On Saturday, we took a day long tour of Guadalajara with our Canadian friends and our tour guide, Ricardo. We piled into his SUV and headed into the city. Ricardo obviously knows his way around the city and how to navigate the crazy traffic. He showed us a special shop where they concoct potions of every kind. For example, do want to make someone fall in love with you? There’s a potion for that! How about making someone fall OUT of love with you? They have you covered for that too! It made me think back to Shrek 2 and the potion shop of the fairy. Maybe these folks in Guadalajara are onto something!
We visited the historic downtown which included the Plaza de Armas, a gathering place which has remained unchanged by historic events. We learned that in days long ago, the young people in town would walk around this plaza and profess their love to one another but dropping a confetti filled egg on their true heart’s desire. (Could you imagine our kids doing that today?) We then took a tour through the main symbol of the city, the Cathedral , during Mass no less. We felt a bit awkward taking pictures while the priest was doing his thing! Ricardo showed us where the finger tips of those who defended the Catholic church were housed. Interesting!
We took a tour of the Municipal Palace which is surrounded by a series of portals and is filled with paintings by Jose Clemente Orozco of Mexico’s famed liberator Father Miguel Hildago who fought to abolish slavery in the middle 19th century. We learned enough history that it left us with a burning desire to learn more, something we promised to do before we return again.
While it had been so wonderful to have the peaceful time by the sea, spending time in an amazing city was a real treat and we look forward to returning next winter.
Andrew has a good friend in Anthem, Gus, whose relatives live in Guadalajara. Thanks to Gus’ mom, Luz Maria, we set up a dinner date with her three cousins – Leticia, Patty and Olga – together with Olga’s great husband Beto. We had such a wonderful dinner with this group and enjoyed chatting with them very much. After they very generously treated us to dinner and gave us a bouquet of delicious chocolate roses, we bid farewell, knowing we would see them again next year on our trip through Guadalajara. On our way home, we slipped into one of the only Starbucks I have seen in Mexico. It was, by far, the most beautiful Starbucks we have ever seen. I got a big coffee mug that reads “Guadalajara” which was lots of fun. A nice end to a lovely evening.
