One of the greatest joys of travel that is both mysterious and delightful is how a moment can go from mundane to marvelous in the blink of an eye. For us expats, the mundane would be our 3 mth Colonia, Uruguay run that we have to do to renew our passports to be able to stay another 6 mths in Argentina. What used to be a 300 peso ($75 USD) run has now turned into a 600 peso run ($150) for a daytrip to Uruguay.
Going across the waters may sound like fun but to those of us who have done it multiple times know that Colonia, Uruguay loses its spark and magic after your first trip there and you realize that you've seen all there is to see in 3 hrs. But for me, the discovery of a new place there turn what I thought would be a mundane into a marvelous afternoon.
Before going on my little excursion, I checked out tripadvisor to find out if by chance there were any places worth checking out that would make my afternoon in Uruguay more interesting. Ganaché Cafe & Pasteleria came up as the number one recommended spot and after reading a ton of great reviews I decided to give it a go.
Sometimes a place is nothing like what people describe it as, sometimes a place is exactly what peopel describe it as. I would say that the café was BETTER than anything words could have ever described. It felt like walking into the livingroom of someone's house that had artistic decor. Soft music constantly flowed throughout the space and there were tables and couches dotted all over the room with an open window to let sunlight stream in.
Perhaps what made the place truly beautiful was the people. They welcomed me warmly and soon I found myself set up with an iced coffee with a touch of baileys and a ganache cake. The owners encouraged me to just sit and take my time, there was no rush to eat and then pay and take off. It appears that the place is family run and the cafe is actually in the front part of their home.
At one point while I was eating and chillaxing, a girl brought out a puzzle game and showed me how to play it. It was one of those old puzzle games made of wood that involves thinking and strategy. She told me to play it and when I've figured out the puzzle, let her know. I sat amusing myself with the game and within a few minutes had won the challenge. I called out and let them know I had figured it out. Another lady, one of the owners brought out a free cookie for me and told me this was my prize.
There are places, people, and experiences that leave something to be desired. And then there are places, people, and experiences that leave you with the desire for more of that. This was one of them. The good food, warmth, hospitality, laughter, chatter made 90 mins in Colonia, Uruguay fly by. Buenos Aires can be an incredibly cold and inhospitable city to live in at times so the joy of new places and new faces served as a wonderful respite from the city of fury.
With the presence of places like Ganache Café & Pasteleria, taking a one day excursion to Uruguay to renew my passport has never been more enjoyable :)
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