While visiting Buenos Aires in 2009, I took a day trip across the Río de la Plata to Colonia del Sacramento, Uruguay. It might as well have been a world away from the hustle and bustle of Buenos Aires. There, the streets were virtually empty of cars and people, the cafes quiet and friendly. We spent the day wandering quietly around, stopping to have a drink or a gelato or a nap on a bench or a dock.