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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Winter is coming… Life is a beach in Mexico!!!

It is clear that when people says Mexico the images of tacos, fiesta, and traffic comes into their mind. Mexico vast coast give life to some of the most beautiful and cool beaches in the world, with more than 5,500 miles of beaches you will definetly find great places to surf, eat and chillax.

We come from Puerto Rico, a place that has some of the most beautiful beaches in the world for pleasure (Flamenco in Culebra) and surfing (Jobos en Isabela), so we now a great beach when we see it . Maybe another time I will write a post about the beauties of our island but for now the blog is focus on the great things Mexico has to offer.

Culebra used to be an Army practice area (Can you imagine!!!) / Flamenco Beach / Kite Surfing in Isabela

During our time here in Mexico we have been given the opportunity to know beaches across the 2 oceans both the Pacific and Atlantic, also the selection of places includes small towns like Holbox and big tourist destinations like Cancun. There are endless things to do for all budgets and great food like seafood tostadas or lobster pizza.

Lobster Pizza Place in Holbox / Fried Fish, from sea to the table in 30 minutes!!!

In future posts I will get into specifics on the different places we have been and what in our opinion you should do while on a Mexico beach. One thing is important for you to know, Mexico beaches are quite spectacular and you can choose among many alternatives to enjoy good days in hot weather and wonderful margaritas. So go ahead and this winter plan a vacation in one of Mexico beaches, I know we will!!!!

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To explore Mexico you will need more than a lifetime…

My first time coming to Mexico was close to 20 years ago, that time coming to work I stayed a week and went to traditional tourist places (Teotihuacan Pyramids, City Center, couple of museums) it was quite impressive to see how complex and massive Mexico City is: 20 million people, 150 thousand taxis, largest metro system in Latin America, more than 26 thousand buses “Peseros”, more than 1 million mom and pop stores, street food all over the place!!!!. Frankly it was overwhelming and was tough to understand how you can get know Mexico City, what I was sure is that I needed to come back again and enjoy the chaotic Mexico experience.

10 years ago (2009) Pyramids, Chapultepec Forest, Estadio Azteca

Before I came to live permanently to Mexico there were many trips for work and every trip the experience was better. Adventuring to try different foods, entertainment, sports, Mexico has it all. Now after more than 20 years I am ready to share some great experiences that will definitely will make you come and experience Mexico at it’s best.

Xochimilco (2014) – The Venice of America!!! (More Fun definitely)

Moving to today and now been living in Mexico for more than 4 years, we have been to 20 different states from the 32 they have in Mexico. Big cities, country side, beaches, archaeological places we have seen it all and will be sharing specifics in other posts on what to do, see and eat because the alternatives are almost infinite.

Morelia, beautiful city. Love Mexico Markets (2017)

I hope that our story will inspire people to come here and visit Mexico and enjoy all it has to offer, until the next post remember to follow us in the blog and by searching #boricuaslivingabroad in social media.

Sierra Gorda – Incredible landscape… unique views

Queretaro best city to live in Mexico

A couple of hours north of Mexico City you find Queretaro city located in the center of Mexico called “El Bajío”. I first came to know Queretaro in 2009 while working for Nielsen Company, went there to visit the wine region, today is the second wine region behind Baja California. Queretaro at that time was receiving more than 30 new families each day, the proximity to Mexico City and how safe it is made it the place to go. I could not imagine that 5 years later it would become home.

Queretaro offer is incredible, the city center is beautiful with good restaurants and lots of activity during the weekends; close by lots of “Pueblos Mágicos” – San Miguel de Allende / Tequisquiapan/ Bernal and a couple of hours by car Guanajuato / Valle de Bravo / Sierra Gorda. More to come in other posts about these day trips. If you want to do some shopping it offers some of the most newer and bigger shopping malls in Mexico.

If you want to know Queretaro and enjoy what it has to offer 7 days are needed, 3 or 5 days let you get to know most of the great things in Queretaro. If you send me a note I will share some schedule advices for your visit.

I will share more information about the sights, food and entertainment of these great country and their cities.