Santiago - 10-25-2023 at 10:36 AM
Wonderful 3 days/nights in maybe the most beautiful historical/central city district in Mexico. The 2 or 3 week long festival was just icing on the
cake. First night was a 90 minute concert in the old Teatro Juarez by the Mexican National Symphony Orchestra, formal and very, very good. Acoustics
in the older theater perfect.
2nd day was museums, including Diego Garcia's birthplace and the Mummy Museum. Both worth doing, the mummies are both cool and a little disturbing.
Apparently, the soils in the main cemetery naturally mummify the corpses and when they get dug up to make room for more they discovered this process.
Now many are in the museum.
We joined about 100 other young people on a 90 minute 8:30pm 'tour' of the central district which was basically a singing and drinking walk.
Different mariachi bands along the way, small skits at different plazas and lots of tequila. At 72 years old, we passed on the shots but it was fun
watching the 20-somethings having fun.
Next day was three shows and different venues from a mime troupe doing really cool skits, (the kids really loved it), a rap concert from an Sari
advocate and to cap it off, a hip-hop orchestra from New York City.
Accommodations:
Hotel Sante Fe: 4 star and worth the rating. All the hotels around the Jardin de la Union Plaza in the middle of the central District are good.
Hosteria de Frayle: 3 star and barley that, good beds but iffy hot water and wifi not working.
Resturants:
La Vie en Rose: very nice French style with good French onion soup for starters, best we ever had. Only wierd thing is that they do not carry any
white wine - SWMBO was forced to drink champagne for dinner.
Black Mamba 61: Highend mixologist worth sitting at the bar just watching the guy. Breaded shimp and roasted brussel sprouts a must. Good place to
end the evening.
La Carreta: Massive spit with 5 whole chickens per spit bar and 6 bars, all rotating over mesquite fire. Half bird, rice and slaw, basket of fries
and 2 Bohemias $380 pesos - easy feeds two.
Casa Valadez: first class steak house with prices to match but worth it. Try the Parrilada Valadez for two, carnivore's heaven. Excellent wine list
form around the world - get the Chilian Merlot.
The central district is at the bottom of a bowl, thus going to see something is an uphill walk; somehow coming back seemed uphill too
. If you have bad knees, hips or any hick-up in your get-a-long, it will be tough. '
Don't say you haven't been warned.
pacificobob - 10-27-2023 at 07:10 AM
Good post. Planning to go in January. $120 rt sjd-bjx. Did you take a bus from the leon airport?
Santiago - 10-27-2023 at 09:49 AM
No bus. We arrived around 9:30PM so took a shuttle to HS Hotsson in Silao for the night (nice, new hotel) and cabbed it into the city the following
morning.
The couple we met flew into Guadalajara and then did a 4-hour bus ride on super nice bus - his/hers banjos, TV on the seat backs in front, plush seats
with tons of leg room.
Problem with bus is that they can't go into the central district if they are too tall, only the local busses can so you have to change. Taxi can take
you to the central district.
$500 peso taxi from BJX to city, each way.
pacificobob - 10-27-2023 at 08:51 PM
👍