The family was chartering a bus for people to go to Zacatecas and was going to leave at noon so Geo and I left school at 11 am to go eat and be there on time. The bus didn't end up leaving until aroud 1 or 2 but it was free so I wasn't too bothered with the time delay.
We arrived at 7 and the bus was too big for the town streets so it couldn't drop us off at our hotel. So it backtracked and went to where there were taxis. It was really funny though because where it got stuck was less than a block away from our hotel.
At 8, the Callejónada started. I had never heard of it before but apparently every weekend towns like Zacatecas and Guanajuato that have a lot of callejónes (alleys) do tours of these streets with small bands that play a few songs and then walk to the next location where they play more songs etc. It's kind of like a musical tour / parade of the city and people dance and drink as they go.
When we got to the start of the Callejónada, we didn't see anyone that had been on the bus but had no way to get in touch with them, so we went with the group that was there who had nothing to do with the wedding. The whole thing lasted about an hour and was pretty fun. At one point we were in the middle of the street where there was a fountain and cars were passing on both sides. The group was pretty big (probably around 50 people) and so we were in their lanes for a good 15 minutes. I guess they were used to it though and we didn't have any problems.
At the end of the Callejónada, we were very high up and so we went back down to the main part of town to look for the location of the party that night. We just so happened to bump into the wedding group and went with them to the Museo Rafael Coronel where there were tacos, mariachi, dancing, etc. We stayed there until around 2 AM. Unfortunately for me, I did not bring my sweater because when we left it was quite warm and in Guadalajara it never gets cold at night. Needless to say we weren't in Guadalajara.
The next day we woke up around 11, ate some breakfast and toured the city for the day. We didn't really know where to go and so we just started walking. We chanced upon the tourist office and figured out a few things we wanted to do. So we started at the mine called El Edén. We rode a train into the mine and the guide led us to the museum first. There were all kinds of rocks there - I really liked it. Then the guide led us around the rest of the mine showing us the bats, the club that they have there at night (it looked awesome), the toxic water and told us the myths of the mine too. He was really funny and the lighting and presentation of the mine was fantastic. Coming out of the mine, we were a block away from the Teleférico which is a sky lift that brings you to a place called Cerro de la Bufa and gives you a very nice view of all of the city.
When you get off the lift, you are on a rock mountain and there is an Ex Convent, a museum and paths that lead you to different views. On a few of these paths, I decided to climb the rocks. It was probably dangerous, but it was fun and worth it. I took a few panoramic pictures from the different point on Cerro de la Bufa and then we decided to return to the hotel to rest before going to the wedding that night.
The mass was supposed to start at 8 PM but it seems like everything in Mexico runs at least 30 minutes late. The church was huge and it was packed. It was lavishly decorated with white roses everywhere. Everyone was dressed in their best and it felt almost like a fashion show. I would gestimate that there were around 400 people there. It was being filmed by a professional group and there were also probably 5-7 professional photographers as well. When it ended around 10, we went to the reception which was being held at the Quinta Real Hotel.
The hotel is amazing. It used to be a Bull Fighting Ring and right beside it are the old aqueducts and a beautiful park with a fountain that is choreographed to the music. All the tables where set in the middle of the ring with a dance floor in the very middle. Throughout the night, they gave out different gifts to the guests. If I had known this, I would have stay at the table more instead of dancing, because they had some very fun gifts: Crocs, blankets, glasses with lights, aprons, inflatable instruments, etc. I did get the apron and an inflatable saxophone but I really wanted the glasses with the lights. Oh well =D.
We stayed there until 5 AM but a lot of people stayed until 6. Crazy people, don't they know a what a decent hour for bedtime is?! We woke up around 10 and ate breakfast and then caught a ride back to Guadalajara with one of Geo's friend's dad's driver. I don't know how he has a job because he drives like a maniac but we did get back to Guadalajara in record time haha.
Anyway, it was a great trip and I really liked exploring the town and also getting a taste of the life of the rich and famous. Here you can see a newspaper article (in Spanish but it has pictures) about it if you want: http://www.ochocolumnas.com.mx/2008/05/NES080531_01.html
And another:
http://ochocolumnas.com.mx/2008/06/NES080602_01.html
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