Guanajuato
Aug 3rd, 2016, 12:36 PM
#44
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I just saw that. The taxi drivers and the local gov here in Merida gave them hell but thus far they're still in place.
The taxi drivers have done a great job in convincing tourists that the local taxi cos work for the government and that Uber is somehow illegal. Fact, talk about it is emotional enough that I (an internet stranger) was actually called names on this friendly board by a tourist for suggesting otherwise.
In any event, Uber's goal is to be throughout Mx by the end of the year.
The taxi drivers have done a great job in convincing tourists that the local taxi cos work for the government and that Uber is somehow illegal. Fact, talk about it is emotional enough that I (an internet stranger) was actually called names on this friendly board by a tourist for suggesting otherwise.
In any event, Uber's goal is to be throughout Mx by the end of the year.
Sep 28th, 2016, 09:17 AM
#46
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Cybor--
I loved that you made it to both Guanajuato and San Miguel de Allende--two of many favorite spots I've seen in Mexico. Both so beautiful! Sadly, I've only planned a few hours in both, as I chose to visit them as day trips from Queretaro (Queretaro has a special place in my heart as I got to know the city much better, having studied Spanish there for 4 weeks). You describe Guanajuato as having a Euro vibe and I agree--coming from Canada, I felt actually reminded of Europe in some ways in all 3 cities due to the narrow streets, grand Old World churches/buildings and statuary (and the aqueduct in Queretaro).
I'm curious about the places you describe enjoying up high in San Miguel de Allende to have snacks & drinks (higher naturally on the top of a hill with a view? or high up in a building?).
Thanks for reporting back! Daniel
I loved that you made it to both Guanajuato and San Miguel de Allende--two of many favorite spots I've seen in Mexico. Both so beautiful! Sadly, I've only planned a few hours in both, as I chose to visit them as day trips from Queretaro (Queretaro has a special place in my heart as I got to know the city much better, having studied Spanish there for 4 weeks). You describe Guanajuato as having a Euro vibe and I agree--coming from Canada, I felt actually reminded of Europe in some ways in all 3 cities due to the narrow streets, grand Old World churches/buildings and statuary (and the aqueduct in Queretaro).
I'm curious about the places you describe enjoying up high in San Miguel de Allende to have snacks & drinks (higher naturally on the top of a hill with a view? or high up in a building?).
Thanks for reporting back! Daniel
Oct 2nd, 2016, 09:36 AM
#47
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Just when I decided to to overthink it or over complicate things and just do 8 nights in SMA in/out of BJX, I read Cybor's reply above that Gto's historical center is quite flat. Now I'm considering breaking it up & basing in both SMA & Gto.
Anyone care to give me a push one way or the other? Traveling with my 74 year old mom. She's traveled some many years ago, but doesn't get out much these days and therefore seems to be easily (over)stimulated/overwhelmed. She likes an easy, leisurely, atmospheric holiday. She would love socializing with expats/retirees if given the chance. So SMA seemed like a great place for her.
But I'm interested in Gto. We will definitely visit as a day trip if we stay in SMA, but I'm wondering if we should go ahead & stay a few nights in Gto. I know a day trip to a place like Gto will leave me feeling incomplete. Though I could just treat it as reconnaissance for a future trip with my husband.
What would you do?
Anyone care to give me a push one way or the other? Traveling with my 74 year old mom. She's traveled some many years ago, but doesn't get out much these days and therefore seems to be easily (over)stimulated/overwhelmed. She likes an easy, leisurely, atmospheric holiday. She would love socializing with expats/retirees if given the chance. So SMA seemed like a great place for her.
But I'm interested in Gto. We will definitely visit as a day trip if we stay in SMA, but I'm wondering if we should go ahead & stay a few nights in Gto. I know a day trip to a place like Gto will leave me feeling incomplete. Though I could just treat it as reconnaissance for a future trip with my husband.
What would you do?
Oct 2nd, 2016, 06:25 PM
#52
limmy, it is a tough call. I live in San Miguel, and admit that for the typical visitor 8 days in San Miguel might be a bit much. But most don't have their 74 years-young mother with them. Some random thoughts:
San Miguel will have a far better restaurant/café scene where expat and gringo visitors can meet. Although even in Sma, the local expat crowd tends to not hang out in the jardin very much, but rather in a handful of places. I can give some suggestions.
Gto gets plenty of tourists, but has a very small full time expat population.
It is true that both San Miguel and Gto, while plenty hilly, have mostly walkable centers.
If you were to base in San Miguel, a day trip to Queretaro is worthwhile and easier to do than from Gto and the Centro is flat.
San Miguel will have a far better restaurant/café scene where expat and gringo visitors can meet. Although even in Sma, the local expat crowd tends to not hang out in the jardin very much, but rather in a handful of places. I can give some suggestions.
Gto gets plenty of tourists, but has a very small full time expat population.
It is true that both San Miguel and Gto, while plenty hilly, have mostly walkable centers.
