PRESENTS
Guadalajara, New Year’s Eve 2007, & Interior Mexico Tour
Join us for our favorite New Year’s Eve experience, three nights of spectacular, free entertainment in the central historic district of beautiful Guadalajara with two and a half days of browsing museums, historic buildings/plazas, regional markets, art galleries, and craft shops. This is the centerpiece of our 8 day/7 night tour which also includes the historic districts of Chihuahua City, Zacatecas, Tonala, Tlaquepaque, and Aguascalientes. Our tour schedule is as follows:
Tour Schedule:
Dec. 27th – Wed. - 12 noon leave El Paso, enter into Mexico at Santa Teresa (by-pass Juarez)
6 pm arrive Chihuahua City, dinner and walk in historic dist.
Hotel - Sicomoro
Dec. 28th – Thurs. - 8 am leave Chihuahua City
6 pm arrive in Zacatecas, dinner and walk in historic dist.
Hotel – La Casona De Los Vitrales
Dec. 29th – Fri. - 9 am tour historic district of Zacatecas
12 noon leave Zacatecas
5 pm arrive in Guadalajara, walk, dinner, and entertainment
Entertainment at Plaza - bands
Hotel - France’s
Dec. 30th – Sat. - 9 am shopping tour of Tonala “Capital of Artesania Mexicana”
12 noon shopping tour of Tlaquepaque, “Mexico’s Santa Fe”
Entertainment at the Plaza – symphony and opera
Hotel – France’s
Dec. 31st – Sun. - 8 am – breakfast to select your day’s intenary in downtown Guad.
Entertainment at the Plaza – Mariachi & dance Fest., fireworks
Hotel – France’s
Jan. 1st – Mon. - 11 am – leave Guadalajara
2 pm – lunch and stop in Aguas Calientes historic district
5 pm – arrive in Zacatecas, walk and dinner in historic district
Hotel – La Casona De Los Vitrales
Jan. 2nd – Tues. - 8 am leave Zacatecas
6 pm arrive Chihuahua City, dinner and walk in historic dist.
Hotel – Sicamore
Jan. 3rd – Wed. - 9 am – leave Chihuahua City
2 pm – arrive in El Paso
Guadalajara – dates back to 1561 when the construction of the Cathedral Guadalajara started. With four adjoining plazas, the Cathedral gives the heart of the city the shape of a Latin cross. Many historic buildings and attractions are near the Cathedral including the Regional Museum of Guadalajara, the Palacio del Govierno, the Degollado Theatre, the Institute of Cultural Cabanas, the Jewelry Market, the Mercado Libertad (largest market in Latin America). Our hotel for 3 nights, the Hotel France’s, is across a narrow street facing the Governors Palace and ½ block from the Plaza Liberation and Plaza Fundadores, where entertainment is staged the three nights including New Year’s Eve. The hotel was founded in 1610 and has been designated a national monument. It was restored in the 80’s updating modern conveniences while having the good taste and care to preserve its historic details. On the first floor there is a restaurant (good breakfast) and lobby bar with traditional style entertainment in the evenings. It is a perfect location to be able to walk to shops along the Plaza Tapatia, restaurants, and the Mercado Libertad. Treat your self to a guided horse buggy tour of downtown at night and enjoy the colorful holiday lighting on the streets and squares. The University of Guadalajara has an active school of music, and this is a city with many talented people. Walk to one of the plazas, walk by a restaurant, there is always music in the air.
Walkable
Communities
– modern urban planning principles look back to traditional village designs that encourage walkability as a key element to designing healthy communities and neighborhoods. Our tour emphasizes destinations and hotel locations that allow you to safely walk and explore some of our favorite traditional and historic communities in central Mexico. As well as Guadalajara, we have scheduled this tour to pivot around Zacatecas, a very successful model of a beautifully restored downtown historic district. Bring good walking shoes or runners. Join us for a closer look at the culture of Mexico.
Your
hosts – look forward to giving you a personalized tour in Mexico. Patricia “Sabina” Munoz is a native of Chihuahua City and was formerly the art and art history teacher at Father Yermo High School in El Paso TX. As a citizen of both Mexico and the US, she is fluent in both Spanish and English. Her work as a painter and mosaic artist gives her a greater understanding of the contemporary, colonial, and pre-columbian cultures of Mexico. Your driver and tour coordinator Jack W. Anderson has traveled and driven extensively throughout Mexico, including driving for the three of the following cultural exchange programs. While the Division Manager of Cultural Affairs, Austin Parks Dept., Jack coordinated a sister-city, cultural exchange program with Saltillo, Coahuila, leading tours of up to 70 artists and guests into Mexico. Jack has 30 years experience working with cultural programs and coordinating conferences and events. In Canada Jack worked for the British Columbia government as coordinator of community arts programs and as the producer of events and performances, BC Pavilion, at the ’86 world’s fair in Vancouver. Sabina and Jack currently reside in Casas Grandes, Chihuahua MX where they have designed and built a pueblo style adobe home and will be building a small hotel overlooking Paquime and the Museum of Northern Cultures. Watch for our tours in the spring ‘07 to Casas Grandes nearby Mata Ortiz, Paquime and the Museum of Northern Cultures, Cuarenta Casas, and the Copper Canyon.
Transportation
– will be a 2007 Chevrolet Express 15-passenger van. For your added comfort, we will limit the number of guests to 10. Standard Mexican auto insurance coverage (the same as used for both private vehicles and bus tours in Mexico) is provided. If you require health or additional travel insurance, it can be provided through AAA or your insurance/travel agency.
Changing
Landscapes
–
another interesting part of the journey is getting there. The network of
Mexican toll roads to Guadalajara makes the drive safe and easy so you can
enjoy the wide open and changing landscapes. We pass through the white
sands and yellow grass lands of the Chihuahua desert, to the green dotted
clusters of nopal cactus and the red soils around Zacatecas, to the blue
agave covered hills near Guadalajara.
Photos and Video – The sound of the videos is poor, as it was taken with the limited microphone of my digital camera. Please excuse the inclusion of the videos and a fuzzy shot or two, but the documentation of our trip two years ago should give you a better feeling of this tour.
Fees – this tour requires a minimum of 6 guests. The fee of $875 covers transportation and accommodation (based on double occupancy). Bring friends! Bookings are confirmed with a 50% deposit. The balance of fees are due by Dec. 22nd.
Contact – for additional information, please feel free to contact Jack:
1-915-996-9898 (El Paso internet telephone number) or
01152-636-692-4601 (Casas Grandes MX)