Following the Virgin

Started out as an ordinary day with a filling breakfast at our apartment followed by a walk around the center of town. Visited my favorie gallery - Galeria Rodo Padilla/The Bicycle House/The Casa de Bicicletas. All of Padilla's art is whimsical. Many pieces follow a bicycle theme. His colors, his shapes bring a smile to your face and joy to your heart.


Next stop was the Museo Pantaleon Panduro which is part of the Refugio Cultural Center. Award winning ceramics are displayed in this museum. All work is outstanding...and some of the miniatures needed a magnifying glass to study the details.

Brief shopping stop at Soriana (large, modern, well stocked super market) for a few more staples. Home for lunch. Down time to read or do laundry.

At around 4:30 pm, we decided to explore other neighborhoods to the east of Cinco de Mayo. Walked only two blocks when we looked to the north and saw that as far as we could see the street was closed to traffic. People of all ages were putting stems and leaves of a particular plant all over the street. Homes lining the street were decorated with light blue and white plastic cutouts. They decorated their homes and strung the decorations from one side of the street to the other. The entrances at cross roads were decorated by gateways of branches, flowers plus blue and white balloons. It still was all a mystery to Sue and me. People were starting to line the streets in anticipation. Of what? People were very friendly towards us. Finally, a young man greeted us in English and we questioned him about the significance of the celebration. The Faithful...and the Curious (us) were waiting for the statue of the Virgin Mary to pass from one Catholic church to another. Our guess was that the Virgin spent one week in each church during Lent.

Sue and I walkd to the starting point for the procession. All ages were represented. There were many people in wheelchairs. There was a mother holding an IV for her young son as he watched. Were these people waiting and hoping for a miracle? There were the elderly, teenagers, babes in arms..and all ages in between...male and female..were represented. We were given a handful of confetti to throw at the Virgin as she passed on the top of a car. Brightly colored eggs were sold. The insides had been replaced with confetti. Youngsters and the not so young would crack them on each others heads...and confetti would rain down.

A local band led the procession...then dancers...followed by clergy and the Virgin. All along the route for about three miles ...the Virgin was greeted with songs and the chant of "Viva, Viva, Viva". Sue and I joined the procession following it, making turns, until we had no idea of where we might be. Not a problem. All we had to do was ask for directions back to the Parian...and we could find our way home.

Funny thing was that we went out on this afternoon walk to explore other neighborhoods and ended up sharing a local tradition. Serendipity.

Dinner - Trip Advisor.com listed "Tlaquepaque Pasta" as the Numero Uno restaurant in town. We learned from our neighbor, Laurie, that this restaurant is part of the Quinta Don Jose Hotel on Calle Reforma. There is a sign for the hotel, but not the restaurant. You must ring their doorbell...and wait to be buzzed in. The decor is beautiful...elegant. We were shown to our table in a room tastefully decorated with large paintings of indigenous Mexicans (looked more like Guatemalans or Peruvians to me). We order Margaritas as a starter. Well made and served in beautiful glasses... a good way to begin our meal. I ordered a "Pesto Salad". Excellent choice as it is a baby spinach salad with pesto dressing,pine nuts, and a creamy goat cheese. Could not be more perfect. I chose a pasta course to follow - Chicken Marsala. This, too, was perfect. The waitstaff was friendly and attentive. In addition to good food, we were entertained by a guitarist/singwer. We very much enjoyed his mello choice of music. Could not ask for more. I can see why this restaurant was rated so highly. My meal with two Margaritas and tip came to 260 pesos...about $20 US.