“What better way to get in touch with your culture and hispanic roots than a weekend getaway with your closest friends to the motherland, Guadalajara, MX.”
As a flight attendant, I get to travel at an almost-to-nothing cost, but since I was traveling with a group of friends, I decided to play it safe (and avoid getting left behind on standby) so I purchased a flight. Below I’ll attempt to recap an itinerary of where we stayed and what we did, in case anyone wants to visit the land of tequila for themselves.
Day 1:
After purchasing an extremely affordable flight out of Tijuana on Volaris, we decided to stay on the more modest side, as far as Airbnb’s go. We stayed in a community near the Plaza del Sol and had a 3 bedroom/1 bathroom for around $40 a night. (Warning: 5 girls eating REAL mexican cheese, sharing 1 bathroom.. just be sure to bring poo-pourri along). After we settled in, we went out for some Sinaloa style mariscos at this restaurant called La Palapa del Tigre. I would highly recommend you try the tostada de camaron con chipotle. It was absolutely delicious, just be prepared to sweat because it is on the spicier side. Be sure to order a michelada on the side to cool you down. 
After dinner, we ended the night at the festival of lights in the plaza. It just so happened to be Guadalajara’s 467th birthday that night so we got to experience some live music (almost thought I was at a rave at times) and some dangerously close fireworks. It was a beautiful first night. Hope your eyesight still works okay Ashley! (Firework probz)
Day 2:
Tequila lovers. Brace yourselves because this day is dedicated to you. We did the Jose Cuervo Tequila tour and lets just say we started drinking around 9am and didn’t stop until.. well I can’t remember. Just kidding, but really, I think we drank until 6pm or so. It was a very well organized tour that took us everywhere from the agave plants, to the city of Tequila and even got to tour the refinery.
After the tequila tour, I don’t know where we got the energy, (or sobriety) but we ended our night by going to a Chivas game at the Omni stadium. They played Pachuca that night. Even if you aren’t familiar with or know about soccer, I definitely recommend you come watch a game at this beautiful stadium. You’ve never met a crowd or fans quite like this before. *reminisces the crowds shouting in unison, “PUTOOO”* (Sidenote: they sell sopa maruchan like popcorn at these games! You already know I had to have one. Only in Mexico though..)
Day 3:
In case you were wondering, yes, we did wake up with a slight headache.. so the girls and I decided to take it easy and explore el centro de Tlaquepaque. If you haven’t been here, I highly recommend it. Tla-que-pa-que offers beauty in boutique-like streets, arts and crafts, friendly people AND most importantly snacks galore! After walking around and exploring we had an early dinner at a vegan restaurant. I won’t even go into detail because if you’re in Mexico, the land of the meat and dairy, you’re better off just eating quesadillas con frijoles. We continued our night with some street shopping in Chapultepec and ended up at the Cerveceria Chapultepec. What’s so special about this Cerveceria, you might be wondering? Well, for starters everything on the menu is 19 pesos, including alcoholic beverages! That’s equivalent to $1USD! Enough said. Go there now! After we got a nice cheap buzz going, we ended our night at another bar called Rock It, that played 80’s and 90’s rock music.
Day 4:
If there’s one thing us girls love to do is shop. Not just any shopping though, bargain shopping. We decided to check out a little town called Tonala to do just that. We stumbled upon this amazing restaurant there called El Rincon del Sol, where we were greeted and welcomed by Poncho, the manager of the restaurant. The service here was impeccable and the molcajete de pollo was to die for. For those of you who don’t know, a molcajete is a stone like bowl where typical mexican foods are cooked in. In this case, mine had chicken, grilled onions, bell peppers and a huge nopal (cactus) all simmering in a tasty tomato salsa (not spicy at all), topped with cilantro and queso fresco.. OKAY, I need to stop now because I’m drooling a bit on my laptop. Oh! I almost forgot to mention, you eat the molcajete dish with homemade tortillas! If anyone wants to try this place for themselves, I’ll list the info below. Just be sure to let Poncho know that I sent you 😉
Following this hearty meal, we shopped around for some artisan crafts. After a long day of sight seeing, we decided to pamper ourselves that evening by getting a facial. We visited a clinic that was highly recommended to us called Clinica de Acne y Faciales Naciones Unidas (could the name be any longer? Probably). I won’t go into too much detail here, but let’s just say that we only paid $25 for what would’ve cost us $80+ back home in the states.
Day 5:
The final day of this #Girlcation. First, we had a delicious breakfast buffet in Chapalita at this restaurant called El Tango. I highly recommend you try the crepas de elote here. Everything else was very tasty as well! Afterwards, we went to El Mercado de San Juan de Dios for some more shopping and checked out the jewelry district next door. I know what you must be thinking, and yes, we do shop a lot! Before heading out to the airport, we had amazing sushi at The Sushi Factory. This place was located in a mall called Andares, which resembled Rodeo Drive in Beverly Hills. The sushi was a combination of Japanese fusion and Mexican cuisine, done right. I had the Salmoncito Hot roll, which had oven baked salmon on top. I also had a Guayaba Mezcal drink that was just the right amount of Mezcal, not too smoky, not too sweet. Side note: If you are vegetarian or vegan, this place offered a bunch of delicious veg-friendly options. My dear friend, Natalie, would agree to this.
After a long 5 days in the motherland, I learned that people here know how to value their time. They may not have much money, but they sure do know how to spend time with their loved ones. Families go out to the plazas and enjoy a raspado, or close their shops down because they’d rather enjoy the local festivities. Now, don’t get the wrong idea, these are some of the hardest working people I’ve ever came across, but if there’s one thing they’ve taught me is to appreciate what you have NOW and enjoy the little things. There’s much more happiness and richness out there than money. Thank you Guadalajara for reminding us to stay grounded.
Stew Travels 