Ah, Roses....!

I took this picture this morning in the small area just outside the front door.

Christmas Eve

What a day we had! Ricardo wanted to eat at the Italian restaurant in Ajijic, which is his favorite. Then he wanted to go to Lagos de Moreno. We had a very nice meal at the restaurant and then drove back to Chapala and then on down east along the lake. We cut back north to get to the highway to Lagos. There we met Don's sister's in law, Gabriela and Pilar and Gaby's children, Jazmín and Ricardito. Then they brought out Arturo, the other Granddad. I hadn't seen him for a long time and it was wonderful to see him and talk a little. We stayed in a hotel for the night. We got up this morning and drove down town and went to the market. There was a great bustle as everyone was opening up the small tiendas and getting breakfast ready to serve. I had forgotten to take my camera, so there won't be any picture here. I do wish you could have seen all those people and all those markets and all the work and activity going on Christmas morning. I am sure that if we had been in downtown Grand Junction, there wouldn't have been a person on the street early on Christmas morning. It was a great experience.

This picture was taken in a yard just down the street.

Down the Street

We went for a walk down the street this morning. The bougainvillea are blooming beautifully

On one of the houses, Santa is either about to fall off, or maybe he is just trying to crawl up on top of the house. If he does get on top, I'm afraid he won't find a chimney.

Street Market

Sunday morning, the market opened in one of the streets. There were beautiful fruits and vegetables for sale as well as lots of clothes and even hardware and plastics. We could have eaten breakfast there, too, for there were many items for eating.

The main market

They have built a big building with many small markets. Here, Ricardo and Don are standing beside the sign which tells about it.
The next picture shows the market building on Sunday when most of the small markets were open. Ricardo and Don are walking toward it.

 This is a view of a number of the markets. Notice the fruit. Also, note the piñatas for sale. There were several meat markets as well.

Tiendas in Atemajac

There are many small markets on the streets. I think they might be described as hole-in-the-wall stores, where one can buy many things.


 We needed some food for our breakfast in the bungalow. Here, Don is waiting to buy some milk and cheese in the small creamery not far down the street. Also note the chorizo (two kinds) hanging just in front of him.

Also, not far up the street is a small hardware store. We were hoping to buy a spatula which didn't happen to be among the items in the kitchen in the bungalow. They didn't have one, though, and we had to go to the street market.

This is a small market right next to our bungalow, which is just to the right of this picture. Inside, beyond the counter, is a rotisserie on which chickens were roasting. Here, you can buy a whole roasted chickens with condiments to go with it. Notice the sign.

Atemajac de Brizuela

We went to Atemajac de Brizuela for the week end. It is a small town southwest of Guadalajara.

This is a typical street in the town. Most of the streets are paved with rocks and are quite rough.

We rented a Bungalow which had a door opening right into the street. As you enter, there is a nice room with couch, where Ricardo and Adelina are sitting. Behind them on the top left of the picture is a corner of the room with a stove and sink, where we prepared breakfast. Beyond that is a room with a double bed and a single bed, and on beyond that another room with two double beds. Quite comfortable!

To the right of the first room with beds is a toilet with shower, and beyond that a door to a small room open to the outside, with plants around the sides and a table where you can sit and eat.

Zapopan, Jalisco

We flew into Guadalajara on Wednesday, 14 December after an uneventful flight from Grand Junction. We arrived at about 5:30 pm, and after immigration and customs, took a taxi to Zapopan. The traffic was terrible! But it is quite nice here at the house. We can easily walk to small markets nearby for almost anything we need.

 On Thursday Ricardo had a test and in the afternoon after the test we went to the new mall nearby for some good food at Spoleto, an Italian place. Spoleto is the name of a village in Italy. The chain was also in Brazil before coming here.

 Arleta with Ricardo.....

Three generations - - The oldest on the left - That is  me - and next on the right, Don - The youngest in the middle, Ricardo. And he is growing fast.

On Friday the 16th, we went to Tacos el Culichi for supper. A fellow was grilling steaks outside.

 We sat at a table outside to eat. Arleta and I had Arrachera, steaks that were cut up and then added with sauce to a baked potato. You can see mine at the right side of the table. It was delicious!

Don went just inside to get salsa and other condiments.