Addendum

Here are some additional photos that I downloaded from our Tripcast file.  Many thanks to the other photographers on the trip, 'cause no one can be everywhere all the time!

The three cousins, Valerie, Ginger, and Laura

Sigh - Going Home!

Wednesday, April 10, 2024

Breakfast is at 8:00, so there is plenty of time for yoga and packing, and when we get downstairs Karen and Alex has a table for four...and Norm is at a table of his own, waiting for Ginger.  She goes to say good morning and Alex invites me to sit.  Karen suggests that since there will be more of us, we should move to a larger table.  I've already gotten my  té verde calienté and had to defend Duckie!  The maitre d' tried to put him in his pocket!!  

We set up a table for eight and settle in our new places, taking the empty cups back to our original table - always leave things like you find them!  The maitre d' comes back to bring our silverware and places mine in such a way that he can palm Duckie on his way!  Later the waiter tries it, too, and I wish I spoke Spanish because the maitre d' said a couple of things to me that were definitely funny and probably a little racy, judging by his laugh!  I laughed, too, 'cause that's what you do, right?

Breakfast is delicious, as usual, and it's time for the four of us who are going to Atlanta to geet our suitcases and load up the taxi.  Norm says good-bye, since the remaining members of our party has politely refused his offer to show them more of the city.  They are just going to have a quiet day before leaving tomorrow morning.

Tempting fruit presentation

Yummy biscuit!

Last huevos at la Mexicana!

At the airport the first official we encounter seems to be in a happy mood!  He asks me if I"m sure I want to go back to Tampa!!  And he sends us, essentially, to the head of the line to drop off our luggage!  That done we locate our gate and settle into a cafe to order a drink or type, and to order take out since there won't be much to eat on the flight to Atlanta. I order flauta since they aren't messy and won't smell.

So much beautiful wall art!

Duckie was sulking because he didn't want to go home!

I think this piece of artistry is the ATL car park!

Rosa helping me type

And Floofen is very pleased that I'm home!

We're in line to board when Karen's name is called.  She's the lucky person who was randomly selected for extra security! That done, we all find our seats and are ready for take off.  I'm going to finish watching "American Fiction"!  And I see "Barbie" which is as good as people said and I even get to start "Oppenheimer"! Delta sure has some great movies!  And the treats are chips AND cookies and I have a glass of apple juice.

In Atlanta there is no GOES machine so we all go through passport control;  but it's really quick.  From there they separate us into connecting flights and final destination, so Ginger and I split up.  I collect my bag and follow the herd to turn it back in, as usual.  What is different is that I don't get to go directly to my next gate.  Instead there is a huge line of people going through security again!  And it's the pre-check line! The good news is that it moves very quickly and I only have to ride the plane train one dtop, from the E terminal to F.  I'm there is time to eat my flauta before boarding.

The weather was terrible between Guadalajara and Atlanta, but we were able to skirt most of it and arrive pretty much on time.  I wonder if we'll be as lucky flying to Tampa!?  We board about ten minutes late and then sit on the runway for quite a while.  It seems the device that pushes us away from the gate is defective and there's quite a to-do over getting another one.  But it all gets straighten out and I know that Betsy is following all the action, so I'm not worried about her hanging out at the TPA forever.

The weather keeps the cabin crew from serving anything;  but I get to see all the rest of "Oppenheimer", so I'm happy!  It finishes as we are taxiing to our gate and presto chango, I'm home!  Betsy is there to greet me and my bag is one of the first ones on the carousel!  Back to Betsy's, then home, and I'm in the garage at one o'clock and in bed twenty minutes later!!  What an amazing adventure.  Those four minutes were like nothing I've very experienced before.  And may never again!  Although ... Iceland/Greenland is coming up?!?  Who knows???

Back to Guadalajara

 Tuesday, April 9, 2024

Gosh it's early!!  No time for yoga this morning, but we're up and dressed and out the door right on time! Everyone makes it onto the bus and Jorge, our driver gets everyone's luggage stashed in the rear of the bus.  We're going to drive for a couple of hours before having breakfast and Ginger passes out the cookies we bought yesterday to tide people over.  It's pretty quiet on the bus, except for a baño break or two.

Very nice hotel!

Ginger's new earrings and shirt!

Let's reflect on our adventure!

I feel braver taking their picture from inside the bus!

Jorge has recommended a restaurant, El Diamantie, and although it was a bit further down the road than we anticipated, it was worth the wait!  There are eyes of God everywhere and the decor is bright and energizing.  The waiter comes quickly, maybe because we are only the second group to arrive, and drink orders are taken. The drinks and food are delivered quickly and the coconut shrimp is excellent and plentiful. And there's a little time for fun with duckie!!

Every meal seems to have these on the table.

Back on the bus and when I check my email I see that it's time to check into my flights home.  My talk-text-data plan with Verizon includes Mexico and Canada so I am able to check in and get my boarding pass right on my phone. I take a picture of it just in case!

One more baño stop and we're back at our hotel.  Jorge removes everyone's baggage and it's time to tell him thank you and good bye and to show our appreciation financially! We drag inside, after our long trip, and Ginger passes out room keys.  Laura has to leave much earlier than I in the morning, so I'm going to move into Ginger's room since we're on the same flight. (Alex and Karen are on it, too) People scatter with plans to meet on the rooftop for sunset before our last dinner together.  Norm has said he would meet us for sunset, too.

Turns out that sunset isn't until 7:10 here, since we have crossed a time zone, and that's too late for dinner. We are on the rooftop and agree to go on downstairs and walk to the restaurant that Ginger has found for us.  It's called Los Illustres and the lobby is filled with art works.  The tables are under a roof but open to the breezes and the whole thing overlooks the park that Juan showed us, celebrating artists of all sorts. The service is prompt with drinks coming out quickly.  I have what turns out to be dessert in a glass, a dolce rita!  The food orders all arrive at the same time!! Now that's fine dining!  And each dish is unique.  I have the salmon is honey-lemon sauce with asparagus and mashed potatoes and it's so good I might try it at home! It's our last night and Ginger is looking for dessert - so everyone follows suit.  She has my before-dinner brink and I have the other one that had caught my eye, the Kiss Velvet. It arrives with a large ice cube with a yellow flower perched on top!

Bye-bye beautiful mountains

And agave azul

So many murals!

Just making sure we know where we're going!

The restaurant's lobby is full of "illustrations" as the name would suggest!

Even the menu is made to look like a book!

Such an inviting space! 

And with a stunning view of the park!

I'm learning to use Goggle Translate.

The title page

This is the park with all the statues dedicated to artist of all sorts - musicians, painters, poets,...

Dolce Rita

Kiss Velvet

Some clever cocktail ideas!

When everyone is satisfied - and then some - we walk the few blocks back to the hotel where we start saying our good-byes and Ginger makes arrangements for everyone's taxis to the airport.  There are four different groups leaving at different times, and one group will actually stay an extra night because airlines are just weird!

Up we go to our room to decompress, re-pack and get ready for tomorrow.  Those of us who are left will meet for breakfast at eight and we'll leave for the airport around ten.  We both hate rushing in airports and would much rather just sit and read or whatever.  It would be smart if I went back and proof read some of these midnight entries!!  But that's for another day.  Tonight I just want to close my eyes!