Overheard at Breakfast: Montevideo
Overheard at Breakfast: Montevideo
One of my favorite perks of traveling alone is being the observer. The quiet woman in the corner- reading a book, writing in her notebook, overhearing the conversations of others. Breakfast is a time when the music isn’t loud, strangers are gathered in a space, and some of the most ridiculous statements seem to surface naturally.
As a pastime, I began writing them down.
Location:
Alma Historica Hotel in Montevideo, Uruguay. An elegantly restored 1920s townhouse turned bed-and-breakfast, where individually designed rooms pay homage to legendary native artists and writers.
Freshly squeezed orange juice, scrambled eggs with tomato, onions, & sweet peppers, homemade bread and good-enough coffee.
The breakfast room is a small dining hall adjacent to the lobby. Vintage chandeliers hang overhead, and the furniture is a mix of Victorian relics. The shelves are lined with leather vintage books, all in Spanish, and various objects from another era. Tableware consists of mismatched 1900’s china and porcelain. Classical music plays faintly in the background.
A middle aged German man with wild black hair, a painter’s goatee, and a scruffy traveler aesthetic- black jeans, dirty grey button up with lots of pockets. He speaks uncomfortably loud in the intimate space to his table mate, a middle-aged South American woman wearing a similar outfit, and similar wild hair but dyed red and bright green eyeshadow.
Him- “If you had to leave South America, where would you go?” Answering his own question before she could speak “Europe, Obviously”.
Her- “Spain or Italy. I speak Spanish & Italian”
Him- “I would go anywhere, other than America…. I’d even go to Australia”
Several minutes later
Him- “Look, I’m an artist, I’m famous, I’m rich” he shrugs his shoulders and takes another large bite of cereal.
Two grey haired American men wearing matching greige cargo shorts and similar button-down shirts. Each has an ipad & iphone on the table. Both silent and scrolling.
Him-“Social media is soft fascism from the left”
Other Him- Nodding. Still scrolling
Two elderly Jewish New Yorkers. She is impeccably dressed in slacks and a blouse with perfectly styled short dark brown hair, shaped almost like a helmet. He wears a plaid button-down shirt neatly tucked in with a colorful belt most certainly purchased at the souvenir shop across the street. They are discussing the current state of America.
Her- “So, what do you want to do today?”
Him- “You need to find us a place for dinner in South Africa.”
Her- “Oh, yes. That’s right”
**later that morning I found them both in the study napping in front of their ipad playing the news.
A man in his late 30s speaking to a few other older men about the recent American invasion in Venezuela. They’re all wearing cargo pants, small backpacks, holding reusable water bottles covered in stickers. One of them is wearing a lanyard for his phone. I take that back, two of them are wearing lanyards for their phones.
Him- “You know, when I was a kid, I used to climb trees in Venezuela. Yeah, I did. All day. I would spend all my days, just climbing trees. Those were the days” he was obviously Canadian.
When traveling, breakfast is the most entertaining meal of my day.