Frightful Friday

Frightful Friday

We decided without much complaint to move to another place.  We found a bed and breakfast 3 blocks away.  

We drove into the city in traffic that bordered on warfare. Five lanes turning in multiple directions. Accidents because a city bus turned right in front of 4 lanes of traffic. Total chaos!! We made it to a parking garage and happily tossed them the keys to park it.

Crickets anyone?

We walked around all day and ate weird stuff like crickets and normal stuff like fried chicken, ice cream at 10am, sopes, enchiladas, pozole, caramel and chocolate donuts at 1pm.   We also did productive things like visited a cathedral, a museum with a complete skeleton of a wooly mammoth and saber toothed tiger skull that were found locally and were chased off a city park lawn for laying down.

Mastodon

One thing we love about Mexico and Latin America for that matter are plazas; central squares where everyone congregates in the evening to eat, people-watch, and be entertained.  In the Plaza de Armas we watched a street rapper, with half his face tattooed, rhyme over a single speaker, a group of three clowns perform something, a man proselytize on the dangers of Russia and China, a breakdancer, Edward Scissorhands, a guy selling a device that made your voice sound like a monkey, and our personal favorite was a street chiropractic clinic.  All this was occurring simultaneously in concert.  My neck had been sore so I'll admit I took them up on the chiropractic.

He may or may not be a certified chiropractor...

Observations: Bedazzled acid wash jeans are still in fashion. Jesica is going to pull hers out of the closet and bring the trend back in New Orleans. 

Vendors were selling tasers on every corner which of course Nevin wanted.  We thought it might be a bad toy for Nevin and his little brother.

Muy Mal Thursday

Wiggle break

Sunset

Andrew woke up at 6am to the passing rumble of city trash trucks over the cobblestone street. It went downhill from there....  We went out to find a coffee shop and realized that we were running low on cash.  Andrew tried to withdraw cash but the checking account said 'insufficient funds.'  After further investigation I found out that my work  travel reimbursement check for $3000 hadn't been deposited and my auto pay for the credit card had withdrawn the money from my account leaving NO MONEY!!!  Jesica hadn't told her bank that she was traveling and they wouldn't release funds.  We were scrambling.  It got worse when I realized I didn't have my credit card!!!   Arrrrrghhhhhh. After 5 hours and lots of help from our mothers we were able to get pesos.  We looked into one cathedral and called it a day.

Catholic things

Interesting

Spooky stuff

Cool sunset

And started the 5 hour drive to Guadalajara without a confirmed hotel reservation.  We received a message from an Airbnb host with a offer for $14/night room.  We arrived at 10:30 and we greeted by a German woman in a gritty neighborhood.  When we turned on the light, Nevin saw a roach scurry under the bed.  We spent the next 5 minutes flipping mattresses trying to kill the intruder. The walls were smeared with squished bug guts and antennae.  The host said 'I've never seen roaches here' and promptly handed us a can of Raid. Regardless we fell asleep quickly and woke up to the sound of car alarms twice. 

Wacky Wednesday

We woke up to find that there have been three more victims of the walking dead (sick with a cold), the only survivor is Nevin.  Everyone else has sniffles and runny noses.  It was a slow morning until we headed out into the daylight. 

AirBnB house

Outside of our house is a roadside tarp covering a few stools and a portable griddle, where Jesica and andrew got gorditos with beans, cactus, marinated pork, and potatoes all for under 2 dollars.  

Great street food

Nevin likes to take panoramic pictures

After coffee we unsuccessfully searched for cheese pizza but instead andrew settled for pozole, a hominy soup w chicken, lettuce, radishes and onions. 

Pozole!!!!

Wacky house

Diego Riveras childhood home

Wandering

We wandered the streets for the morning before heading to San Miguel de Allende a hour away. We arrived late around 7 and all of our attempts to get a Airbnb failed so we scrambled and found a place on the main cobblestone avenida near a curve in the road.  In a hurry we booked it.  The front room is less than 20' from the road and big city buses just slow down to make the curve, just like home in New Orleans.  Over the din of traffic, literally having to pause midsentence to let trucks pass, we hurried out to get dinner.

San Miguel de Allende has a huge expat community and the prices reflect it.  The hotel across the street was $175US.  Prices for dinner in the square were 3x what we have been getting for meals. Usually we can all eat for roughly 10-15$. But here the prices per dish are 20$.  We finally find a pizza place and order a half cheese half margherita.  When the pizza arrived the waiter asked if we want "ketchup!?!!"  We declined. 

