Aporil 20 Day 4

We walked to Mercado Independencia, which was closer than yesterday’s. It’s also large and confusing with tons of beautiful fruits and veggies, flowers, food stalls and and clothes, shoes, house wares, etc. We bought 3 pieces of pottery which were small enough to put in our carry on luggage. We stopped at the Casa de Artesanias and got the price for shipping. The piece was $280 and shipping would be $1000. We passed. We went to an expensive restaurant (Mirasoles) for lunch. The ambiance was very pretty in a small courtyard with plants and murals, but the food was not great. We walked through the downtown, which was jammed with traffic. There were several demonstrations going on all day so streets were closed and there was even riot police in full gear lined up in case things got ugly. In the hotel the told us that it was city employees protesting, but none of the protesters had any signs or flyers explaining what this was all about. We were told that these protests were a daily occurrence. In the afternoon, we went to the rooftop terrace bar/restaurant for a drink. Then, we took a cab to San Miguelito (which was closed last night) and had the best meal of the trip. The interior of the restaurant is lavishly decorated with Mexican folk art, including tons of Dia de Los Muertos stuff. They also have a shrine to San Antonio (hanging upside down), patron of lovers where couples come and make their pleas. When we got back to the hotel they told us we had to change rooms due to construction. A real pain, but we got to experience a different suite.

April 19, day 3

After our second not-so-good breakfast we went to Palacio de Clavijero which used to be a Jesuit convent and now is a cultural center/museum. It’s one of the most beautiful colonial buildings in Morelia. We looked at all the exhibits. One of them was an exhibition of traditional arts of Michoacan. We saw a an amazing piece there that was made of thin strands if fiber or straw arranged into a very intricate pattern. We would love to buy it, but how to transport such a large and fragile piece back? Then we walked about 10 blocks to the main mercado (market), Mercado de San Juan. It is quite large, containing tons of stuff. It was full of people shopping, eating and even performing. Bo braved a food stall and got pozole. She did not finish it. It tasted good, but contained strange pieces of a pig that were hard to identify hence perhaps not so safe to eat. From the Mercado we walked to Casa de Artesanias because we saw a similar piece there to the one we liked and we wanted to know how much it would be to ship it. They told us that they ship by FedEx and it would cost more than the piece itself. After lunch we went back and asked them for a real quote. Then, we went to a rooftop café/bar with a great view of the plaza for a drink. It took 3 waiters to get a glass of wine, but the view was worth it. Our dinner plan was to go to the number 1 restaurant in Morelia called San Miguelito. We got a cab and the driver spoke decent English because he lived in the US for about 10 years. When we got to the place, it was closed. We didn’t know it was only open till 5:30 on Sundays. On the way back we got a look at other parts of the city. We decided to have dinner in the rooftop place and watch the sun set over Morelia.

April 18 day 2

We opted to take a city tour from the hotel. It was an excellent 3 hour tour of greater Morelia with a lot of historical info. Our tour guide, Miguel, took us to the modern part of Morelia first. High up in the hills overlooking the historical center is an area called Altozano, the newest part of the city with beautiful modern architecture and fantastic views of the historical downtown dominated by the cathedral. We visited a lot of magnificent buildings from 17th century, including a number of churches with lots of gold inside. Morelia was a very wealthy city and it is definitely reflected in its churches and public buildings. We also visited a romantic spot called Callejon del Romance, a hotspot for marriage proposals since colonial times. On the way back to the hotel we were approached by a group of students from an escuela de ingles who wanted to interview us and of course we agreed. After a siesta in our room, we went to the main square in anticipation of the Saturday festivities, which people in the hotel touted as the highlight of the week. That’s when they have fireworks by the cathedral and all kinds of performances in the plaza. To get a good view, we decided to have dinner at a highly recommended restaurant Lu almost across from the cathedral. It was very lively with groups of mariachis and other musicians playing and big family groups having dinner. We noticed that a woman sitting at a table next to us asked for something that looked like a miniature coat rack, which she used to hang her purse on even though there was an empty chair next to her where she could have put it. We thought it was strange, but later, when we returned to our hotel and sat down in the courtyard to have a drink, we noticed that women at several tables used the same contraption. Must be how things are done here.

April 17 day 1 travel to Morelia.

We arrived in Morelia around 2 pm. Morelia airport is modern and quite nice but a distance from the city – so a long taxi ride. Our hotel (Hotel de la Soledad) is a former convent and beautifully restored. The location is perfect, half a block from the central square and the cathedral. Our room is a big suite with exposed stone arches and nicely decorated with local handicrafts. We went out for our exploratory walk of the historical center and since we realized that we had forgotten to pack coffee making equipment and the hotel had none, we went in search of an immersion heater (Bo calls it a snake). After some false attempts and lots of walking, we finally found someone who knew what we wanted and directed us to a hardware store. (We now own at least 4 of these from 4 different countries). We checked TripAdvisor for a restaurant recommendation and we had a great dinner in restaurant Onix overlooking the cathedral. When it got dark, the buildings became illuminated, street musicians were playing, and all the restaurants and parks became jammed with people, including families with young children.

Preamble

This will be our 48th trip together. My sister is visiting us in Florida for 3 days and we are taking her to the airport for her return. Since we are at the airport we figured we might as well go some place. Morelia has an important concentration of culture as evidenced by its museums, cultural spaces, and exhibition centers. Settled in 1541. Also, you can fly there without going through Mexico City .