Travel

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The Expat Forum in México City

I’ve been home from the 1st National Forum on the North American Retiree Community: Expectations & Options for Living in Mexico since Sunday, so it’s high time I report out to all of you! Thursday evening we all gathered for cocktails at the hotel and got to know each other.  It was great to meet so many people who make México their home. There were people from Puerto Vallarta, Mérida, Los Cabos, La Paz, Ensenada, Mazatlán, Colima, Acapulco, Rosarito Beach, Ajijic,...

Music and Food in México City

We all need to eat, but in México City you can really eat well.  In four days in the city I had three really memorable meals.  The first was with my son and his family on Wednesday – a fantastic Indian meal at Dawat in Polanco.  We’d eaten there before and it was just as good this time.  We don’t have Indian food in Mazatlán, so it is one of my (countless) food cravings!   Friday after a a day...

The Diego Rivera Murals at the National Palace in Mexico City

México City is a spectacular place.  I enjoyed a lot of cultural attractions while I was there this time, and a favorite for me were the murals of Diego Rivera in the National Palace. If you visit México City you’ll surely go to the Zócalo, the main square downtown.  On one side is the main cathedral, and on another is the Palacio Nacional. This huge building (pictured below) is more than 600 feet long and one of the large balconies...

A Weekend in Mérida, Mexico

We recently flew to Mérida for a long weekend – our excuse was to attend the Latin American blogger conference, but we were both just in the mood to get away. It had been more than two years since our last visit, which is just too long!  Jonna and Mimi invited us to stay with them, so once we arranged for all our critters to be cared for we were ready to go! Of course their dogs patiently waited for...

Back from the mall

Paul and I just got back from a shopping trip to Guadalajara. We took the bus so it was a very relaxing trip. Six and a half hours to knit and listen to my audio book was a pleasant way to travel. We stayed in Tlaquepaque at the boutique hotel Quinta Don Jose, where we have stayed before. It is a very friendly place, and the grounds are lovely, too.x As happens to me whenever we travel to the interior,...

The download

As I visited family in the US, I frequently noticed how foreign things felt. People are too freaking polite! Good grief, people!  Quit waving each other access to the intersection and just GO!  I didn’t even rent a car this trip so I barely drove at all – but I still found myself flabbergasted at how SLOW people drive – and how SLOW they turn (ever hear of hand over hand?) and how LONG they stop at a stop sign. ...

Fun and amazement in Oaxaca

Friday night we fixed ourselves up kinda cute and headed to the Camino Real Hotel for dinner and the Guelaguetza, a suite of traditional Oaxacan dances.  It took place in the chapel of the former convent, an absolutely beautiful space.  Tables for ten were arranged throughout the room and there was a buffet set up on a raised area at the end.  The stage was centered along one wall.  We sat with a family of four at a table with...

Prowling around Oaxaca

One of the things we like so much about staying in B & B’s is the chatting with other guests at breakfast.  Oaxaca attracts an international crowd, and the breakfast table reflected that.  We met Australians, Italians, French, and Japanese along with Americans.  The ages vary, the knowledge of Mexico varies, but without a doubt you meet people who are really compatible.  One morning we met Tot and her friend Shari from the San Antonio area.  Tot and her husband...

Oaxaca and Monte Albán

Oaxaca.  Just the word Oaxaca makes me think of beautiful textiles, mole, and ancient ruins.  Oaxaca’s Centro Historico is a delight – wide stone block streets with colonial buildings, almost all in good repair.  Several streets in the center of town are closed to car traffic so you can stroll along almost all the way from the Santo Domingo church to the zócalo. During the 2006 teacher’s strike and occupation of the zócalo the zócalo itself was badly damaged, so...

There’s no place like home…

We love visiting Adam and the family in Mexico City… but we are also happy to get home!  This time I had a severe headache for three days due to the altitude – 7,349 feet above sea level!  And of course  Mazatlán is at sea level!  Finally I visited Dr. Google and found that I should have been taking ibuprofen or tylenol instead of aspirin.  That did the trick!  But then my eyes were burning and my nose was dry...

Reunions are great.

I flew in to San Francisco on Saturday evening and grabbed a taxi to my best friend’s house.  First sticker shock!  Forty dollars!  And when did they change the ten dollar bill to pink? My friend arrived and we had a great evening catching up.  She made me an open faced grilled cheese sandwich on an english muffin – with sharp cheddar cheese!  I was moaning and groaning over food the whole time I was there, as the Bay Area...

We’ve had a fun week!

Last weekend we sent the dogs off to doggie camp and headed to a small town in Jalisco.  Daughter Jess had arrived in Guadalajara earlier in the week to spend vacation with a friend from New York who was visiting family here for the first time in many years.  Of course since they were so close we were hoping they would come to Mazatlán to visit us, and it worked out that we met them at the family rancho in...

Whirlwind trip to Morelia

Paul and I got back last night from a whirlwind trip to Morelia and Pátzcuaro.  We drove over on Thursday, leaving about 6 am. We packed sandwiches and sodas, and drove straight through, only stopping for gas, and arriving in Morelia about 3:30 pm. (They are an hour later than Mazatlán) I love getting out and seeing different terrain – very green and lush around Tepic, volcanic between Tepic and Tequila, lots of agave between Tequila and Guadalajara.  Lots of...

Back from the big manzana

I am back from a long weekend with my son and his family in Mexico City.  Of course it was wonderful to see them. I arrived Friday morning and spent the morning drinking coffee and playing with Consuelo along with my daughter in law Martha and her mother.  I hadn’t seen her mother in about five years or so – I think the last time we saw her we visited her in Colima while we were exploring places to live...