Observations: Jesica noticed that we haven't seen any breastfeeding mothers but we have seen what we assume are babies wrapped in huge bundles of blankets so thick that there are no visible signs of a child.  

We also see huge crowds of kids in school uniforms around midday and then again in the evening. When we asked and found out that the schools are taught in two sessions one starts at 7am-1pm and a second session from 3pm-8pm.  I hope the teachers don't have to teach 12 hr/day.

Nueve Nevin... And mummies

Nueve Nevin... and mummies

Bright and early, Nevin woke up and ran into the room. We lit the candle on a sugar donut and opened presents.  He got a Star Wars light saber, external iPod charger, the third book in the 'My Side of the Mountain' series, a compass, boutique popcorn & candy corn mix..... ohhhh, and a trip to Mexico. We walked to breakfast and then caught a taxi to the Museo de Momias (mummy museum).  Nevin, Andrew and Jesica were scared, but not the little snoot (baby Q).  The mummies were creepy and some of the stories gave us the heeby-jeebies. The mummies are from a cholera outbreak, and were keep in crypts so they didn't decay bc of the lack of oxygen in the tombs. When they were exhumed, they found them to be in near perfect condition and some date back to the 1800s.  Their skin, nails, teeth, and bodily hair was still intact.  The first part of the museum was really neat but the end got a little hokey with a vampire mummy and strange holograms.  Inside the museum is an entrance to the catacombs where the bodies are exhumed- which is extra creepy.  

Then, we stepped out into the light of the living, and went to a huge central market where Nevin bought a rosary bracelet for 20 pesos. He also made a copy of our house key.  Pretty much 9 year old stuff, no biggie.  Apparently though, Nevin's nine year old legs don't work well in Mexico.  Not a day goes by that he doesn't fall into a drainage grate, off a curb, into a ditch, or on smooth pavement.

Andrew continued his tradition of getting a haircut in every country he goes to, and got a cool Mexican Mohawk. Little Q continues to be the showstopper.  Every Mexican female from 2-92 wants to kiss and hold him, but so do we.

Then, we went to pick up our new family rings we had made at a young hipster/artisanal silversmith market.  While we were waiting, I mentioned to Nevin that they had a old iPod playing music thru a bootleg speaker, which was balanced on a pile of old pallets. When he leaned on the top board they tipped over, and the speaker fell on the iPod, and loud feedback blasted thru the market. Everyone turned to look!  Nevin scrambled to pick up the speaker and turn the music back on.  His look of horror quickly changed to laughter as we got the music back and said the 'gringos are here!' It was very funny.

We visited the Diego Rivera (Frida Kahlo's husband) museum on our way to our first Cervantino event.  Jesica picked it (out of the few choices available!), it was called 'Kinetica.'   Mama and little snoot sat in the back of the auditorium in case he cried, and Nevin and I sat up front.  The lights went down and a big lady came out singing opera. 6 ballet dancers pranced out.  Nevin and I looked at each other and gave confused shrugs.  For the next hour the dancers gyrated to a mix of opera, electronica, noise, and rave.  It was as 'interesting' as it sounds.  Luckily the baby cried so Jesica got to leave the room.  Needless to say, Jesica no longer gets to pick what we do.

It was a great day and a good birthday for the big kid.

Miercoles Monday

We had a slow start this morning but had a great breakfast of Tamales estilo Oaxaca (cilantro tamales with cheese and plantains) and 3 lattes.  We walked into town and bought tickets to a performance of Kenetic dance for Tuesday evening.  Mama was insistent that we follow her to something called the Callejon de Besos (Alley of Kisses).  In a tiny, narrow alleyway there are two balconies 67cm (2ft) apart that were home to two lovers.  The story goes something like Romeo and Juliet, two lovers that werent allowed to be together but bc of their love if you kiss on the third, red step you avoid 7 years of bad luck.  Success!!! 

Nevins special day is tomorrow so we went in search of cupcakes and birthday candles.  This proved to be more work than expected.  We ended up with a doughnut and a candle.  Close enough.  

Observations: Nevins pronunciation of Spanish flawless.  James, the Airbnb owner, is from Dallas and has lived here for 9 years and sounds like a Tex Mex truck driver 'Dondeee el banyo poor favor'.   nevin on the other hand is perfect and fearless, when i tell him to ask the waiter for the check he nails it after hearing it once. 'la cuenta por favor' (the check please).  then returns with "he said 'un shot de cafe or dos'" in perfect recitation. smart kid.

