Grab a cup of coffee for this one. . .

Kevin, Nathan, and I arrived in Guadalajara early Friday morning with this question “now what?” We had no idea where we were or where to go, so we jumped on a random bus and hoped to see something worth stopping for. About 30 minutes later good old Wal-Mart appeared and we decided to make a few purchases and freshen up a little by taking something we call a “Cowboy shower.” This is basically a little washing of the face, brushing of the teeth, and application of some deodorant. Don’t worry, this is the only time we did this, but desperate times call for desperate measures. We asked a random person where a cool place to go would be and she directed us to the Plaza del Sol. So off we go on the bus again and we made our stop at a busy area with a lot of younger people. We checked out the scene and during our wondering we stumbled across what we thought was the only Starbucks in Mexico. Being a barista for a couple of years I was drawn in by the power of the green apron and made a pit stop. Apparently Guadalajara has 7 Starbucks, where a year ago they only had one! I picked up a mug for sell with a design of some old cool looking structure on it and I asked the guy where this was. Our next stop was Al Centro to look at some beautiful ancient buildings and to figure out where we would go next. What an incredible sight! The Cathedrals, Basilicas, Government buildings, and artwork were absolutely amazing. I took tons of pictures and I hope to get a USB cable to upload my photos for yall to see. It was getting close to evening time and we finally started looking into where we should stay. After a little research my expert traveling companion, Kevin, located a few hostels nearby. Hostel Maria was quite a find because it was cheap, very nice, and had just enough vacancies, so no more “cowboy showers.” This is going to be a huge entry so I will cut down on some of the details. We took it easy Fri night and decided to rest up for a good Saturday because we planned on going to Tlaquepaque in the morning. Great little town nearby where we tried a traditional Mexican plate with a little side of pigs feet, which was not all that great. My favorite part of this trip was the Mariachis!! Guadalajara is supposed to be the birthplace of mariachis and so we had to see them play and let out a few gritas (yells.) That night we caught with a friend I met in Costa Rica 2 yrs ago that lives in Guadalajara. She took us to meet her family and then later out to another place. We ate some good food, did a little salsa dancing, and then we called it a night.
For our final day in town we went to go see an authentic bull fight, which was the highlight of our trip. Graceful Matadors, a roaring crowd, and moving music that makes one want to jump in front of a bull and hear the word OLE!!! I was very impressed by this city and will definitely be back. It was an incredible weekend that I will never forget and it was a well deserved break from our school and especially Carnaval. It’s back to school in Mazatlan and I’m excited about what still lies ahead.