Pretty Buildings and Bright Colours

Sorry, I know I haven't posted for a while but things have been busy so here's one I wrote earlier. I'll bring you up to date in the near future, promise.

Uruguay is a country created as a buffer between two greater powers (Argentina and Brazil) in 1828. For those who don't know, Brazil was a colony of Portugual while Argentina was a colony of Spain. Thus the people of Uruguay have an Iberian inheritance and with this comes a fondness for painted buildings.

One of the main attractions in Colonia is the Street of Sighs built a couple of centuries ago by the Portuguese. I've no idea why it's called the Street of Sighs but it leads down to the riverside so it could be the sounds of the winds coming off the river or the sounds of the people waiting for loved ones to come home from the sea (no, I haven't been drinking).




This is a more modern street but note the colours of the buildings and the street lamps. Both are common all over Colonia.




And here is the most modern building I saw. Don't you just love the colours. Unfortunately you can't do this in the UK, although several on the Newington Estate have tried to disastrous effect, because you need the sun to set it off properly.




And finally, someone using up their odds and ends of paint...



which goes to prove that the spirit of colour is not dead here.