Paris in Vallarta.

No, I'm not talking about a new French restaurant, I'm talking about that socialite who is famous for being famous, non other than Paris Hilton and entourage. According to one of my students, Paris blew into town with her new Greek squeeze of the billionaire shipping family fame, and assorted hangers on and "rocked" the town or tripped the light fantastic or just tripped.
This is what I heard: She flew in on a private jet, ensconced herself in luxury at a private home out in Punta de Mita, took over "Nicky Beach" at the Westin, traveled to "The Zoo" in a Mercedes, was partying like it was 1999, drank straight out of a bottle of Don Julio and generally caused a commotion at the appropriately named "Zoo" even dancing in a cage in a state of epic inebriation for an admiring or at least curious crowd of onlookers before departing at around 4:00 am in the Mercedes. Fun? Wow!

Another Tasty Option.

You know me and food, so it will come as no surprise that I'm writing about another tasty option that has the added bonus of air-conditioning and good service! I'm talking about "La Terazza" in the Marina. We ended up there for lunch yesterday and I have to say, it was comfortable, inexpensive and delicious. I'd give it two thumbs up in a genuine food review but since this is just Ruesga's blog, it's gets the panza llena, corazon contento award.
We had originally been heading to "Cafe Tacuba" also known as "Tony's Please" which is supposed to be "Tony's Place" but discovered it won't be open until Monday so someone suggested "La Terazza." Everyone ordered something different which is always a good test of a menu, and the seven of us were all very satisfied with our choices. They even served a fresh "pizza bread" to start with olive oil, balsamic vinegar and freshly grated parmesan cheese. Main courses included pizza, (thin crust) pasta in pesto (is your pesto besto?) linguini with seafood (get rid of the peas) ravioli in a fresh tomato sauce and fettucine among others. It was all good, we weren't suffering from the heat, the service was attentive and capable and the bill didn't gouge our wallets. So, what's not to like?

Plaza Santa Fe Shopping Excursion.

What happens when you turn thirty-seven adolescents loose with pockets full of cash and credit cards in a huge shopping mall? A spending spree of Herculean proportions! That was the case at Plaza Santa Fe which was our last stop before heading back to Puerto Vallarta from the College Fair. The Plaza Santa Fe is an upscale complex with every product imaginable and beautifully displayed. We visited Sears, Zara, Levi's, Radio Shack, Sony, Bershka, Hello Kitty, Adidas, Foot Locker, art and design stores, tons of shoe stores and the list goes on. There was even a high tec car on display for touring with the family complete with bullet proof windows and reinforced armor exterior! A must have for the upwardly mobile. After several hours, the girls came back with more bags than the boys but everyone seemed to find something to take home from the trip. I was happy to finally find the pedometer I'd been looking for, a classic martini shaker, some Indonesian napkin holders and a few treats for the kids. I could have shopped longer but my weary "dogs" refused another step. I plunked myself down and surrendered to half an Italian sub from Subway. Ahhhhhh. Trying to collect up the troops was a challenge since it seemed there were always a few kids in the bathroom, so we must have counted heads a dozen times before we could head out like a conquering army through the corridors, down the stairs, out through the Liverpool store (amid stares from the security people) out onto the sidewalk, through the parking lot, past the driving range and onto the bus. Victorious! Now we just had a thirteen hour trip home left to deal with and for the most part it was uneventful. The bus did take a wrong turn down a one way street that happened to lead us to the front doorway of a cop station and we were pulled over temporarily, but the driver got it all worked out pretty quickly and we were back on the highway. I'm happy to say we all made it back without injury or drama and the worst affliction was sleep deprivation in conjunction with sore muscles from "sleeping" in cramped positions. Hey, it was a small price to pay for such a great trip and I hope I'm asked to go again next year.

The College Fair in Mexico City. 2005

Our school has been attending the college fair in Mexico City for a number of years and anyone interested in their child's future should do the same. Here's why: The college fair is held every year near the end of September or early October at The American School of Mexico City. There are representatives from colleges and universities from as far away as Australia and Scotland to reps. from school right here in Mexico. I saw several top Canadian universities, many American colleges including a couple at the Ivy League level and a scattering of schools from Europe. Everything is clearly laid out in one of the large gymnasiums at the school and the kids are free to speak with any or all of the reps., collect brochures, and generally accumulate information concerning their future. Our students went in with some preparation concerning what questions to ask and of course one of the most important is which schools offer scholarships and what's the elegibility factor. We were pleased to learn many schools do offer financial assistance and some kids came away with higher hopes and new ambitions. There is also a large food court with a variety of international offerings including everything from sushi to Crispy Cream donuts. ( I actually had my first bite of a Crispy Cream donut ever out in the food court. Yummy! ) Anyway, there is no way to underestimate the importance of this fair for our students since there is nothing as convincing as first-hand information. All of our students benefitted from this visit in one way or another and almost all of them got on the bus with large bags loaded with information to take back to their families.

Nest stop: Plaza Santa Fe and Shpping 'til ye be dropping!

