Morelia

We left Patz around 10am on Friday... got here about an hour later. They are that close! Instead of going straight to the hotel, we stopped at Home Depot to get some shopping done. And we did. Shop, shop, shop! I think we are actually getting tired of it. This time, though, it was stuff for our landscape lighting and irrigation projects. Not as fun as art. Ho hum.

We got to our hotel near el centro around 2pm. Wow, it was crazy traffic! And one of the main streets downtown was blocked off for a political rally so we got our first taste of Morelia via sitting in the car. But alas, as soon as we valet parked at our hotel, Mansion San Francisco, we felt much better!



We put our stuff in our room (we got probably the smallest room at the place... we will live... the hotel has a great location and parking ... so more good things than bad) and then we hit the streets. Wow, Morelia is so beautiful. OK I said the same thing about Patz and it is true, they both exude charm. Morelia is just more grand. It has a huge cathedral surrounded by more churches and plazas and colonial buildings... most in a pinkish hue (because of the stone that was used to build back in the 1800´s). It was quite tiring to fight the crowds, so we went back to our room and took a siesta from 4-6pm.



Friday night we left the hotel around 6:45pm and stopped at the Hotel Los Juaninos for a drink at their terrace bar that overlooks the cathedral. Wow! What a view from there. Then we walked to our diner destination, Mirasoles. So Romantico!!! They specialize in Michoacan cooking and it did not disappoint. We also had a great Mexican wine - a Kerubiel 2005 from Adobe Guadalupe. It is a meritage. So yummy!!!



After all that drinking, we strolled home... and it was such a beautiful evening. The cathedral was lit up ... and we ran into several groups of Mariachis pimping themselves out on a street corner. They were so cute!



Today, first order of business was to go to Costco to get items on our list. Unfortunately, some things they used to have, they did not have right now. Ugh. Oh well. We went back to Home Depot after that.

I think we are indeed, DONE, with our shopping now. So now we will just enjoy Morelia for the rest of the day and head home early tomorrow morning.

Patzcuaro

Denni and I left around 10am on Wednesday, August 27th for Patzcuaro. We arrived around 1:30pm. We had a beautiful drive... it is truly one of the nicest roads we have seen in Mexico. That is toll road 37. Yes it costs money, but it is worth it.

Patzcuaro lies about 2200 meters or 6600 feet above sea level. Thus, it is cool and pleasant all year round. The weather reminded us of San Francisco. It is quite a relief from the heat at the beach.

Patz has lovely plazas and amazing old buildings and there is just such a great vibe there. And they have beautiful handicrafts - copper, wood, reed, textile, stone, masks, etc. Denni and I went a little crazy with buying stuff... it was so hard not to. We have so much decorating to do at Casa Majahua .. we just wish we had a bigger car!



We ended up staying an extra night. Mostly because we were loving the shopping and also we met a couple at our B&B who said we were crazy not to stay at least 2 nights. So it goes!

The B&B we stayed at, La Casa Encantada, is owned by two women, Cynthia and Victoria. We actually got to meet them while we were there. They also own a beach house in Caleta de Campos. They live in Mexico full time now. Good for them!



We did a lot of walking in Patz... it is a great walking city ... but we did get out and drive around Lake Patzcuaro one day. Stopping at little towns to possibly buy things. And we did!



I will be adding pictures when I can! We definitely recommend visiting Patzcuaro if you can. It is a Mexican treasure.

Back home!

We had a great time in Chicago. Attended a street party, hung out downtown, hung out at friend's homes and ate great food! But alas, even though the trip was wonderful, we were happy to return home and get going on some projects!

While in Chicago we bought a bunch of stuff for Casa Majahua. We filled up two extra suitcases with laundry supplies (Shout, Bounce), bath mats, septic maintenance stuff (RidX), outdoor covers for electric outlets, outdoor thermometers, lamp shades, more door knobs that match what we already have, mosquito nets made for hammocks, measuring cups (large ones), more cutting boards, curry spice, irrigation supplies (emitters of all sizes, manifolds, line), two more outdoor speakers and a rather large and heavy receiver/amplifier for our media room! The latter we carried on!

