Guadalajara was never on our list.
We’ve skipped Thanksgiving the last two years—Ireland two years ago, Switzerland last year. We’ve been gravitating toward places you don’t need a full week to explore, cities you can get to know without the pressure of covering too much ground. This year we decided it would be nice to go back to Mexico. We haven’t been in a while, and we both love it. We used to go a lot more when we first started dating. The last time was for my 40th birthday.
I thought about Puerto Vallarta, which is a place I really do want to visit, but we decided on Guadalajara mostly because the flights were convenient and affordable. We didn’t know much about it going in.
The trip ended up being excellent.
If you’d asked me at the beginning of this year where I’d find the best art scene, I probably would’ve said Berlin or Japan. It was neither. This year’s art highlight was Guadalajara. I saw more art that I liked, that impressed me, than any other place I’ve been all year. The galleries, the museums, the artists working there—all of it clicked in a way I wasn’t expecting.
The food was excellent. The culture was engaging. We just had a great time. And to be honest, it was so excellent to be in 80°F weather while it was starting to get cold here in the States.
I loved it. I would easily go back again. It was a genuinely enjoyable trip. And it makes me want to sneak down to Mexico more often.
Next: Guadalajara – Day 1