Mexico City Part 3

The approach to the pyramids is incredibly beautiful because they are surrounded by hectares of sunflowers and cacti. One begins to sense the power of the past as glimpses of imposing structures appear on the horizon. I'm not going to offer up a history of the pryamids in this blog since it's easy enough to encounter a much more professional background at the click of the mouse, but I will say that a visit to these temples is a must see if you are planning a trip to Mexico City.
We entered at gate #1 where the pyramid of the Serpents is situated with the intension of walking the main avenue towards the pyramid of the Sun and the museum containing a model of the entire City of Teotihuacan. There is also a very nice gift shop containing quality souvenirs and then there's also a number of vendors along the way if you are searching for that perfect fake artifact.
I'd been at the pyramids many years ago and had already climbed the Sun and the Moon with the energy and enthusiasm of my youth, but this time it was just the pryamid of the Serpents I attempted. This is because the steps up all the pryamids are very steep and it's actually coming down that becomes a challenge as the sense of vertigo can be dibilitating. I've seen weeping tourists on their hands and knees shaking as they descend, so it's really no joke. Of course our students were like little mechanical climbing machines zipping up to the top without so much as a pause! That's the seventeen-year-old "no fear, I'm immortal" mentality at work not to mention the physical condition of athletes. Anyway, the view from the top of any of the pyramids is spectacular and worth the effort plus there's the added bonus of getting some great pictures from a birds' eye perspective.
We strolled the main avenue at a leisurely pace admiring the china blue sky, the deep sense of the past, and marvelled at man's ingenuity. This is a place of wonderment and it's difficult to describe the overall experience except to say it's a rush.

Following our visit to the pyramids, we visited the restaurant "Mirador Piramides" which is a short drive away. The food is cheap but the view is worth a million! We sat by an open window overlooking a huge field of corn with the pyramids in the distance and relished our meal of hearty chicken soup and queso fundido which tasted really good after a full morning of exercise. It's a day I won't soon forget.

Mexico City College trip continued.

Day 2 began after a NOISY night at the "Posada Sol y Luna" in the one donkey town of "Teotihuacan" near the pyramids. We had the whole hotel for our group and the kids were clearly full of energy even though it was almost 11:00 pm when we got to our rooms. We managed to get the front desk to order in some pizza and soft drinks for the "starving" masses and it was amusing to see four motos from "Benedetti's" pull up to the front door and off-load stacks of pepperoni pizzas and gallons of sugary pop. (Not the best thing for inducing sleep!) Small towns mean limited selection and there really was no other option. It was past 3 am before the noise started to die down and probably closer to 4, but amazingly enough, everyone was up, dressed and ready to go by 8:30 when we loaded up bound for the Mercado and some locally prepared delacasies.
I have to say the breakfast at the Teotihuacan market was the best meal of the trip! A kindly Señora and her husband tended to about half our group at their puesto and although the service was slow, the food made our taste buds sing! They started by blending up a fresh salsa verde which was served in a plastic tub labelled "Pig's Brains" and then they plunked a piece of paper down in front of me in order to write our choices. I struggled to keep up with the demands: Quesadillas with tinga, champiñones or savory chicharrone. The tortillas were being hand patted behind us as the food started to arrive and each taco seemed better than the last. In front of us at a neighboring puesto, another Señora was busy blending up delicious licuados and jugos for a few pesos. We order the popular Carrot/orange juice mix and weren't disappointed by the freshness of the flavors. We were so "into" our food there was only "oohs" and "ahhhs" and "una mas" to be heard over the table and maybe "pass the salsa." When it was all done, we tallied and left the money behind knowing we had savored both good food and good value which is always a good way to start the day!
Next: The Pyramids in all their glory and some serious exercise!

Mexico City College Trip 2005 Day 1

This is later than I had planned, but due to a number of unforseeable factors, I was unable to file earlier.
The trip was a huge success. We travelled all night and rolled into Vallarta at about 8:30 this morning a little bleary eyed, and the worse for wear and tear but VERY happy to be back and certainly better for the experience.
There were 37 grade 11 and 12 students, 3 teachers and two bus drivers in tow when we hauled out of Vallarta last Thursday at dawn. We stopped at about 9:00 in Compostella for the first of many bathroom/snack stops and all the kids loaded up on more sugar and starch. I was happy to discover one of the snack options was a display of hardboiled eggs for $2 pesos a pop. Quite an economical little treat. We settled in for the stretch with Tom Hanks in "The Terminal." By 9:40 we encountered our first gruesome wrack and stared out the bus windows at a tractor-trailor lying like a wounded animal on its side surrounded by a billion cans of Coke. The driver was being tended to by a crowd and it was fairly apparent the accident had just happened. Judging by the ruined guard rail, the truck had attempted to make a turn, was going too fast and flipped over probably more than once proving things don't always go better with Coke.
Somewhere in Gunajuato we came upon a huge eatery called "Buffet Manolete" which is a comida corrida style place catering to large crowds. We certainly qualified and the kids were told to pile in, load up and chow down which were simple enough instructions to a group of hungry adolescents. They made short work of the offerings and I witnessed great plates of steaming rice, carne in salsa verde, chicken in mole and beans disappear in record time. There was even a man dispensing strawberry ice-cream for dessert. Imagine feeding forty-two people for the price of $190 U.S. Such a deal! We made a mental note to remeber the location of our new friend "Manolete" although I'm sure the other fifty or so clients would like to forget us!

More to come...