Vacation, part 1 - days 0 to 3

The Mexico trip, in outline form. Some lines have better back stories than others - feel free to ask.

Day 0 - travel day
woke at 6: 30, out door at 7ish
breakfast at DD, missed bus
walked to Montrose, missed train
train stopped due to track maintainance at Jefferson Park, shuttle to Harlem
Harlem to airport, security surly
arrived at gate at 9ish - Pam reminded me of Rent check - went back to security to drop off
apparently, The Cure is playing 3 nights in Mexico City, and we look like we're going
flight from 10 to 2, bad movies, many form errors
¡Bienvenidos a Mexico!
immigration easy, green at customs
D & E just outside, taxi easy, but got gringo price for taxi back to bus stop
Pam has headache from flight, some caffeine to ease
5-6 hours on bus - pretty, but tiring - bad traffic, bad movies, headache got worse, driver on first trip to Xalapa
¿pay toilets in Xalapa bus stop?
Ibuprofen is hard to find in Mexico
D & E have a pretty apartment, very nice roof garden, neighbor's roof dog
Four Cheese Pizza, Modelo Negro, Pam's headache a bit better
fog rolls in, ready for bed

Day 1 - travel hangover
Woke to roosters - will have to get used to that
headache all gone after sleep
cleaned up, had eggs, bacon & toast
looked at local flora, fauna & mountains from rooftop
walked around Xalapa, saw flower faire by Governor's office (sauces bought), artisan alley, kids {tradicional} dancing at local park
rotisserie chicken for lunch
¡siesta!
steamed tamales for light dinner
met Esperanza y Ruben & Petricio (cute dog)
agonized over Indians loss, watched PoA en Español
Ready for bed
tossey turney

Day 2 - the adventures begin
woke to birds & roosters, slow start
oatmeal w/ platinos & cinnamon
going to Xico w/ Roy - picked up a few supplies on way
waited outside for a bit, took pics
met Elvia, Roy shortly thereafter, Lourdes & Fiona (dog) shortly after that
on way to Xico, stopped at café on fruit/coffee farm
tour of farm - everything is edible, Fiona is thirsty
best. coffee. ever.
to falls at Xico - many pics, nervous peeps on bridges, two baptisms at falls, killed camera batteries
¿where does that road go?
stumble upon local carnival in Xico - unbelievable hospitality, best. molé. ever., parade, ¡Fiona pulls!, local town plaza.
restaurant by river - dog is thirsty again, Roy tells jokes, much trout, fog, fried bananas/plantains.
humid drive back - Fiona is restless, parking is silly
silly ponchos
¿time to blog?
picture review in 3 4 7 too many acts
¿sleepeez? too mas wind

Day 3 - the best laid plans
wind made for crap sleep, up to wind + D & E talking (way too early - 7:30ish) about the lack of water
no water pressure - some vertical pipes broken on roof, only a trickle of water
the oddly swollen hand
no shower, french toast & eggs for breakfast
changed money, went to Museo Artropologico - ¡No luz!
went through anyway, good natural light for most exhibits, fun gift shop - replica stamp & día de los muertos lotería cards
came back to apartment for lunch, water comes back on shortly thereafter
chilés rellenos for lunch - this is a pain that is going to linger
looking for día de los muertos t-shirts, other clothes
wind stops & sun comes out all at once
"You break it, you bought it"
stripes & burned discs
Vampire Hunter D & muchos zapatos
the parade that wasn't
ballet rest at last
dead bread
¿novelas with luchadors?
the empanadas that weren't
leftover chicken w/ day 1 sauces FTW
plumbers be bangin'
time for clean
Petricio interlude
time to blog