Saturday in Guanajuato

Today is our one full day in Guanajuato, so we have a lot of plans. First off, a trip up the Funicular (tram) to the top of El Pípila, a mountain monument dedicated to one of the heroes of the revolution. From the top, you get a great view of the town, and the monument is pretty cool too.


El Pípila


La Familia looking down at Guanajuato from the Pipila

While we do our best to expose our kids to all the cultural and historic sites, they both enjoy shopping - especially Bryce. (Shopping is also a great way to reinforce language and math skills.) While we were at the monument, we found a cool Ferrari leather jacket for Bryce, and it was too good to pass up. So after a few concessions and promises of future good behavior on his part, he's now even more stylin' than ever:


Bryce's New Jacket

After lunch, the next stop was the Mercado (market) - another must-see of any Mexican town. Guanajuato's Mercado is housed in a half-circular building, with a second story balcony containing more shops. As with San Miguel's mercado, you can buy food, produce, and assorted hardware and artisan crafts. I found a yummy carnitas stand, and had two delicious tortas (sandwiches). Bryce and Laurel bought a few things with their trip allowance. It's a little claustrophobic, so we didn't stay long, but it was cool nonetheless.


Guanajuato's Mercado

After recharging in our hotel, we went back out to the Jardin. The kids wanted to check out Spray Paint Guy again, and Sue and I just hung out on a bench watching the whole Jardin scene. For dinner, we sat at a cafe next to the Theater steps and watched a mime perform on the natural street-theater stage next to us. While our food was being prepared, Bryce went to sit on the steps to get a better view of the show, and wound up getting picked by the mime along with several other Mexican boys. Bryce is naturally very expressive, so he was a perfect choice. Here's a little video of the street show and Bryce's part in it:



Next stop: the nighttime balloon festival. We took a taxi to the outskirts of town where they had a flat area, and watched six balloons inflate and light up at night. It was a pretty sight. Plus, we got to talk to some of the balloon operators, most of whom were Americans, mostly from Texas. Laurel got to check out the inside of one of the baskets.


Balloons at night


Laurel in the balloon basket

Finally, everyone (except for me) was tired, so Sue and the kids went to bed. But since I had a nap earlier, and am a night-owl anyway, I had one more adventure in me...