When Manny – one of our friends who works in the cellar at Stonestreet – invited us to his wedding in Mexico both Lisa and I knew it would be one of those experiences that we just couldn’t pass up. Manny’s parents are from a tiny town called La Mesa in the highlands of central Mexico, almost 7000 feet above sea level. The closest large city is Morelia, which itself is about three hours drive from Mexico City. We all flew into Morelia direct from Oakland, it was a bit of a rough flight as it left at 12:10AM and was only three-and-a-half hours long = grumpy kids and tired parents. Lisa had the foresight to have me book our house in Morelia for the night before so we could head straight for our little casa in central Morelia from the airport to catch up on some sleep before exploring the city.
Morelia is the capital of Michoacán and largest city of the state, I felt like we were back in Spain with all the colonial architecture and cathedrals dotting the city. The churches and plazas were really quite spectacular, especially lit up at night, many of them dated back to the 17th century. In 1991 the city was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site for its colonial buildings and layout of the historic center. The Morelians obviously take a lot of pride in their city, with clean streets and picturesque gardens dotting the city center, as well as immaculately preserved cathedrals and churches lining the skyline. After catching up on some sleep we strolled the few blocks to Mercado San Juan, a collection of independent vendors selling everything from fruit to flowers and meats. So many amazing sights to absorb and such good tropical fruit on offer! We stopped off at one of the many streetside eateries on the way, sampling a Michoacán-style huarache (a two foot long quesadilla!) and some of their delectable pickled vegetables.
Armed with American dollars in Morelia was pretty eye-opening: street vendors would sell tacos for the equivalent of 10 for $1, cocktails at nice restaurants would run $3-5 and an 18 pack of local beer was around $7. On our first night in town we dined at Lu Cocina Michoacána, a much-lauded restaurant in the city center recognized for serving modern yet traditional local fare. Cocktails were very solid, too! The plate of pork shank tacos we had as one of the appetizers was one of the best things we ate all trip. The view of Catedral de Morelia from our streetside table was also a pretty awesome sight.
My circadian rhythm had me up at least a couple of hours before the rest of the household each morning, which was actually great because I would grab my backpack to explore the city on foot, often finding new adventures for the rest of the team. The Morelians operate on a late schedule: dinner usually gets going around 9:00PM, it’s even rare to see cafes open before 8:00AM each morning. I’d read that Morelia is recognized as a center for Michoacán artisans and that a number of art museums around the city sell an array of local crafts. We found one in the base of Templo de San Francisco off Plaza Valladolid, a few blocks from where we were staying. Some beautiful examples of Mexican art, it’d be a great place to outfit a kitchen with all the local pottery and woodwork.
There are a number of large lakes and collections of thermal springs in the countryside surrounding Morelia, a few of them have large waterparks. On our second day in Mexico we headed out to Reino de Atzimba in the small town of Zinapecuaro de Figueroa, roughly 45 minutes outside of Morelia. Yes, it was the middle of winter when we were there, but afternoons in the sun were reasonably warm and my kids would jump off an iceberg if it meant being able to swim. Atzimba was open for business when we arrived, but what we didn’t realize until entering was that the waterslides and wave pool close down for winter. Better left for a summer visit… Stacy – our fifth family member for the trip – and Lisa watched the kids swim while I ventured out into the town to locate a few beers and some food. Atzimba is in need of some TLC (maybe they do it before the summer season…), with a solid layer of algae on the sides of the pools and rusty, exposed metal all over the place. But that didn’t stop the kids having a blast for an hour or two in the pools. We made the most of it with a few Coronas.
On one of my morning strolls I stumbled on El Callejon Del Romance (Romance Alley) on the western side of the city center, a tight pedestrian walkway between two neighborhoods flanked by a collection of bars and restaurants. We returned after Atzimba to dine at La Fontana, a piano bar and mezcaleria with an Italian touch at the north end of the alley. The alley’s name was well-earned: a handful of young couples in pretty solid embrace dotted the walkway for our stroll to the restaurant, I think Lilia’s eyes almost popped out of her head (teenage years are going to be fun with her…). The restaurant was really fun, our waiter was fantastic and our table right next to the baby grand piano was a great experience for the kiddos. With five miles (eight kilometers) of walking around Morelia that morning coupled with an afternoon at the pool both little Valtenbergs were famished: Lilia ate a plate of lasagna and then asked for more, so ordered a full serve of ravioli and put that down as well! On our way home we stumbled across yet another streetside al pastor vendor, where we ordered four tacos and a few beers as we sat on the plaza watching the soccer game on TV. Our order got lost in translation and 12 tacos ended up on our table, but even after a solid dinner at La Fontana they were too good to waste, plates were clean by the time we walked home. Great day!
