Saturday, December 22, 2007

¿Que dia es hoy?

Sabado, I think.
Actually, it is our last full day in Mexico, so I thought now was as good a time as any to finally write about our time in Guanajuato.
Here are six things you should know about Guanajuato, GTO.:
1) It is considered the most "European" city in Mexico, with its ornate colonial architecture, winding and narrow cobblestone streets and numerous statues and plazas.
2) It is a university town. There are young people everywhere. A vast majority dress in trendy American clothes. About one in seven males wears a replica soccer jersey. For example: Today I am wearing my SHEFFIELD WEDNESDAY shirt.
3) The food is spectacular. The best meal I have enjoyed thus far was actually in Dolores Hidalgo, a nearby city considered the birthplace of the Mexican Independence movement. We stopped at a restaurant for camida (lunch) and I had molcajete, a steaming stew served in a large stone bowl. My molcajete included steak and a kielbasa-like sausage, with cebollitas (small, sweet onions) and nopalitos (succulent cactus) in salsa roja (a red enchillada-type sauce), all topped with queso (melted cheese) and served with handmade tortillas.
4) The cerveza is good, too. My favorite is Sol, followed closely by Modelo Especial.
We enjoy sipping it while sitting in the sidewalk cafes along the Plaza de la Paz.
5) The Museo Casa Diego Rivera is well worth the 30-peso admission. The home where the great Mexican artist was born and raised includes original furnishings on the first floor. The second and third floors are packed with Rivera's artwork, including an intricately detailed mural -- "Sueno de una tarde dominical en la Alameda Central" -- the dominates an entire wall.
6) If you come to Guanajuato, you have to ride the funicular. A funicular railway operates from behind the Teatro Juarez up the steep hill to the Pipila Monument. Independence War hero Juan Jose de los Reyes Martinez, nicknamed "El Pipila," used a torch to burn down a fortress door, enabling insurgents to defeat the Spanish in Guanajuato.
From the statue of El Pipila, you can see the entire city spread out before you. The view is one you will never forget.

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