Welcome to Guadalajara (and welcome common cold)

24 December 2021

I had had a bit of a sore throat while I was out and about yesterday, but didn't think too much about it. Today, however, I started to notice it more and a bit of achiness. Got up at 330am and out to catch my Uber by 4am...the streets around my Airbnb are empty. This scene is normally packed during the day.

Made it to the airport and to my plane after a bit of confusion. Found a Starbucks, then got on my plane. The Uber to my new Airbnb was fun--he spoke a bit of English and was a nice guy, giving me advice about the city as we drove. The Airbnb itself is INSANE. A very old building that my host renovated--beautiful huge windows looking out over the city.

courtyard...I couldn't access this unfortunately

I walked to a nearby tienda, but it was small and they didn't have much. I wanted to make sure I got some food since I didn't know what would be open on Christmas day. Then I headed to the main square, Plaza de la Liberacion, to meet my walking tour of Guadalajara. Thankfully my Airbnb was only a few blocks from there.

This time, it was me and a couple from Germany with our guide Santiago. It was a pretty good tour--but he walked so slow! We started at the Plaza de la Liberacion where the Guadalajara Cathedral (opened 1618) is at one end, the Palacio de Gobierno del Estado de Jalisco (the palace of government, finished in 1774), and the Teatro Delgado (1866--home to the opera and orchestra) at the other.

Guadalajara has a pretty small historic area, so after that we saw the Rotonda de los Jaliscienses Ilustres, an outdoor memorial to illustrious architects, philosophers, and artists in Jalisco history, Founders Plaza, Plaza Tapatia (a seven block long plaza with fountains that leads to the Hospicio Cabanas museum). We even went into the Mercado Libertad San Juan de Dios--a huge market--and looked at various foods and other items for sale.

Teatro Delgado

Palacio de Gobierno del Estado de Jalisco

Plaza de la Liberacion

Rotonda de los Jaliscienses Ilustre

Palacio de Gobierno del Estado de Jalisco

Palacio de Gobierno del Estado de Jalisco--clock at top shot by Pancho Villa and stuck at that time ever since

Plaza Guadalajara

Plaza Guadalajara

Palacio Municipal de Guadalajara--City Hall

mummy girl in Guadalajara Cathedral

inside Cathedral

cathedral crypts--3 archbishops buried here

Plaza de Armas

inside Teatro Delgado

Templo de San Agustín (16th Century)

fountain at back of Teatro Delgado

peeing statues

this head goes with the previous sculpture, but was too heavy for it!

fountain down center of Plaza Tapatia

Afterward, I decided to try the famous tortas ahogadas which is supposed to be the best here in Guadalajara. When the French were here, they introduced the Mexicans to the baguette, which they loved. But when the French left, the Mexicans couldn't figure out how to make them. Theirs turned out really hard and difficult to chew. So they dumped sauce all over it to soften it. The name roughly translates to "drowned sandwich." It was pretty good, but VERY messy!

tortas ahogadas

Bart Simpson used to sell food here!

I rested here a bit...I was tired, thanks to my cold that was getting worse, but didn't want to miss out on anything. I decided to go down to the Hospicio Cabanas--it originally opened in 1791 to help the disadvantaged and the sick, but is now a museum of mostly modern art, including an entire chapel painted by Orozcos--sometimes referred to as the Mexican Sistine Chapel. This is a BEAUTIFUL building--I wouldn't have minded being sick here!

the Orozcos chapel

I walked around this campus for a really long time...it was so beautiful and the weather so nice. I decided to get some groceries and head back to my room to try and get to feeling better. It is interesting here...cokes come in glass bottles, but they are shaped like the plastic ones.

I got back to my room and ordered a salad to be delivered...and I'm pretty sure this is where my Montezuma's revenge began (washing veg with water that isn't drinkable). I watched some Netflix and went to be early.