Valladolid

Highlights:

• Beautiful colonial town, not too touristy. 
• Enjoyed walking the streets and checking out the grocery stores. 
• Ordered orange water: squeezed orange, water and ice blended together. Simple and refreshing. In fact, Mexicans make all kinds of agua frescas: mango water, lime water, orange water...
• We stumbled on a chocolate factory because Mexico harvests cocoa beans. A lovely young woman gave us a tour in her broken English, but she was so animated and genuine that it was one of my favorite parts of the whole week. There were samples at the end: chili chocolate, anise chocolate, ginger chocolate, tequila, cinnamon, milk, honey.... Wow! Later, our conversation went to Frida Khalo and since she was a big fan, she went to get her book to show us (she lived upstairs). She told us all about Frida's personal and professional life as an artist. It's like Frida and this woman were best friends! Unfortunately, I have zero pictures of this evening. Super bummer! 

Below: several people rode tricycles around Mexico, transporting goods, tourists, or selling all kinds of food or drink.

 Below: yes, that is our hotel... at $40/night!

Lowlights:

• Vendors were everywhere (in every town, not just in Valladolid) and we kept having to say no, no, no... But we did buy a gourd lamp. It's not set up just yet, but here's a generic Google picture: