In the year 2001, the Mexican tourism board did something brilliant. They began recognizing pueblos mágicos, which are small “magic towns” that truly offer something a little different, whether it’s fantastic architecture, cultural curiosities, stunning natural wonders or even just exceptional regional food. Now of the 132 Pueblo Magicos in Mexico, and the 19 at least one of us (Greg)…
We couldn't have loved our two weeks in Queretaro (pronounced Kay-ret-ta-row) more. It’s not the most vibrant and rousing city like Guanajuato, the most elegant city like San Miguel de Allende, nor does it have the gorgeous beach like Lo De Marcos. But what it does have, is a feeling of our former Portland, Oregon home and is just...very livable.…
Arrive early on a weekday (they open at 7) to La Gruta Spa to get this shot and avoid the crowds. When you’re staying in San Miguel de Allende, it’s easy to slip into something more comfortable by heading up to one of the area’s many thermal hot springs. We chose La Gruta Spa, famous for its man-made otherworldly cave…
After five weeks in Ciudad de Guanajuato we bussed onward to the expat hot spot of San Miguel de Allende. Although it was only a 90-minute journey what we found there was an entirely different flavor of Mexico. Because we’ve got ice cream (nieve) on our brains a lot these days, we’ll say it was like licking your way through…
We knew before we even arrived that Guanajuato was a place we could spend significant time. It's why we didn't even think twice about booking a place for a month before we even arrived, which eventually got extended to five weeks. The blogs, the books, the travel memoirs. They all just spoke to us. And when we arrived, it felt…
We’ve been in a lot of radiant places... Copenhagen’s Nyhavn, Sighisoara’s Old Town in Romania, the Batu Cave Temple in Malaysia are a few that come to mind. But what makes the palette of Guanajuato so extraordinary is that, the vibrancy saturates the ENTIRE city. It’s not simply located in a few blocks...or a street ...or a square. It's all-consuming...spellbinding…
Puerto Vallarta is to west coasters as Cancun is to east coasters. Is it touristy? Yes. However, we prefer it to Cancun as it still manages to offer some authentic Mexican flavor and charm (once the cobblestones start). Being an east coaster, this was in fact Mandy’s first time setting foot in Puerto Vallarta, including the cliched “Zona Romantica.” Greg,…
Today we hopped on the local bus for $33 pesos ($1.50) and ventured down to the Pueblo Magico of Sayulita. We already had visions in our heads of what this charming little beach town was supposed to feel and look like from seeing blogs and friends’ pictures, as well as a certain show about bachelors and roses on ABC. (Oh…