If you were to base in San Miguel, a day trip to Queretaro is worthwhile and easier to do than from Gto and the Centro is flat.
Oct 3rd, 2016, 05:31 AM
#53
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Daniel W,
We went to two places for sundowners - Lunas Tapas bar at the Rosewood hotel and La Azotea. Lunas has spectacular views but is $$$ with semi decent food and drink. Go up for a beer and sunset and then go eat somewhere else.
Despite a lower view of the city we liked La Azotea better. The place has a nice vibe and interesting tapas.
linny,
I'm not sure how to answer your question because many of the things we did outside of the main center in Gto required some amount of climbing. You'll even have to climb a bit once you get off the funicular. There's lots of stairs to get to most things.
I also can't comment on places to hang with gringos because I didn't see too many... or maybe I saw them and didn't realize.
Anyway you put it together will be good, though as both cities are worth seeing. If you do get to Gto you may want to take a cab up to the Ex Hacienda San Gabriel. It belonged to a very wealthy silver mining family who left in shame because their daughter got pregnant from a servant. The grounds, houses and gardens are spectacular. There's also a sweet cafe with good food. I had a too die for chocolate drink that was delicious.
https://www.tripadvisor.com/Attracti...ulf_Coast.html
We went to two places for sundowners - Lunas Tapas bar at the Rosewood hotel and La Azotea. Lunas has spectacular views but is $$$ with semi decent food and drink. Go up for a beer and sunset and then go eat somewhere else.
Despite a lower view of the city we liked La Azotea better. The place has a nice vibe and interesting tapas.
linny,
I'm not sure how to answer your question because many of the things we did outside of the main center in Gto required some amount of climbing. You'll even have to climb a bit once you get off the funicular. There's lots of stairs to get to most things.
I also can't comment on places to hang with gringos because I didn't see too many... or maybe I saw them and didn't realize.
Anyway you put it together will be good, though as both cities are worth seeing. If you do get to Gto you may want to take a cab up to the Ex Hacienda San Gabriel. It belonged to a very wealthy silver mining family who left in shame because their daughter got pregnant from a servant. The grounds, houses and gardens are spectacular. There's also a sweet cafe with good food. I had a too die for chocolate drink that was delicious.
https://www.tripadvisor.com/Attracti...ulf_Coast.html
Oct 3rd, 2016, 05:41 PM
#55
Fyi, the Azotea is the rooftop bar at Pueblo Viejo, and doesn't have signage from the street. Their jicama tacos are really good. Other rooftop options: La Posadita, more known as a restaurant than bar, but still fine for drinks/snacks. Next to Posadita is a new place, Quince. Their bar is rooftop. Mama Mia's has a popular rooftop bar as well, next door to Azotea. Cielo has a direct view of the jardin. Emilio's pizzeria has probably the best view of the entire city. And while it doesn't exactly have great view, Via Organica has a pleasant rooftop terraza, and have their own microbrews on tap, a rarity for San Miguel, sadly.
Oct 4th, 2016, 03:48 PM
#56
<i>I also can't comment on places to hang with gringos because I didn't see too many... or maybe I saw them and didn't realize. </i>
I can't say I've ever seen a place like that when we've been in Gto either.
I can't say I've ever seen a place like that when we've been in Gto either.
Oct 4th, 2016, 05:43 PM
#57
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There is a roof top club on one of the hotels on GTO's Jardin which we stopped at one night after a concert. I do not remember which one (on the North side above the Starbucks) as we were not there long with rain starting shortly after our arrival. Nice view with disco type music. We were the only gringos there.
We are not party folks with a occasional concert & dinner but back in our apartment by 11:00 at the latest.
We are not party folks with a occasional concert & dinner but back in our apartment by 11:00 at the latest.
Mar 15th, 2017, 08:09 AM
#58
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Hey Mme,
Gto did and didn't feel big. You like that answer, lol
The Historic center is totally walkable and nice and flat. That said, when/if you go up the Funicular and see all the house/churches (there are so many amazing churches) you realize how big the place really is. We also went to the top of a hill to an amazing Hacienda and walked part of a path that leads all the way to New Mexico.
We did like SM, too. We stayed at a gorgeous place(suite with a small kitchen area) that was nice and quiet yet close to the action. 100 pn - I wished we stayed longer just to hang out in the gardens to relax.
The mercado was immediately around the corner, there were many good restaurants. We had a bit of a set back (had to put our dog down) so we arrived 2 days later than planned. I also wasn't feeling great so we never got to do the bike ride we wanted. So between the very pretty city, the food and the architecture - yes we liked it. I'd love to go back and do some house and garden tours.
As for the expat thing. It's hard to tell who's an expat and who's not as many Mexicans and Latin Americans are very light, many speak English and I didn't talk to them all, lol
Also, there were many many Mx families in both Gto and SM. It's not only vaca time but the airports make it easy to fly into both areas.
So yes, very different in regards to geography, architecture, etc
Gto could almost be in Italy.
