After doing a good bit of walking earlier in the day, we relaxed and took a short siesta. Upon getting up, we decided to head on out. Guanajuato was a fine place to stroll and just take in the different plazas. Like Plaza de Los Angeles.
We needed to grab something from Oxxo, so we went down the stairs onto busy Avenida Benito Juarez and enjoyed the colorful buildings on the street.
We had made very early dinner reservations with one stop in mind before our meal which was almost right across the street from the restaurant.
Artist Diego Rivera was born in Guanajuato and though his family only lived there for a few years, the home he lived in has been made into a a museum.
Since we had already visited La Casa Azul earlier on the trip, I thought a visit here would be a nice "bookend". The building's restoration and conversion to a museum was initiated by Diego Rivera's daughter, Guadalupe Rivera Marin. As to how many children Diego Rivera had, well the numbers vary based on the source….
The museum is fairly small, but we enjoyed seeing the scope of Diego Rivera's work and the different styles he embraced from Cubism to Impressionism, to Post-Impressionism, and Muralism.
To be perfectly honest, before this trip, while I had read (and seen the movie) and seen the works of Frida Kahlo, I really did not know much about Diego Rivera.
Visiting Casa Azul, Museo Diego Rivera, and reading the various tales like how Leon Trotsky lived with the pair while in exile (Trotsky was assassinated in Coyoacán in 1940).
According to this wonderful website Rivera feared for his life (it was uncovered in the 1990's that he was a informant for the US) and went the the American Embassy and ended up in San Francisco. During that time Frida and Diego got remarried and he lived out his life in Casa Azul.
Man, talk about real life being more interesting than fiction!
Museo Casa Diego Rivera
Positos 47
Zona Centro, 36000 Guanajuato, Mexico
Even though Mestizo is basically a few buildings over from the museum, it was still a bit early, so we decided to drop off the stuff we got from Oxxo at the hotel.
We noticed that the Basilica Guanajuato (full name – Basílica Colegiata de Nuestra Señora de Guanajuato) was open as we exited the hotel, so we decided to take a peek.
And then headed off to dinner.
We had enjoyed our previous meal at Mestizo so much that we had made reservations for a follow-up dinner on our last night in the city.
Service was just as friendly this time around and we ordered our favorites from that earlier meal along with one addition.
We did notice something different on this visit.
The flavors and presentation for the Tartar de Atun en Chile Viejo and the Chinchulines con Guacamole weren't quite as on the mark as on our previous visit.
We tried the Carpaccio de Pulpo con Xoconostle y Polvo de Chili Secos. Basically octopus with prickly pear and chili de arbol powder.
As before the tortillas were up to the task though not outstanding. The pulpo was on the tougher end of things and we thought more citrus/sour tones were needed as well. We enjoyed the lemony-peppery-slightly anise tones of the epazote.
The one saving grace was that the Tuetano was just as wonderfully buttery and beefy as on the first visit.
So, while it seems that perhaps the "B" team was in charge on this evening, things ended on a high note for us.
Mestizo
Positos 69
Zona Centro, 36000 Guanajuato, Mexico
We then headed to La Clave Azul for a nightcap.
Since this was our last evening in Guanajuato and we had really enjoyed ourselves, we decided to do a little victory lap…starting with Jardin de la Union.
Where folks were out in full force.
We ran into the sweet gal selling cheesecake and we ended up paying for two and asked her to "pay it forward"!
As we got back to the hotel we noticed an interesting "scene"…..
Hmmm, this fella looks familiar, right?
There seems to always be something going on in Guanajuato!
We slept well, got up, packed, and had breakfast at the hotel. The Nopales con Huevo were quite good.
After breakfast, we checked out, and met our driver Aaron, who as always was right on time and got us to the airport. It was time to head on home……
But….I'm sure we'll be back someday!
Thanks for stopping by!
There's a Cervantes Festival in Guanajuato. And the 
From the center of town we made our way Northwest, past Mercado Hidalgo, then up the one of the hills that surround the town. Right past the Mummy Museum is Panteón Municipal Santa Paula, the cemetery.
Con Pane has two distinct lines; one for ordering food and café items. The other for bread and pastry only. As you can tell, I go first thing in the morning when they open. I'll often park all the way down by Trader Joe's and get a couple of extra steps in, while shopping at both places.
While still a bit on the chewy side, when toasted it achieves a nice crispness, with good sour-tangy tones which doesn't overwhelm the yeastiness of the bread.
There were a couple of folks working on their laptops….when things slowed down a bit I got a chance to chat with Noel. I got my cold brew….Noel knows exactly how I take it.
I've been back a couple of time and all the folks working are friendly. One of Noel's coworkers went to Sacred Hearts Academy "back home"…in my 
The interior had undergone changes.
The menu is pretty extensive and has many ‘authentic’ choices- not “dumbed down”. 
There is a Lunch Special menu available Tues-Friday. Specials include 'vegetarian soup' -yes, miso- as well as 'salad', vegetarian egg roll and fried wonton.
On this day, yellow curry with chicken ($11.95) was The Mister's choice. The curries here are very good- there are eight types. Yellow curry is made with potatoes, carrot and onion and coconut milk. A filling, flavorful meal. 
During the pandemic, I would order 'to go' from the appetizer menu. #13, "Crispy Rice Salad" (Nam Kat Tod) has become a favorite. The spicy lime sauce compliments the red and green onion, dry chili flakes, fresh ginger, mint, cilantro and cashews.