It was fun shopping in Chicago. We can never remember everything, though. Should have brought down more Jasmine rice! Ugh!

Now you can get lots of this stuff in Mexico...it's just a challenge to find them in the Zihuatanejo area...so next time we need hard to find stuff, we're heading to Morelia (about 4 hours away). I've always wanted to visit Morelia so kill two birds with one stone!

Anyway... when we got home, our friends Pamen and Alberto were here (they arrived a day before us). They are staying with us for a week. Pamen is Alejandro's sister and we met her and Alberto over Christmas. So we offered for them to come visit anytime. We're so happy that they took us up on that. In return for the stay, they've been making us meals all week. And such good food!! We're going to be spoiled!

Tuesday was an especially lovely day. There were lots of puffy white clouds about and the sunset was incredible. Then at nightfall, the lightening bugs came out in force on Majahua Point. We sat on the sunset deck and watch them all light up all over the place... I've never seen anything like it. It was truly magical.



Well, I gotta go. A melon daiqury was just delivered to me in the media room which I'm sure is a signal to get off the computer.

Leaving tomorrow (temporary!)

Tomorrow we leave for Chicago for 10 days. Just to see friends and enjoy Halstead Street Days (great street fair!).

I won't have any postings while I'm gone, so here's a quick one. We've been enjoying the natural beauty of the area. I posted some flora and fauna pics before...but here are some more. Enjoy.

P.s. The fireflys have been incredibly active on Majahua point. I wish I could somehow capture

their magic, but alas, can not.

P.s.s. You can still the slideshow of pictures from our time here at: http://www.flickr.com/photos/moiramw/sets/72157606260345160/

A week later and better weather

Hola! I can't believe it's been a week. Anyway, I got sick last Sunday night (probably picked up something in food or drink) but luckily for me, I was back to normal by Tuesday. Good thing, too, because my Mom left on Wednesday...so we had at least one good day left before they left. We continued playing cards, etc. On Tuesday night we had the coolest lightning and thunder storm, yet. It started just at sunset so the sky was red, orange and black and it continued for 3 hours. We sat on the sunset deck and watch the lightning strike all around us. Mother nature is very impressive.



Another Mother Nature moment - our Majahua tree finally bloomed. This is the tree/bush that our house is named after - so it was a very special moment for us. The amazing thing about the flower is that it starts the day yellow and slowly turns red by day end, then it falls off. Here are some photos.



After my Mom left, we did a few minor projects. We were excited to get more toys for the house - well, a weed whacker, power washer and steamer. I know, excitement central! And we finally had a walkthrough of the house with Gustavo & Karina (our builder). It was great to talk to them and catch up on stuff...it's been way too long (they are a little busy building many other houses in the area!).

Gustavo & Karina took us out to Pozole after our meeting. Pozole is a specialty of Guerrero state...served only on Thursdays. It's a hominy soup and you can get it blanco (white) or roja (red). I had a combination! Soup may not sound exciting (especially when it's hot) but you get all these fixings to add to it - radish, cabbage, lime, avocado, onion, etc. It is Yummy!

Yesterday, Peter and Pilar stopped by to cook us breakfast. Pilar is working at Present Moment as a Yoga Instructor and Massage Therapist. We had met her briefly before so it was nice getting to know her more. She drove down from Canada in a Westfalia ... only her and her dog Lola. We had a great time lounging and getting to know each other better!

Denni and I continue to try to get more and more projects done. We slowed down a bit when my Mom was here but now we're trying to make up for it...especially since we're leaving Thursday for 10 days (going to visit friends in Chicago).

Exciting accomplishment for today. We finally figured out where all the speaker wire went to ... so now we can buy a stereo for the media room. I tell you, never a dull moment!