When does blueberry picking start this year?

For the last 3 years my family and I have enjoyed heading out to Pilar's chacra to pick her delicious blueberries.  I am pleased to let you all know that for the month of November, there will be blueberry picking and organic produce available for purhasing at Pilar's chacra every Saturday morning, 9am-noon. The blueberries are $150pesos per kilo.

Please note that there will be no afternoon berry picking opportunities as there have been in previous years.  The staff who handle both produce purchases and blueberry purchases will only be working in the mornings. 

For blueberry picking, please bring your own containers. For produce, you will also need your own bags or baskets.

For those who have never been to Pilar´s chacra, take Ruta 11 north from the overpass in Atlántida for 6.5 km. You will see a metal windmill to your left. Take the next road to the right. The entrance to the chacra is the second driveway on the left, through the big open gates.

Mark it on your calendars. November 5th, 12th, 19th, and 26th.

See you there!

Did you know about the food festival on this weekend?

Did you miss out on the great food festival today?  not to worry because this time around it is running for two days!  So check it out tomorrow...

Looking for some delicious Swiss food in Uruguay?

I visited the restaurant at the Granja Hotel Suizo in Nueva Helvecia and was very impressed.  The grounds of the hotel are expansive and excellent for children to run around and enjoy.  The restaurant has great thematic decor and the menu is quite wide.  We enjoyed eating cheese fondue, pate, Swiss sausage, smoked pork chop, rosti and apple strudel.  We stayed and relaxed at the restaurant for a long time and thoroughly enjoyed our visit.  I would recommend a visit to this restaurant.  As an added note we took a look at one of the hotel rooms and were very unimpressed, the hotel rooms are very old and need a major upgrade.  So although I would drive out to Nueva Helvecia to visit the Granja Hotel Suizo restaurant, I would not stay at the hotel.

Granja Hotel Suizo
website
Federico Fischer 355, Colonia Suiza, Nueva Helvecia, Department of Colonia
4554 4002

Are you looking for an awesome serviced apartment in Carrasco?

I took a tour through the new Arkadia apartment building in Carrasco Norte and I have to say that it is excellent!  Arkadia has 18 serviced apartments (2 or 3 bedrooms) available to rent short term/long term and furnished/unfurnished.  Arkadia also has an indoor heated pool, a gym, a movie room, common areas, a cafeteria, 24 hour security, a concierge service, wheelchair access and more.   In particular the concierge service is an excellent part of this apartment complex, the service includes anything from paying your bills, restaurant bookings/recommendations, obtaining tickets for events, connecting with tradespeople and more. Long-term rental starts at USD$1900+gastos per month.  I have more details about prices if you want to contact me or you can contact Magda (in English, Spanish or Portuguese) to get more details.

Arkadia Living
Website
Facebook
092 910868
mdeposadas@arkadialiving.com

Looking for a fabulous restaurant in Rosario?

While staying at the Mon Petit Hotel the other weekend we ventured into Rosario for dinner.  We tried a new restaurant called Restaurante El Mati and were hugely impressed.  The menu was quite different to other places we have been to in Uruguay and the food was delicious!  The food was so flavoursome, cooked to perfection and it was so lovely to eat food that didn't include Uruguayan staples like milanesa/pasta/pizza/BBQ...

The service was excellent, the setting was nice and we had a great time.  I can't wait to go back to this restaurant - even if it is out of Montevideo.  Restaurante El Mati has made it into the Ask Annette top 5 restaurants in Uruguay!  You must try it...

Restaurante El Mati

Baltazar Brum 441,  Rosario 70200, Colonia

4552 4107
Facebook

Hours: Wed-Fri, 6pm-late

           Sat-Sun, 12-late

Pork bondiola

Pork and vegetables with passionfruit sauce

Mains

Entrees

Are you looking for a great hotel?

I had the privilege of staying at Mon Petit Hotel de Campo and thoroughly enjoyed my stay.  Mon Petit is a 17 room hotel on the main highway about 40km out of Colonia del Sacramento.   It has just undergone a massive renovation and they have done a fabulous job.  With very modern decor and lovely gardens to roam around in, this hotel is a lovely spot.  Our children enjoyed playing in the expansive gardens and the playground and we all enjoyed the comfort of the modern room and the great service.  The staff were very friendly and helped us with all our questions and requests.  Breakfast was nice in a quiet setting with nice decor.  The hotel is still undergoing more renovations and adding of other services such as fishing in the area, horse-riding, a heated swimming pool and more.  While staying at Mon Petit we found fabulous restaurants nearby in Rosario (Restaurante El Mati) and Colonia Suiza (Hotel Suizo) as well as spending a day in Colonia del Sacramento (our all time favourite place to visit in Uruguay).  Over the past 4 years we have been in Uruguay the prices for accommodation in Colonia del Sacramento have increased substantially so staying out of town is a great option.  Not to mention that finding rooms for a family of four can be hard in Uruguay.  Mon Petit offers double, triple and quadruple rooms, including breakfast.  It is worth checking out this lovely hotel:

Mon Petit Hotel de Campo

website
Facebook

Ruta 1 KM 127.500, Rosario, Colonia, 70200
4552 3016

monpetithotel2014@gmail.com

Quadruple room

Playground

Swimming pool

Sunny balcony attached to our room

Lovely spacious gardens

One of the common areas

What is the next show by The Montevideo Players Society?