Bienvenidos a la Guadalajara! 050106

Hola chicos y chicas! Well, I'm officially off of the beach and in Mexico! It was a rough start. I was up until 1 a.m. last night, and my shuttle was set to arrive at 4 a.m. Claron set the alarm for 3:45 a.m. but I was awoken in a panic at 4:15 a.m. by the shuttle driver calling to say that he couldn't find the house. It was okay. I caught the shuttle and the plane.
I am staying in three different hotels during my stay in Guadalajara due to Cinco de Mayo bringing so many people into the city. Right now I am in an awesome little bed and breakfast in Tlaquepaque which is the shopping district right outside of centro Guadalajara. I don't think I am going to want to leave. It is really a sweet little B&B. It is even complete with a little stray dog they adopted named, Chiquita and a cat that could be LD's brother, Cabot. Unfortunately though breakfast doesn't start until 8 a.m. and I am leaving at 7 a.m for work. =-( Today is a holiday in Mexico so most of the shops are closed, but from the ones I've seen, the pottery is awesome. We'll see what I end up buying that I'm not supposed to.
I will be here for three weeks providing internal audit testing assistance to a hardware client. There are also people coming in from the company from San Jose and Scotland. We start work tomorrow, but I'll have my weekends. Claron will be coming to visit during the second weekend.
In addition to the shops being closed, the company that we are working for is also closed, so I had today to romp about. I started at the farmacia. There I marveled at all of the items containing lard. Wow! It was a lot of grasa (fat). I bought some shampoo (another oops) and some batteries for my camera. I then walked the streets for awhile. I looked in all of the shops and marveled at the plants that were different. Sorry to digress for a moment, but I saw some very interesting oleander varieties. The leaves were narrower and thicker and the blooms were way bigger and more abundant. They were lovely.
Finally, I made my way back to the center of Tlaquepaque and walked around all of the restaurants trying to figure out which was the most packed. I finally settled on El Gato Negro. I ordered the Pollo Mignon. I had no clue what that was going to be besides chicken, but I figured it was only $6, I was starving and in an adventurous mood. It turned out to be a piece of chicken drenched in enough butter to make Paula Deen (Paula's Home Cooking) squeal with delight. It was heavenly though. It also came with a baked potato, some rice, some tortillas that I couldn't decide whether they were harina or maiz (but they were awesome) and some vegetables that resembled broccoli without crowns. It was all wonderful (but what an Atkins and South Beach nightmare!). I wrapped up my scraps for Cabot and Chiquita, and I am now officially their favorite person in the hotel.
I took some interesting pictures at El Gato Negro. The restaurants all face into this square where there is a stage. The square is framed by these amazing 50 foot tall trees that have purple trumpet flowers. In the trees there are there things that look like cages made from twigs. I asked the waiter what they were and he said that they are lanterns made from lobster traps.
The city itself is interesting. It is Mexican (with its concrete buildings and bright colors) but it is different than the other areas, to which I have been in Mexico. There are areas where the architecture is stunning. Also, the streets are very narrow and in some manner remind me of parts of Europe.
LD Update: LD has hurt his leg, so he really looks pitiful hobbling around. We have gotten his feline interferon and it appears that it is helping at least a little bit. Even with the limp, he's not looking quite as scraggly. He is still really skinny though. Poor L!
So… lets begin the lists:
Awesome things about Guadalajara:
-It's 90 degrees! Yeah baby!!
-Passion flowers grow like weeds.
-I saw a 20 foot ficus!
-They have a cat that looks almost exactly like LD at the B&B, but he's a super sweetheart!
-There are awesome mariachis everywhere. They have the most amazing harmony. Guadalajara is known for its mariachis.
-There is a good deal of lovely old architecture.
-It is much more "European" than you would think. The further inland you go, I figured the people would look more and more Aztec, but apparently I am mistaken. I've seen light brown haired, green eyed Mexicans here.
-Bonafont Levite. It is this flavored water similar to Propel, but better! I know you won't be able to believe that Shauna, but really! They have some interesting flavors as well. There are some that I can't translate, but other I saw include pear and lime. Mmmm…
-Stuff is CHEAP!! Yea! Mexico!
-Tons of cool little shops.
-The stuff in the shops is different than in Baja. I have seen some of the stuff from Baja, but I've also seen other stuff-- metal working, crystal, mosaics…
-The hotel has wireless internet.
-The hotel has satellite TV from the US. (Claron, this does not mean that you can delete my scheduled DVR recordings)
Things that could stand some improvement:
-Well, it is the third world.
-Habla Ud. Ingles? No! Nadie hablan ingles! Todos espanol. (No one speaks English.)
-I forgot my dictionary… Ooops!
-I forgot my camera cord to download pictures. Double Oops!
-Having to work when I travel. Dude, what is up with that?!
So, to work tomorrow! I'm sure I will have more to share later in the week. I will update the blog http://amandastravel.blogspot.com/
Talk to you soon!
Buenos noches!
Amanda