Long weekend with Julika!

We arrived to Guadalajara late at night, and took a cab from the bus station to Julika’s apartment, since we were warned about increasing crimes in the area. The last time I saw Julika was a year ago, but just for one day, and before that it was 6,5 years ago, so I was so excited to see her and spend some quality time together.
On Friday we did a quick tour around downtown Guadalajara, showing Asia all the important churches, cathedral, main theater, government buildings and the University.

Afterwards we joined Julika’s friends – Carmen and two Ales – for lunch at the Country Club, where we had lunch finished with Liquor Cuarenta y Tres on ice with a shot of espresso (delicious!!!). In the evening we did some shopping at the new mall of Guadalajara, and then met with 3 couples (Carmen & Carlos, Juan Pablo & Pava, Natalia & Rodrigo) for dinner at Moresca. We had amazing tamarind martinis with tajin sprinkled at the top of the glass.

Unfortunately our food never made it to the table, but the drinks were so filling it didn’t matter that much… We got home around midnight and continued updating our blog while watching August Rush.

Tequila was another place on our list to visit, so we booked our trip to José Cuervo factory and on Saturday morning we were off to learn everything about tequila.

We started by visiting an agave plantation, where a man, who worked there for the past 30 years, showed us how to plant an agave plant and to cut its blue leaves until you reach its heart (piña). We had a chance to try the raw piña, which tastes quite tart, and an amazing hand cream made out of agave juice, vaseline and animal fat.

At Fabrica La Rojeña (José Cuervo) we learned a little bit about the history of the brand established in 1795 by señor Cuervo.

Afterwards we went through the process of making tequila and had samples of different types of tequila. The first tequila we tried was just after first distillation and had 55% of alcohol. Considering the fact that we had nothing to eat that morning, even agua dulce as a chaser didn't help and we were not sure if we were ever going to drink tequila again... However, we never quit and we tried the next two - reposado and añejo- which were much better!

An interesting fact we learned during the tour was that the tequila sold in Mexico is made with 100% Agave, the one exported to other countries only uses 49% of the blue plant. At the end of the tour we were served a frozen margarita which tasted fantastic in the heat of that day. Before going back to Guadalajara we walked around Tequila's colorful downtown and had a snack at the food market.

Back in the capital of Jalisco we joined Julika and her little niece for the best tacos in the city.

The trip was quite exhausting so we decided to spend the evening at Julika's relaxing and watching Seven Pounds.

On Sunday we went to Julika's house in Chapala, where we had lunch with her family.

We chilled the whole afternoon admiring Juli's birds and chinchillas, enjoying sunset at the biggest lake in Mexico and watching Sex and City while eating elote - corn with mayonaise, shredded cheese and chili.

On Monday it was time to say goodbye to my lovely friend and jump on the bus again; Guanajuato was our destination this time.