Tlaquepaque

On Sunday afternoon, we drove to the town of Tlaquepaque. Guadalajara and Tlaquepaque are separate, even if they have grown together so that it all appears to be one city. However, Tlaquepaque has more of a feel of a small town. It's dominated by a town square flanked by two Catholic churches and the Parian, claiming to be the world's largest cantina. We parked and started meandering down Juarez. A sign caught my eye for tours to Tequila. We turned off into the area of shops and discovered a shop giving free tequila tastings, Cofradia. The types of tequila included jamaica and pomegranate. However, the best was the chocolate tequila. For those interested, La Cofradia offers a night time tour of the tequila plant, leaving from downtown Guadalajara at 6 pm and returning around 12 midnight. $670-$870 pesos.

The enclave of small stores also had a tea shop with samples of chapulines (grasshoppers). They were actually pretty good -- crunchy and not too spicy. Chapulines are traditional in the state of Oaxaca. This same tea store also sells Mayordomo chocolate (like Abuelita, but better), which is a rare find in Guadalajara.

We continued down Juarez to the information kiosk next to the Parian. Tlaquepaque is very tourist friendly. Search online; and, you'll find multiple sites in English describing how to get there, where to stay and what to do. Even their bimonthly guide of activities is in both Spanish and English. Although, it seems to be the only guide issued recently, for Jan-Feb 2014. The attendants at the tourist information booth were very helpful. They had maps and activities booklets for Tlaquepaque as well as Guadalajara.

We wandered across the square to the the church Santuario de Nuestra Senora de la Soledad. Outside, youth were holding a loteria fundraiser. Loteria is like bingo except instead of letters and numbers, there are pictures and names. Same examples include la rana (toad), el borracho (drunk), le pera (pear). Instead of getting a row to win, one needed to fill the entire card to win. And, the announcer talked fast! I missed a few trying to keep up with her. But, at least we had two winners in our group. The prizes included a plastic princess jewelry set and a mini laundry basket.

My little camera phone couldn't quite capture Santuario de Nuestra Senora de la Soledad. It is a beautiful church, inside and out, with two towers and a dome.

Across the square, we stopped outside the oldest church in town, La Parroquia de San Pedro Apostol. Outside is a statue of Pope John Paul II. The church was constructed in 1700.

Is it possible that I haven't mentioned any food yet? It was time to enjoy the Parian and all the cantina food goodness that it had to offer. First, we started with cazuelas. These are eathernware bowls of fruit juice with chunks of citrus fruit floating in them. On the side is served a shot of tequila to add to the mixture. It was the perfect refreshment after walking around in the hot sun.

Next, we ordered a sampler plate that contained flautas, sopes and enchiladas. Delicious!







The rest of the evening consisted of attempting to check out the museum El Refugio, [supposedly open to 8 pm and free. However, it was closed when we stopped by at 7:48.] and shopping all the street vendors on our walk back to the car.

Tlaquepaque is truly a great day trip from Guadalajara!

Some English language Tlaquepaque websites:
http://www.tlaquepaque-centro.com/
http://vive.guadalajara.gob.mx/en/what-visit/tlaquepaque-downtown