Movie Monday: Wine and Dine in Colonia de Sacramento

A visit to Colonia de Sacramento gives travelers a perfect excuse to relax, eat and drink. Food, inextricable from culture, is an extremely important (and fun!) aspect of travel. If we didn’t pay attention to the flavors, smells, sites and sounds, we might as well be standing still and going nowhere.

Some of my favorite traveling experiences have been those slow, leisurely days, when there was nothing but time to partake in the local culinary cafe culture. If you think about a dining experience, it’s much more than just an eating activity. You feel a certain way in that vividly decorated room, bustling with activity. The quick dual picking of the guitar reminds you that you’re a long way from home, and it’s a good feeling.

You’re blending in (somewhat) with the locals, doing what they do, eating what they eat, acting as they do. You’re taking their lifestyle for a spin, and it’s exhilarating. Actors, daring not to break character, you continue the charade. Only, it’s not an act. You’re experience is genuine. You’re not reading about this in a magazine or watching it on the travel channel. You’re there- in it.

It’s thick, the culture. You could cut it with a knife. It’s so refreshing and uplifting to be among these people, part of their tribe.

Of course the dish I wanted to try over any other was the “typical” chivito sandwich, the national dish of Uruguay. The perfect sandwich: filet mignon with mayo, egg, ham, swiss, olives, eggs and bacon- all on a tasty baguette, it’s like the Uruguay poboy. Nom nom nom…..

What is your most memorable food experience?