Xochimilco one of the most colorful and fun places in Mexico…

Mexico city consist of 16 boroughs and on every one of them you will find great places to have an excellent time with friends and family, but one in particular offers the chance to go back hundreds of years in a time were people use the land for agriculture using a particular technique called “Chinampas” and move their trade by water canals using a boat “Trajineras” that is moved by pushing a wooden stick to the bottom of the water canal. The catch here is that the boat can carry 20 people with music, drinks, food and in the middle of the trip you can order some quesadillas and hire mariachis!!!! Too much fun…

I have been lucky to been there multiple times with great friends and family, every time bringing back great memories from the trip. If you want to have a celebration it can be a really a great option or if you just want to spend some time with friends on the weekend. Prices are $20 to $25 dollars per hour to rent a “Trajinera”, 2-3 hours are enough to enjoy what the Xochimilco canal has to offer. Before you rent the boat be sure to buy drinks and food from the shops to bring aboard, you need only money because you will find everything in the plaza were you rent the boats and I mean everything… Radio, Beer, Soft Drinks, Ice, Carnitas, Tacos, Quesadillas, Mariachis.

Really Great food available before you made the boat trip

You will find everything for the trip… Music… No Problem

Once you have the essentials, begin your trip and just enjoy, put some music or call some live musicians and they will get to you by boat and start the party!!! Shout out to other “Trajineras” and do some competitions by dancing or singing. Time will fly because it will be fun, and if you are out of something no problem just talk to the captain and he will find what you need (Food / Drinks / Bathrooms). A good advice when navigating is to look out for other boats that come close and hit yours, you would not want to fall in the water!!!!

If your plan is to have an afternoon to party or just relax Xochimilco is for you, the place and their people will fill you with great energy and at the end great memories. I cannot wait to plan and go again with great company and enjoy one of the best places to have fun in Mexico… XOCHIMILCO

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Monterrey… More than Carne Asada, a great place to go eat, see, and enjoy a game of “beisbol”

One great thing about living in Mexico is the opportunity to explore the vast geographic extension of this country. On November 20 they celebrate the Mexican revolution, so we have a great excuse to go out on the long weekend and have a family road trip. A seven hour drive north will put us in Monterrey, Nuevo Leon or how some “Regiomontanos” call it “Tierra Santa”.

Having Fun in Monterrey / Huge City – 4 million people living there

Monterrey founded in 1596 is currently the 3rd largest metropolitan area in Mexico with more than 4 million persons living there, it has a unique topography with huge mountains surrounding it. With this size of population you can find almost everything a big city has to offer: Live Events, Sports, Great Restaurants, many tourist attractions. Definitely one weekend is not enough to know every place but I guarantee you we did visit some of the best places to have a great weekend.

Mexican History Museum to the left / Chair Hill in the background, huge mountain

We stayed close to the Macro Plaza one of the top 10 biggest town squares in the world, it is a great place for a morning walk with the large spaces, also you can find places to have breakfast and eat morning tacos “tacos mañaneros”. We had them in a place called “Tacos Leal”, it was definitely a great find (Thanks to an uber driver) and a great way to begin our day.

Macro Plaza covering multiple city blocks

ONe of the great findings of the weekend – Tacos Leal with the selection of stews ( Pork / Beef / Chicken)

Around the Macro Plaza you will find many government buildings and museums, we went to the Mexican History Museum were they have a very nice exhibit of Mexican history with a focus on the north of Mexico. From there they have a man made riverwalk were you can go to another gem of Monterrey: “Parque Fundidora”. The park is located were the old Fundidora de Acero Monterrey was located, it is huge with many outdoor activities like riding a bicycle, skateboarding or you can do some zip line in the old steel mill. People from all ages gather here to have fun and reduce stress, we finished the afternoon having a beer in a restaurant on the top of the steel mill. Great way to end the day!!!

Then next day after some shopping we went to the “Cerro del Obispado” from this hill you get a 360 degree view of Monterrey and on a clear day fantastic views of the many mountains surrounding the city, there is a showcase of the different variations of the Mexican flag until the current one. There is a great view of the “Cerro de la Silla” the mountain top of the hill seem to be a horse chair.

I love sports and as you know from one of my post also wrestling, so if there is a chance to see some live sport event we are there. Monterrey has professional teams in every major, there are 2 huge immensely popular soccer teams: Tigres and Rayados (more on soccer on another post). Monterrey has a professional baseball team celebrating 80 years of existence the “Sultanes” and on 2019 they began participating in the Mexican Pacific League, they were playing the “Tomateros” from Culiacan, Sinaloa one of the top teams in Mexico. The stadium is top notch and the atmosphere even better with live banda music and continuous entertainment from the mascot, cheerleaders and entertainers. If you like baseball go, it has MLB quality.

Baseball game is a party from the beggining to the end, must see!!!

The last place we visited was “La Huasteca” were you get up close and personal with the great mountain scenery of Monterrey. We saw many mountain bikers that definitely enjoy the trails , also you find climbers and campers. If you like the outdoors is a place to know and spend time. In 2006 the Park was declared a World Nature reserve by the UNESCO.

Monterrey is definitely a must see as part of exploring Mexico, it has many great things to enjoy and the people are great I have personally get to know one of the best BBQ chef Francisco “Paco” Martinez one true “Regiomontano”, he will definitely be missed in the office …

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See some history while having a beer!!! YES you can in Queretaro @ Cerveceria Hercules

One of the most signature neighborhoods in Queretaro is called Hercules or how local people like to call it “La Hermana República de Hercules”, the place has more than 500 years of history but the highlight is a textile manufacturing facility that dates from 1838 and worked continuously until this year. In 1838 the owners brought machinery from England and opened the factory working continuously until 2019 to satisfy the local textile market, current market conditions from asia imports made it difficult to continue operating so they decided to close the factory. Maybe 30% of the space is being used for the brewery and the garden right now.

As part of the evolving changes in consumer taste and taking advantage of growing trends in beer culture the textile landmark integrated a Beer Micro Brewery called “Cerveceria Hercules” founded in 2011 and in 2016 they expanded their offering by opening “Jardin de Cerveza Hercules” , now in this historic place you can find good food, entertainment and more important great beer .

Beer gfor here and to Go / Pizza is delicious (Pepperoni )

We have seen their development during these 4 1/2 years but one thing has been a constant: their quality in everything they do. Today they offer a wide variety of in house brews that mix perfectly with a balanced menu of pizzas, sausages, and seafood options. On special occasions they expand their food offerings with some other specials. For me the pizzas and sausages are gooood and are the perfect fit for the different beer options like the MACANUDA, HURACAN or the SUPER LUPE

Their options continue growing, more than 15 different types of beer!!!!

As part of the development of the space now the garden offers live music multiple days in the week with nice variety from cuban music to electronic sounds and even when a good soccer match is on they will show it on screens, additionally you find ping pong, table games and cornhole. For us Cerveceria Hercules has been a pace to gather with friends and family to celebrate any occasion or just to have a good time

It has been fun watching Cerveceria Hercules grow, now you can find their beers in many of the restaurants around Queretaro; they invested in machinery to sell their beers in cans and have opened a store were you can buy them directly or thru the internet.

Definitely Cerveceria Hercules has been one of the great places we come to know during our stay in Mexico, it is a required visit if you come to Queretaro. Just gather some friends and taste the many alternatives the “Jardin de Cervezas Hercules” has to offer, hey and if you like them a lot by a couple of them at the store and put them in your luggage.

You can see the chimneys of the old textile factory

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