I was still too full to indulge.

Dinner was special tonight because it was Wray's 75th birthday. After the meal, they gave him a cake and all the wait staff sang to him. Very festive and fun.

We went to the ship's show – they have all new entertainment now for the next 8 days. His name was Rick Starr and he was a comedian. We laughed a lot in this show. After a little stroll outside – the weather is warm and perfect – we went back to our cabin for the night.