Hotel Virrey de Mendoza Morelia

... down the highway, blasting out Manu Chao and taking in the impressive scenery bathed in bright sunshine. The journey lasted little over three hours and we arrived in Morelia in time to explore the city before sundown. Unwittingly we had parked in the redlight district, and we would later return to find a prostitute on the corner and the man we had paid to watch the car engaged in a huge fight with some other locals.<br><br>Back in the city centre we saw a number of cathedrals and some ...

... local drink the Mexicans had brought in huge barrels, while others danced on the roof of the bus and partied in the street. We must have stayed there for a good hour and half before leaving and its fair to say it was a very messy end to the night.<br><br>The next morning the bus took us to a picturesque lake in the mountains, surrounded by pine forests. Although we could not swim in the lake there was a swimming pool filled with hot springwater coming straight from the mountains. It ...

... my Conversation Club on Tuesday I was paired with a couple of young men, and I encouraged them to come to salsa. They did, and Thursday they brought friends, so for the first time we had as many hombres as mujeres, which made it much more fun for the mujeres!<br><br>Got to hear some choirs in a concert on Monday night, including the famous (around here at least) Niños Cantores de Morelia (singing children of Morelia). They were pretty good, but they sang one ...

Hello, all! Sorry for the long silence - been extremely busy!<br><br>I celebrated July 4 by taking a tour with other students in my school to 4 really pretty towns - Tiripitéo, Tupátaro, Tzintzuntzán and Pátzcuaro. The names are all from the P'urhépecha Empire, hence the difficulty in pronuciation. Here´s a quick resume of each:<br><br>Tiripitéo - We visited the first university in the Americas, founded by Augustinians in 1537. The monastery/college ...

... last hour of each morning an ESL teacher (also a piano teacher!) from Wisconsin who is about my age. After 3 hours of classes on Monday morning with just me and the 4 "kids" I was relieved to meet the other two, especially Carol. I have hung out with the Wisconsin group a little. ¡Todos son muy agradables! Each week new people come and some leave. The freaky musician is leaving - I don{t know if we{ll get someone new!<br><br>We have four hours of class per day ...

... with fine looking white adobe homes and the local indigenous folk all wonder the streets wearing traditional dress. <br>I spent my first evening looking around the heavily overpriced arts, crafts and antique shops before getting held up in Plaza Vasco de Quiroga (the town's main plaza). There was plenty going on here with three different groups of street entertainers all performing to a different beat and all were enjoyable to watch. <br><br ...

It is with great sadness that we have to say goodbye to Monika and Paulina. We have had a fantastic time with them here in Morelia, thanks so much for hosting us, showing us around and translating everything. Last night Monika's friend Onel Peralta had us over for a wonderful Mexican dinner of burritos, he spoke no English but his son &amp; wife did and we learned all kinds of things about ...

... en direction de la Maison du Gouverneur. Là nous découvrons beaucoup d'histoire et de magnifiques fresques ornant l'intérieur de cette bâtisse majestueuse. Nous nous rendons ensuite à la Cathédrale. À notre entrée nous découvrons toute la richesse à l'intérieur. La construction de cette église fut commencée en 1660 et terminée en 1744, 84 ans plus tard....on espère qu'ils n'étaient pas payé à l'heure! Ses 2 tours s'élèvent à plus de 60m ...

... as the steel bracket attaching the bumber snapped, and the bumper is now strapped to the roof of the bus. I was a little irritated, but Laura wisely said "if this is the worst thing that happens to the car, we're lucky". That statement, fear of law enforcement (and the fact that he disappeared) probably saved that kid from a sound beating. The preserve is basically a national park. We paid our fees and hiked through the vendor gauntlet, up a ...

... City, but here's my feeble attempt... Before we even got to Morelia I felt like I knew the city, or at least what Lonely Planet thought I should know about it. Sidenote: Lonely Planet guidebooks RULE! They have been my bible over the past couple of weeks. Their "Places to Eat" reccomendations are right on. Their "Places to Stay" section could use some updating though. Back to business...Apparently, I didn't know that ...