Monday 10/27/25

    At the start of the day, we had a couple of malfunctions: one with the internet not working and the other with the lack of hot water.  But our host Stewart, even though he was busy teaching at the University, was very responsive in having his cleaning lady, Gaby, sort out the problems.

    After our morning java, we headed to El Centro to enjoy the relative calm of the city before the crowds emerged. For our two previous visits to GTO, one in 2014 and the other in 2022, we had stayed in an apartment at the top of a very steep hill, far removed from the center of town. But this year we opted for a place with a relatively flat walk to the center of town and more centrally located.  We eventually ended up at "La Vie en Rose," one of our favorite places for all around delicious food, great service and an amazing pastry shop (see pic). We enjoyed a pastry and nice strong coffee and then headed back to our apt, before stopping at the beer and wine store for essentials, and at the Embajadoras Mercado for fresh fruit.

    Having enjoyed the requisite siesta (it is Mexico after all) we walked up to a Basque restaurant called "Amatxi" (meaning "grandma" and pronounced A-MACH-ee.) It was started by the owner, Domingo Martinez,  about 10 years ago in honor of his amatxi.  We ordered the paella (see pic.) Chef Paula's opinion was that the paella was a bit salty and lacking key ingredients like chicken and sausage, otherwise good.  We still had the fabulous paella we had in Barcelona in 1992 as an echo on our taste buds to compare.

    Taking note of our steps for this day, I logged 10,896 and Paula 11,328. (She takes shorter steps!)

Paella from Amatxi

Paula stepping out of shower

The iconic patrons of city: Don Quixote and Sancho Panza

You meet the nicest people here

La Vie en Rose pastry display case

Jardin de la Union with Teatro Juarez and La Pipila statue looking down on city.
La Pipila is in honor of hero who broke into Spanish fortress during Civil War






    

Comments

  1. ChrisOctober 28, 2025 at 5:41 PM

    I'm so happy you are doing this blog again. It's so wonderful to read about your experiences and see all the photos! 😊❤️

    ReplyDelete
  2. Elizabeth JeanOctober 29, 2025 at 1:13 PM

    Great photo of Paula ;) ;0! So fun to read your posts. I'll follow along!

    ReplyDelete
  3. K. HamonNovember 1, 2025 at 10:56 AM

    “You meet the nicest people here”. You are hilarious! Enjoying catching up on your blog. It’s fun to circle back to your favorite restaurants and bakeries in El Centro. The best paella I’ve had yet is the one LIz made many years ago when she lived in Sausalito. Split one with a friend when we were in Barcelona and it was disappointing. Impressive step count!

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Image
      This morning started a bit unscheduled only because it was the 4th day since the little Japanese bugs had to incubate fully and attack my immune system with gusto and I awoke feeling stuffed, coughing and achy.  In a word, rotten!  But we decided to push on with plans to visit the largest cemetery in GTO called Panteon Santa Paula.  Yes, how could we not, and next door was the famous Mummy Museum.     We headed out at about ten when the city is usually starting to come alive. It was interesting to see many school children outfitted in full Los Muertos regalia with faces painted like skeletons. Local schools must allow for a dress-up day.     Consulting Google Maps, the walk to the cemetery seemed a reasonable, flat 1.5 miles; but after being told by various locals which particular street to take, we ended up following a very convoluted course that was anything but flat, going up then down then around and almost doubling our distan...
Read more
Image
      We accumulated enough dirty clothes to try the washer and dryer in the terrace laundry room.  All went well except the dryer took several attempts to get things actually dry.  While we waited for the laundry we had our standard breakfast: still enjoying La Vie pastries, fruit, yogurt, etc.  Unfortunately, I've succumbed to one of the traveling risks: I've developed a pretty nasty cold probably from having sat next to a coughing Japanese lady on the plane. So our first stop out the door was to a local Farmacia where I found some Vicks 44 and cough drops.       We returned to the Mercado Hidalgo to continue looking for momentos we can easily pack home in a nice bolsa (bag) that Paula found at one of the many stalls.  Stopped by one of the dozens of small cafes that are spread throughout the city for coffee and more pastries!  Have to replenish those calories we're burning from all the steps.      After a refr...
Read more
Image
           The booming rockets kept us up last night beyond our normal bedtime, but "Viva la Mexico!"  Enjoyed breakfast in our bungalow: papaya from local market, pastry from La Vie, yogurt, and coffee from the Trader Joe grounds we brought with us. As you can see, we're roughing it!  Following our new routine,  we headed downtown, enjoying the mix of people gradually emerging onto the cobbled streets--mostly locals, but an occasional foreigner. But the dominant language heard is definitely Spanish. We located Mercado Hidalgo (see pic) a fascinating place with dozens of food vendors, preparing your food to order in front of you on comals, hot bowl-shaped iron griddles warmed by propane. One man offered me a piece of his very tender pork soaked in red chile. Delicious but a bit too picante! On both the ground floor of what was once a train station and on the second balcony surrounding the main floor are more than fifty stalls with an array of...
Read more