Sunday Funday

The city is so cool we have decided to move here!!!  Andrew and Jesica have spent most of our money eating weird food like tacos al vapor (steamed tacos) chilaquiles (fried tortillas with chicken and salsa), enchiladas mineras (miners enchiladas) and pollo con mole (chicken in chocolate sauce).  We spend most of our time following mama around as she shops for gifts and boring stuff.

Andrew was getting a cold before we left and he felt like poop so we had to cut the adventure short to come home and rest in the afternoon.  That night we walked to the La Presa, a reservoir above the city for dinner.  We all agree that Mexicans really enjoy spending time together with their families in the plazas.  we watched paddle boats and musicians play while old people danced.  Nevin found a rock dealer and bargained for a huge chunk of obsidian.  Success!!!

Observations: Mexicans love Nevins blonde hair; he has been asked to take pictures with little girls and young girls chasing after him trying to touch it.  He's a celebrity.  But he might not make it til the end of the week bc he has only eaten cheese quesadillas, waffles, peanut butter sandwiches and water. 

We kept hearing a loud whistle which scared little snoot baby.  turns out that it was coming from these portable wood-fired, tin stoves that steam plantains and sweet potatoes when the vendors pull a plunger the steam is released and it alerts customers of their presence.  Of course we had to try it.

Siesta Saturday

Observations: We were surprised at how many american companies are in Leon. When we went toget diapers we saw Home Depot, Wal-Mart, Office Depot, McDonalds (YUCK!), Starbucks, and Auto-Zone . Our search for organic produce led us to 4 different supermercados, with not much luck.

We asked around for the 'must try' food, everyone told us guacamayas from Guacamayas de Javier. We pulled up to a shabby storefront packed with people and as we unloaded everyone stared at the goofy gringos.  Turns out guacamayas are a bread roll stuffed with avocado, pork rinds, fried cheese turnover, and you add salsa, and pickled onions and cucumber. Andrew was in hog heaven. Jesica was a little skeptical. But after one bite of fried pork bliss, she said "Let's get another!" Needless to say Nevin didnt eat lunch.  A nine year old boy was working as a busboy and he brought Quincy his first highchair.  

After lunch we drove to Guanajuato about an hour away and mama and baby Q, being culturally sensitive, took their first siesta in the backseat.  We arrived in Guanajuato and in an attempt to find the Airbnb house, quickly got lost in the underground tunnels that run under the city.   Low on gas and driving aimlessly in the catacombs we got our first 'high tension' moment.  We called the owner and had motorcycle cabbie lead us to the house.  The owner is from Texas and has built a huge hacienda with multiple homes.  Its pretty amazing.  We settled in and packed up for an walk into town.   

The town is packed for the Cervantino festival; an arts festival celebrating eclectic global arts.  The town is a colonial town and state capital that is home to a few colleges.  It has the same feel as Austin, Texas.  They have adopted Don Quixote, written by Cervantes, as their patron saint and Cervantino is their celebration of quirky arts that attracts performances from all over the world.  Russian ballet, French dance, visual arts, movies, and music.

Feista Friday

Normal family

Guanajuato is smack dab in the middle of Mexico in purple

We left New Orleans on Friday at midday.  Fortunately Jesica insisted we leave early so we arrived 2 hrs before the flight.  We were made to speak to a Special Services (see angry customer line) rep at the ticket counter bc apparently they had to verify the identity of the baby for a international flight and that costed 87$.  Thanks Delta.

Long plane ride

Very long 

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We flew to Atlanta then on to Leon, Mexico and arrived at 8pm.  We have learned that traveling with kids adds 30 minutes to most processes but Nevin is a huge help and everything went smoothly through immigration and customs where we got our first stamps in our passports!!!  We had rented a car that we were quoted a price on the phone of $16 for the week!!!! The agent said you should purchase insurance and at $45/day the price wasn't as attractive.  We drive to the city of Leon 40 minutes away excited from the new sights, smells, and sounds of MEXICO!!!!

Jesica has Sprint which offers free international phone plans, so we were very surprised when it didn't connect to the network here.  Instead we were time warped into a begone era of 1990 where we had to rely on a map to navigate w my copilot Nevin.  Nevin and I went to the supermercado for some waters, bread, bananas and snackers for late dinner.  Success!!

We find the Airbnb house with a little trouble but it's a spacious villa overlooking a park in the posh side of town.  The decorations are a little dated but we surmise it's the girl's grandparents house that have passed; lots of old painted portraits, couch covers, and doilies.  Best part is the huge rooftop patio that looks over the city park where Jesica saw a hummingbird that she swears was the one she released at the hummingbird festival in Louisiana.  Apparently they got really close in the moments before she let him go and they made a connection.