Guadalajara
Minerva stands guard over Guadalajara
Guadalajara is a beautiful city to visit! The people there were very polite and went out of their way to help us. Especially at the Chamber of Commerce.
Guadalajara has changed since the many years ago that I last visited the city. There are many modern hotels and restaurants as well as many sites to see.

The Cathedral	Main Altar

In the center of town is also a hidden gem that some people may not know about. Inside of El Palacio del Gobierno are original murals made by Jose Clemente Orozco himself.

El Palacio del Gobierno	Getting ready for 16 de Septiembre

He painted a mural of Padre Dolores Hidalgo looking down on the ceiling of a dome. The effect is quite impressive. Along the sides of the staircases is his mural depicting the political climate before World War II as a "political circus". Being the left-wing revolutionary that we was, he didn't spare anybody in this mural and it was created quite a scandal at the time.

View from the stairs	Close up

La Plaza de Los Mariachis/ El Mercado
At any time you will see mariachis either playing or standing around waiting to be hired. The plaza is surrounded by CD stores and the Mercado Libertad is next door. Although I went there without incident I was warned by people to be careful in this area though (pick pockets).

Part of the fun of the mercado is haggling with the merchants for a good price on merchandise. You can find anything at this mercado from a love potion to good quality botunadura for your traje!

Plaza de los Mariachis	Cafes at the Plaza

Tlaquepaque
Tlaquepaque is what I envisioned a small town in Mexico to be like. Many of the stores there accept charge cards but take cash just in case they don't. The shops there contain beautiful pottery, silver from Taxco, and various "artesanias" at a fraction of the cost of what it would cost you in the United States.




Los Tres Potrillos - "Vicente's Rancho and Restaurant"
On the Periferico going towards Chapala is a huge outdoor patio restaurant on Vicente Fernandez' ranch called Los Tres Potrillos.

The food was excellent and Mariachi Juvenil Azteca, Vicente's own mariachi plays there.



Visiting Guadalajara

If you ever to to visit Guadalajara here are some things you may want to know:

The taxi ride from the Airport to downtown Guadalajara is approximately 120 pesos and there is a kiosk outside of the airport doors where they can help you.

If you can use your credit card or an ATM you will get a better exchange rate. The rate while we were there was 9.80 pesos on the dollar for $100 bills and 9.77 pesos on the dollar for $20 bills. This came as surprise to me. I mentioned to the money changers that people in the US are hesitant to use $100 bills because they are the bills that are most frequently conterfieted. Travelers cheques will cost you extra to exchange also if you take them.

Be sure to bring some sure footed shoes! The streets are often brick or cobblestone. It rained off and on while were were there and it made the streets slippery. Take an umbrella with you during the summer because when it rains you don't get much of a warning and can get soaked in no time!

How do you drive around traffic circles? Who knows?

A Huichol Indian with her baby.	Detail of Huichol Embroidery.

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