the trip from montevideo home was a long one, with a giant (tall) man trapped beside us the whole flight. it seems like that’s always the case. the taller you are, i think the surer it is you will be crammed into the tiniest space. it was bittersweet to leave & while i’m glad to be home, unpacked, back in my studio & near avocados again, i miss a lot about uruguay, and the people, the quiet moments running by the beach, & long drives to find bodegas each day are what i imagine will stay with me the most.

it’s 7:45 in the evening, the sun is still bright but softening, and the streets are finally still & quiet outside. shutters are opening & people are coming out to spend the evening on their balconies again. i have a little time before dinner & all week i have been meaning to get this written down so i don’t forget.

two &  a half years ago, i can remember the day, i remember david asking me if i thought he could make it in the wine industry.  a week later, he’d bought every wine book available to man. within days he’d finished & for the next year, he read cover to cover & cover to cover, and taught himself everything he could. i’ve never seen anyone come so alive, so quickly, and the past two & a half years have been the best, to watch him be alive & learn & change. that year ended, he changed careers & we moved california, where he first tasted uruguayan wines. i won’t ever forget. he came home the day he tasted them more excited than i’d ever seen. and now, after thinking, processing, weighing our next steps, hundreds of cups of coffee, i’m sitting across from him in a tiny apartment in uruguay, overlooking a small stone street, at the end of a week meeting with winemakers, beginning to import uruguayan wine.

a week ago, i was trying to cram eight pairs of shoes into a suitcase…really i only needed two. a year ago, i could have never anticipated where we’d be. 

the view from our apartment in ciudad vieja. it’s a short walk to the ocean from here.

every evening the old man living on this corner balcony looks out over the street in his underwear.

this door is my favorite, on the way to the beach…i would like to make an offer on it.

our grocery store below us, where milk comes in bags…i have renewed appreciation for milk cartons now. on tuesdays & fridays, there’s a farmer’s market at the end of our street where we get lots of good things.

a street nearby…everything here reminds me so much of europe. the architecture, old trees, shaded streets, the markets…but more chill.. & people drinking mate everywhere.

so far we love it. we have a full week of meetings again with producers this week & i will have more soon. xo

i love this city. we were walking back from the beach tonight through the city centre & stumbled past a plaza full of people dancing the tango outside. only here…uruguay has so much character.

this man was playing to the music on his harmonica.