Guada loop the loop

Our next stop was Tlaquepaque, Guadalajara, we had a great introduction with the best taxi driver we have had so far (walking anywhere is quite tricky in many towns as the bus station is out of town on the highway). He started out by reading our guide book on his knees in front of the car headlights as his glasses were not quite strong enough. He then talked to us about the Queen, Queen with Mr Freddy Mercury, the Beatles (we agreed Lennon was the best one). He then showed us the bonito/marvellous/wonderful sights, while going wrong several times and reversing back into the oncoming traffic - on arrival at the hotel he told us he was a painter and proceeded to sign our guide book, he was great.

Santa came to town the night we were in Tlaquepaque Guadalajara, though Fiona insisted I give the candy I caught to the incredibly disappointed looking children I had pushed out the way to get it - what a spoil sport

Enjoying Tamarind Margaritas

Ruth we thought this looked a lot like the sculpture in your "the last bread pudding" play

The hotel had a great outdoor courtyard to sit in

More washing

Daisy the ultra cute and playful dog at the hotel

The plaza by our hotel, every town has one and it seems to be the place to meet up and sit about

Another day on the bus and we arrived at Toluca, the hotel was an amazingly grand old colonial building

The next day we set off on the bus for Valle de Bravo to see the Monarch butterflies, at just 2 hrs this was a welcome break from our all day journeys.

I love it when a plan comes together - the chap opposite had been working in LA and was treating his family to cokes and food. He swapped us some pesos for a dollar so he could give it to his gran sitting next to him.

On the smaller, less plush buses street sellers are allowed on to sell their wears. First there was an amazing 10 peso (50p) deal of a pair of scissors, a pen with a torch on the end and a marker pen for writing on cd's and metal. The next was churros, they are overcooked doughnut sticks - which makes them crunchy rather than soft, they are delicious but probably not amazingly good for your arteries.

This is the head of an ex - president

One cool think about Mexico is that most of the advertising is painted rather than glossy posters or boring plastic signs, it really makes a difference to the feel of the place - although I am not sure if this is better environmentally with all the waste paint going down drains!

For those as bad at Spanish as Ralph this is an ad for male strippers "only for the ladies"

On the bus to Valle de Bravo we passed the water treatment works, a high security operation with high barbed wire fences and for some unknown reason great topiary.