SM - great place to go relax, walk around and eat. Great places up high to have drinks and snacks. Also a great place to make day trips from. SM also has a massive amount of artisans selling their goods at outdoor market places. I regret that we didn't buy any textiles there as we didn't end up finding those sorts of things in Gto.
Gto - It's so different and has a Euro vibe. Also lots to do - but you have to look a bit harder. ex. we happened to be there the day they were opening up the dam. Big celebration and kinda cool to see the water come down from the reservoir.
Food in both places was definitely much less than the US. We didn't have one bad meal.
I'd go back to both. It's so easy and inexpensive to get from one to the other.
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MmePerdu on Jul 21, 16 at 11:34pm
So it seems I'll have to try them both, as you did. I like your comparisons and glad SM didn't feel like an American suburb. I imagine from California (alto?) I'd fly into Leon, whichever came first.http://www.e-casus.com
<a href="http://www.e-casus.com">casus telefon</a>
How did you get from one to the other? If privately (taxi?), what did it cost?
PS - So sorry about your dog. I've given up having pets, can't take losing them anymore, just too painful. Again, so sorry.
Gto did and didn't feel big. You like that answer, lol
The Historic center is totally walkable and nice and flat. That said, when/if you go up the Funicular and see all the house/churches (there are so many amazing churches) you realize how big the place really is. We also went to the top of a hill to an amazing Hacienda and walked part of a path that leads all the way to New Mexico.
We did like SM, too. We stayed at a gorgeous place(suite with a small kitchen area) that was nice and quiet yet close to the action. 100 pn - I wished we stayed longer just to hang out in the gardens to relax.
The mercado was immediately around the corner, there were many good restaurants. We had a bit of a set back (had to put our dog down) so we arrived 2 days later than planned. I also wasn't feeling great so we never got to do the bike ride we wanted. So between the very pretty city, the food and the architecture - yes we liked it. I'd love to go back and do some house and garden tours.
As for the expat thing. It's hard to tell who's an expat and who's not as many Mexicans and Latin Americans are very light, many speak English and I didn't talk to them all, lol
Also, there were many many Mx families in both Gto and SM. It's not only vaca time but the airports make it easy to fly into both areas.
So yes, very different in regards to geography, architecture, etc
Gto could almost be in Italy.
SM - great place to go relax, walk around and eat. Great places up high to have drinks and snacks. Also a great place to make day trips from. SM also has a massive amount of artisans selling their goods at outdoor market places. I regret that we didn't buy any textiles there as we didn't end up finding those sorts of things in Gto.
Gto - It's so different and has a Euro vibe. Also lots to do - but you have to look a bit harder. ex. we happened to be there the day they were opening up the dam. Big celebration and kinda cool to see the water come down from the reservoir.
Food in both places was definitely much less than the US. We didn't have one bad meal.
I'd go back to both. It's so easy and inexpensive to get from one to the other.
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MmePerdu on Jul 21, 16 at 11:34pm
So it seems I'll have to try them both, as you did. I like your comparisons and glad SM didn't feel like an American suburb. I imagine from California (alto?) I'd fly into Leon, whichever came first.http://www.e-casus.com
<a href="http://www.e-casus.com">casus telefon</a>
How did you get from one to the other? If privately (taxi?), what did it cost?
PS - So sorry about your dog. I've given up having pets, can't take losing them anymore, just too painful. Again, so sorry.
Mar 15th, 2017, 08:25 AM
#59
Casustelefon, update. I decided to return to Oaxaca and am just back from a month there. I enjoyed it even more than my first visit, because of the neighborhood where I stayed and because it was now familiar to me. I made 4 trips into the countryside outside the city, 3 for hikes & villages, 1 to a big market, neither of which I'd done the first time.
The 3 flight overnight trip down is still a bother and I may or may not go back again. I haven't ruled anything out, including GTO. But I like the familiarity I now have with Oaxaca. We'll see.
The 3 flight overnight trip down is still a bother and I may or may not go back again. I haven't ruled anything out, including GTO. But I like the familiarity I now have with Oaxaca. We'll see.
May 1st, 2017, 07:37 AM
#60
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I just realized I never followed up or thanked anyone for their response to my question up thread. Thank you to Cybor and Baldone.
My mom and I ended up doing all 8 nights in SMA with a day trip to Gto. This worked out very well for us, it was a perfect speed for my mom. While there are a lot of expats there I really only felt it in a few of the restaurants that must be expat favorites. It is a lovely town with a few stand out sights. We really enjoyed our time there. We are thinking of taking an annual trip to Mexico, trying a new city each time. Maybe Oaxaca or Merida next.
Thanks again everyone.
My mom and I ended up doing all 8 nights in SMA with a day trip to Gto. This worked out very well for us, it was a perfect speed for my mom. While there are a lot of expats there I really only felt it in a few of the restaurants that must be expat favorites. It is a lovely town with a few stand out sights. We really enjoyed our time there. We are thinking of taking an annual trip to Mexico, trying a new city each time. Maybe Oaxaca or Merida next.
Thanks again everyone.