On our last day in town we breakfasted at Jardín de Las Rosas, strolled through the historic and very picturesque music conservatory and then spent an hour or so exploring Mercado de Dulces y Artesanías. The local sweets lining the aisles of Mercado de Dulces y Artesanías were so varied, it was fun trying to figure out the ingredients of all the fruit pastes and caramel candies. Max and I sampled some of the local caramels, the girls weren’t game, we also bought a pottery skull as a souvenir from the trip. Next is was across to the other side of the city center for a stroll down Calzada De Fray Antonio De San Miguel – a cobblestoned pedestrian walkway lined with university students and schoolchildren – after which I dropped off the girls at Taproom Nacional Morelos and took the kids to the playground for a bit of a run. We joined them back at the taproom later in the afternoon, the happy hour deal of 12 beers for $12 was enticing but we’re pretty spoiled with craft beers in Northern California and some of the brews on offer weren’t entirely appetizing (particularly the lager…).
The kids were pretty shot after so much walking and an hour or two at the park, so they took a rest with Mum back at Bartolomé de Las Casas while Stacy and I ventured to yet another market. Mercado Independencia was the largest of Morelia’s markets we visited, located on the south side of the city it had a dizzying array of vendors selling pretty much everything you can imagine: meats, spices, fruits, vegetables, shoes, clothing, electornics, more shoes, cooked food, more shoes and shoes. The sights and smells were amazing, if we hadn’t eaten lunch already I could have taken down a torta at one of the carnitas vendors, damn it looked good! I was there looking for a Morelia Monarcas soccer outfit for Max, on which front I was successful: shirt and shorts for $4.50, can’t go wrong with that. He wore it to school on our first day we arrived home, stoked.
Dinner on our last night in Morelia was a highlight for all of us. Tata was located directly across the street from where we were staying, a very swanky, modern eatery and mezcaleria. I’d researched Tata a little before we embarked on our trip, interested in their unique take on Mexican fare – the menu included everything from shredded duck in mole sauce to confit rabbit enchiladas – as well as the fact they serve chargrilled crickets as one of the local delicacies. We didn’t order the plain crickets with dipping sauce, but Stacy was game enough to request some prawn and cricket tacos which were really quite tasty. Super rich, but I’m glad she peer pressured me into trying one! The cocktails and mezcal list were also very impressive, the mezcal book was 5-10 pages long and was broken out by agave species and then region of Mexico. We didn’t know where to start! An extra bonus was the fact that happy hour goes until 8:00PM in a lot of Morelian restaurants, so dining with the kids was great. And happy hour isn’t your American-style “dollar off a drink…” I’m talking two for one cocktails. Boom! Tata was an awesome experience, a must do if you ever find yourself in Morelia.
On one of my early morning walks I discovered that the annual Morelian Christmas carols were being held on Plaza Valladolid on our last night in town, so after we were done at Tata we hoofed it across town to catch the singing. What a show! All the local schoolchildren performed with the backing of a full band coupled with a dazzling light show and fireworks. It felt like half of the city was there singing along with, such a fun way to finish our stay! I don’t think any of us will ever forget walking along the sidewalk toward the plaza and having the cannon-sized fireworks explode from their canisters within 20 feet of where we were walking. I almost needed new underwear. Only in Mexico.
To be honest, I don’t think any of us new what to expect from Morelia. I knew about the Spanish colonial architecture and the markets all over town, but the dining and bar scene blew us all away, as did the friendliness of the people. The fact that we didn’t see another caucasian person the whole time we were there and the only time we spoke English to someone else was to a Frenchman who was also there visiting just added to the experience. A really memorable time for us and the kiddos, definitely has me wanting to explore more of off-the-beaten-path-Mexico.
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