a thunderstorm

i went to see the godard film éloge de l`amour last night at the cinemateque. i thought it was an older godard movie but it came out in 2001. it was very dull. it had some good ideas but visually it wasn´t interesting and it didn´t help either that the seats there are so uncomfortable. very hard red leather seats that looked like they were 100 years old. when i left the theatre it started raining a little. then a lot! i had to stop and buy an unmbrella and from that time until midnight it wouldn´t stop raining. it doesn´t drizzle here, it pours! lots of wind and lightning. i thought the trees were going to fall! when i got to my aunt`s place the blinds and windows were shaking. it was a bit scary. in the winter it`s like that continuously. sometimes 2 weeks straignt of strong winds and pouring rain. people complain about the winters in vancouver but it´s nothing compared to the type of winters they get here.

my mom ordered 150 sandwiches and a kilo and a half of pastries from the best confiteria/sandwicheria. the place is called carrera and they`ve been around for 50 years. it´s for the reunion tonight. i told my mom to stop ordering so many pastries but she said it`s going to be enough. last time for my aunts b-day we ordered the same amount of sandwiches and they were gone really fast. the sandwiches here are so delicious. that´s one of the things i´m going to miss about montevideo. the best sandwiches and pastries i`ve ever had.

a couple of things made me upset on this trip. first of all, the best art gallery in montevideo is closed! last time i was here, 7 years ago, i saw a great exhibit there. it`s privately owned by a couple. they own or used to own the 2 story building. i went back several times because i had no idea it was closed. there was no sign and the door was locked. i kept ringing the doorbell but no one answered. i just thought they were closed for lunch because most stores are closed between noon and 2pm so on the 3rd time i asked someone in a store next door and he said they closed a long time ago. and secondly, so many religious groups are popping up everywhere. the ones that stand on the corner and give you flyers and want you to join them and try and make you believe something that isn´t true. lots of new churches everywhere in places where they used to have stores. the poorer this city gets, the more people want to believe in something.

i was in pocitos a few days ago to go on a guided tour of el castillo pittamiglio. it´s a castle designed by a very eccentric man. i don´t know very much about it and the only way to see it is on certain days of the week and it has to be on a scheduled tour. i thought it was at 5 but it`s at 4 and i missed it! i have some nice pictures from the outside but not being able to see the inside in person is so frustrating! i have to do this on my next trip. i continued walking and stopped this man to ask him where the bus stop was and he didn´t speak spanish! he knew some words of spanish and english and he tried to help me but i couldn´t understand a word he was saying. he sounded german. meeting someone that doesn´t speak spanish here is very rare. you can´t live here without spanish. then i heard a couple of speaking english women somewhere else in that neighborhood. pocitos is an upscale area by the ocean and i heard it´s where a lot of foreigners, or people who work for consulates, buy properties.

everytime i come to uruguay, i usually leave with something from manos del uruguay. it means hands of uruguay. if you`re looking for something very uruguayan that you can´t find anywhere else, this would be it. all handmade wool. i have a new gorgeous red checkered jacket. i wonder if vancouver is going to be cold enough for me to wear it?