Morelia a City with a Hidden Charm

 

When we drove into Morelia we were slightly under impressed.  The buildings were one and two story with a classic colonial style, but nothing compared to the charm of Guanajuato or Guadalajara. 

Our Hostal, the Casa Castillo (Serapio Rendón 170, Colonia Centro between Aquiles Serdán & 20 de Noviembre) was great, a cute colonial, that had a terrific roof top terrace and had been completely decorated inside with a great sense of style.

 

 

Our room even had a Juliet Balcony overlooking the street below.

 

After settling in and walking the 6 blocks to our car (secure parking that fit us) to get the items we forgot to take out when double parked, we decided to go find some grub.  Alberto a grad student we met in Guadalajara, had told us that there was a great place to eat in the Mercado so we headed off searching for the food.  Again the area was not overly impressive, though the Mercado was charming.  It was late in the day (around 4) and the vendor’s were closing up so our mission remained unaccomplished.  Instead we grabbed some delicious Cocina Economica to go and went back to the Hostel to enjoy our room and rest.

At 6 PM we were ready for sleep, but we knew that if we hit the hay that early we would be up at 3 so we decided to go for a walk, and what a good walk it was, as it completely changed our impression of the town.  The other three times we left the Hostel we had gone toward the North East, this time we headed South West, toward the Cathedral, the Government Palace and the Main town plaza.  At night spot lights from the side walk shine on all of the buildings in a way that is more than charming, it is beautiful.  The city comes to life in a way that Guanajuato and Guadalajara do not.  There are cafes and street performers and vendors selling cotton candy and balloons. 

 

 

The next morning we awoke with a plan, walk as much of the city as possible, then hit the Mercado for lunch around 1.  We retraced our path from the previous night, this time with the camera, and also went through the “Bosque” a huge park built in the mid 1800’s and then used by the rich for summer homes.  According to the signs there are still 4 homes in the park that were taken back by the people during the revolution and are now used as public buildings.

After our long walk, with the doggies appropriately tired, we headed straight to the Mercado, when we got there, there was no sign of stall 127 and even when I went up-stairs all I could find was clothing stalls, that’s when it dawned on me, we were in the wrong Mercado.  We quickly confirmed this with a local police man who took the time not only to explain where the Mercado was but to help us get on a Combi (public transportation in the form of a large VW Bus) to save us the taxi fare. The Combi ride was classic “tourist in motion”, we didn’t know how to pay, or even where to get off and we were packed in like sardines.  Seeing our confusion, the other people on the bus helped us out and showed us who to pay and where to get off (though they were about 3 blocks early).

After a fairly long walk we found the recommended stall 127 owned by Feli and Jose and were treated to one of the best meals we have had in Mexico to date.  I would recommend Morelia to foodies, every meal we had was delicious and there were numerous restaurants that we saw with different foods then we had seen before.  I wish we had had more money and time to spend eating our way through the city.

That evening we rested on the roof top terrace and visited with the Hostel owner Ari learning more about his life and life in Morelia.

Unfortunately we didn’t get to see the inside of the Cathedral (mass every time we showed up), to which Fritz responded he was fine with that as he was getting tired of Churches, I guess that is an ok thing as our next stop is Teotihuacán and even though it is surrounded by religious buildings, I don’t think any qualify as a Church!