Kevin and I took a trip to a few new places north of us in Mexico to celebrate my birthday.
Our first stop was the city of León, only an hour from Guanajuato City by bus. It is the largest city in Guanajuato state and a bus hub. We had been through on the bus several times, but never stopped to check it out.
Our first night’s dinner in León included a view of the Club León stadiumThere is a major pedestrian corridor approaching the León archLeón archChurch in LeónSculpture in LeónWe got our favorite bus seats for our travel from León to Aguascalientes
Our second stop was the city of Aguascalientes, the capitol of the state of the same name. Aguascalientes is a medium-sized city that seems to be a very popular location for weddings, or perhaps it was just busy with weddings because we were there on the weekend. We really enjoyed this city; people seemed to be enjoying life and it wasn’t overly touristy.
Church in Aguascalientes with many well dressed people, we assume for a weddingPark in AguascalientesFirst night´s dinner in AguascalientesInteresting metalwork on a bookstore, AguascalientesAnother church, another wedding ….We walked through a park with several of these sculptures, all depicting various types of people in various roles within the city in the pastFun art at Mesa Verde, our lunch spot
Our last night dinner in Aguascalientes was at Quinto Barrio, more or less a high-end food court. We have eaten at these types of places in many places in the world and the food is always good and relatively inexpensive, compared to eating in a restaurant of similar quality.
Outdoor dining area at Quinto BarrioMurals and large screen in the parking area of Quinto Barrio. I assume they might have sporting events or other things on the screen at times; it would be visible from the dining area.Aguascalientes bus station. Next stop, Zacatecas!
Our third stop, where we celebrated my birthday, was the city of Zacatecas, the capitol of the state of the same name. It is the northern-most of the colonial silver mining cities, and also had an important part during the Mexican revolution. The climate is noticeably different; high elevation (around 8000 feet) but transitioning from the “northern central highlands” where we live to the desert areas further north that are closer to the US border. Very picturesque city, compact and walkable. Part of the city is an UNESCO World Heritage Site.
Our first night’s dinner view, the Zacatecas Cathedral, from the Acroplolis restaurantOne section of a mural in the Palacio de Gobierno, depicting the history of ZacatecasMany buildings made of pink marble in ZacatecasOne of many churches seen on our stroll around centro ZacatecasJardín Juárez, ZacatecasOne section of the old city aqueduct, ZacatecasParque Enrique Estrada, ZacatecasMonument to Benito Juarez, ZacatecasMy birthday lunch spot, The Milk Brewpub on Plazuela Migues AuzaMural depicting various Revolutionary heroes at the Cantina Las 15 Letras (cantina of 15 letters)Kevin enjoying Cantina Las 15 Letras. There was a lot of interesting art here, a small portion of which can be seen in this photo.Church, ZacatecasZacatecas Cathedral on a rainy night, heading back from my birthday dinnerA small portion of the Zacatecas Cathedral
We returned to León for one night before making our way back home to Guanajuato, a self-scheduled layover. This is our preferred way of travelling, avoiding an overly long travel day and spending a night having a relaxing meal and a rest before moving on.
Great photos, Cathy! Thank you for sharing your birthday trip with us. I miss Mexico, despite how beautiful Colorado is in the summer. Once you connect with that country it’s hard to say goodbye. I hope you had a wonderful birthday!
Fascinating! Interesting! Beautiful! Happy for you that you have so many adventures. There seems to be so much interesting and beautiful places and architecture to explore. Looks like a great birthday celebration.
Great photos, Cathy! Thank you for sharing your birthday trip with us. I miss Mexico, despite how beautiful Colorado is in the summer. Once you connect with that country it’s hard to say goodbye. I hope you had a wonderful birthday!
Thank you, and I did! Yes, Mexico is a very special place. I have felt that way since our first trip in 1999; I never tire of being here.
What an amazing birthday trip! Your photos are beautiful!
Thank you! I love traveling so it was the perfect thing to do for my birthday
Fascinating! Interesting! Beautiful! Happy for you that you have so many adventures. There seems to be so much interesting and beautiful places and architecture to explore. Looks like a great birthday celebration.
Thank you and yes it was a great trip
Thanks for sharing, looks like a very nice trip!
You are welcome! It was