Once again I was off to Guadalajara (GDL) last week for my 6th trip to this wonderful city since I moved to Mexico in December of 2009. This trip was to visit the sons of my friend Pablo as well as do some shopping and the usual sight seeing of our favorite places. We brought along another friend from the US who was a "virgin" visitor to GDL. Upon arrival we checked into the Dali Plaza Hotel which has become my new favorite hotel at the right price of 475 pesos including breakfast for 1 person. The room was similar to last time and on the 8th floor it was a great view of the city below. The hotel is located right in the heart of the shopping area and about 1 1/2 blocks from the Main Cathedral of GDL.
After a quick lunch at the corner taco stand, we were off to orient our friend Andy and walked to the Main Cathedral, along the plazas all the way to San Juan de Dios (Indoor Flea Market) where we made some great purchases of shoes and leather products, and then finally over to Plaza Los Mariachis for a bucket of beers and a little rest. We headed back to the hotel to freshen up, as dinner would be at my favorite restaurant 9 Esquinas (9 Corners) that have written about before here in my blog. They specialize in traditional Mexican style of food preparation and their specialty is Goat and Lamb. Great meal as always and even Andy decided to try the goat (chivo), and of course he loved it!
On uur next day Andy decided to do a double decker city bus tour, while Pablo and I went to visit an ex-coworker from Puerto Vallarta who had moved to GDL last year. He was managing a small coffee bar/restaurant in Colonia Bugambillas inside a new shopping mall called Plaza Panoramica. It is located high up the hill in the western part of GDL and has fantastic views of the city from high above. The Plaza was built by a local developer and he built the shopping mall as a service to the surrounding community by offering all the things you would need when living around the area including 9 restaurants, bowling alley, laundry/dry cleaner, children's day care, movie theater (opening soon), spa, grocery, roof top amusement park, and underground parking! It was all on 5 levels serviced by escalators and elevator......very nice!
We re-connected with Andy at the hotel and headed over to Tlaquepaque to do some shopping for items he was interested in bringing back to the USA and I found some wonderful handmade loafers for myself.
We had a great lunch at El Patio, another favorite restaurant of mine, as it has a great menu and always some entertainment including an all female Mariachi group. After shopping and getting tired we enjoyed a few cocktails in the center square where there are many restaurants around a main raised patio. Back to the hotel for a refresh and we are back out to check out the night life around the area including a gay bar.
Since this was Andy's first trip to GDL we let him decide if we would go back to Lake Chapala or enjoy the GDL Zoo that my ex-coworker had recommended to us the day before. Since Pablo and I had not been to the Zoo, we all decided to make the visit on our final day. For about 145 pesos we gained entrance to all parts of the Zoo including the train ride, safari excursion, the aquarium, and the Australian Outback area. We oriented ourselves with the train ride around the park and I was immediately impressed with the cleanliness and upkeep of the Zoo. Certainly as nice as any North American or European Zoo that I have been to....just smaller and not of such a grand scale. Some of the most interesting aspects was the Monkey Land area where you were allowed inside a small spider monkey habitat and the monkeys interacted with the zoo visitors; the Safari Jeep ride where African animals were in an open range and you were allowed to hand-feed the Giraffes with carrots given to you by the guide; the Aquarium where you could feed the stingrays; and the Australian Outback area where Kangaroos were allowed to roam free in the area. Well worth the visit and I will be going back to see it again when I have more time.
We are off back home to Puerto Vallarta around 2pm and make a quick stop in Tequila for a first time visit there. It was also an interesting place as many of the Tequila manufacturers allow sampling of their tequilas and it is certainly the best place to buy tequila for the discounted prices offered there.
Back in PV, I began to think about the wonderful few days in GDL (as always) and how there seems to always be something new and interesting to see while I am visiting there. Looking forward to trip #7 in the fall!