All of that is mixed with sour fermented pork (and thinly sliced cartilage) mixed with the crispy rice and toasted rice flour. Very satisfying, especially during our heat wave.
Here is the sushi bar, in its new location. The menu is only sushi; no other Japanese choices. 
The name of the market has changed slightly, the interior is still kept organized and clean. 
As you walk in, the first kitchen/menu board/ refrigerated grab and go to your right has a 
The Taqueria/Mexican menu board and cash register is a few feet more into the store, next to the seating area. We usually purchase an aqua fresca here.
On this visit, we chose a package of hummus ($4.99). Fresh made that morning, great flavors, plenty left over to take home.
We ordered two beef kababs ($2 each) and I watched as the ground beef, mixed with spices, was placed on long, flat kabab skewers and began cooking on the grill. Made to order. The meat was served with a roasted tomato half and a mix of chopped onion and parsley. 
Here is the loaf of hot tannour bread ($2.25) which was placed in a paper bag after being removed straight from the side of the clay oven. Crisp, flavorful browned bubbles with soft, easy to tear middles. Great flavor. It went well with both the hummus and the kabab meat. 
A mental note was made and misplaced. As fate would have it, The Mister and I were driving by while looking for lunch. Adalynes opened in March 2022.
Walk in and step to the right; seating for 40 (along with four big screen televisions) is to the left. Order and pay- a menu board is above and the open kitchen behind it is quite large. The "Fish Market" display case was not filled but the price list was available and if you made a purchase and wanted your fish fried, it is an additional $2 per pound. 
A simple menu.
An appetizer order of calamari ($9.99) included tentacles, not all rings. We asked for the batter to be 'mild' since there were several selections of spicy side dips. The calamari was tender, the batter was a proper fry; light and crisp. This is a large serving.
We decided to try the Combo meal ($15.99) of three pieces of chicken strips and six shrimp. We chose our one side to be sweet potato. Again, we asked for no spice in the batter. The shrimp were plump and large, had a very light coating and were nicely fried. The sweet potato side came in the form of 'tots' and were really good. The chicken-three large pieces of breast meat with just a light coating which was thin, crisped and tasty. 
The chicken was not dry at all. 
These four sauces were brought out with our food (cocktail sauce, "special" sauce (it has jalapeño juice and bits of jalapeño), a BBQ based sauce and a chipotle/smoky sauce. There's a counter by the tables which has condiment pumps of hot sauce, ranch and catsup. 
The other update is that this family owned and run restaurant has been here for more than 30 years.
Walk in, order and pay. There is a menu board above the ordering space in the wall. Your food is brought out by one of the family members. 
As always, we order onion rings ($4.49). Thick slices of sweet onions, sweet batter, properly crisp fried and not greasy. This is served with ranch dressing.
A small Greek chicken salad ($9.49) holds a lot of tasty, moist roasted chicken and comes with pita bread and tzatziki. The salad part is the same size as the side salad which comes with the meal below and includes cucumber, tomato and onion and a red wine vinegar based dressing.
The Moussaka and Gyros combination plate ($15.99) was ordered on this day…because we wanted leftovers. Plenty of fluffy rice with some peas and carrots topped with slices of gyros and, of course, the Moussaka- the bottom layer is baked potato, then a nice layer of eggplant, the sweet (cinnamon and oregano) spiced ground meat filling topped with a layer of thick béchamel and covered in a subtle seasoned (garlic, thyme, parsley, basil) tomato sauce. 
You can see the Santa Sophia Roman Catholic Church tower just East out the side window of the restaurant. The Greek title, "Santa Sophia" (Holy Wisdom) is popular in Greek Orthodox churches and is rare for Catholic churches.
There are a few choices of shaved ices along with three sizes (the prices are $9.75, $10.75 and $11.75). Topping combinations are varied and all sound good. I pointed at one on the laminated menu at the register. The cylinder shaped Q-mochi, potato balls (sweet potato/taro), jelly and mini mochi balls surrounding the ice cream topped fluffy milk soaked shaved ice made each bite unique. We ended up taking a lot home.
This family owned (since 2004) restaurant has survived the Covid-19 ups and downs and is still going strong. 
The Monday-Friday Lunch menu is simple and offers a good variety. 
I always order a cup of albondigas ($4.25) from the regular menu and enjoy the traditional meatball soup with fresh, still slightly crisp vegetables (zucchini, chayote, tomato, onion), flavorful broth and the fresh herbs (there is oregano in the meatballs and cilantro in the soup). A good start.
The enchilada plate comes with a choice of shredded beef, shredded chicken, cheese or ground beef filling. This is the ground beef-which is really a picadillo- there is onion, bell pepper, garlic and tomato mixed with the ground beef. The from-scratch enchilada sauce and melted cheese round out the flavors of this plate. 
The Tostada Compuesta is a fried flour tortilla topped with refried beans, a choice of meats (this is shredded chicken, photographed after eating half the serving) (shredded beef, ground beef and carnitas are also meat choices) and is topped with lettuce, tomato, cheese and sliced avocado; a wonderful meal. 
The 
The City of Alhambra float was tested; the riders, Driver and Spotter all had to leave the float within 45 seconds during the Fire Drill. Following this float back to the Phoenix Decorating barn gave me an opportunity to explain things in photos which I had mentioned in (years of) prior posts. 
The doorway into the float decorating barn is the maximum height and width of some parts of the Rose Parade route. Each float must be able to fit through this doorway so that it can fit along the parade route. You can see this float needs to "collapse".
the float does indeed collapse!
