A sightseeing and shopping excursion
November 28, 2008 San Miguel de Allende

Lions Club Trip to Guadalajara
Wed, Dec 10
Reserve by Dec 2, Jean Schickel, 152-0934
1,900 pesos each, double occupancy

The International Lions Club of San Miguel leaves Wednesday, December 10, on a three-day excursion to Guadalajara for sightseeing and holiday shopping. The Lions will stay at the historic Hotel de Mendoza, previously a convent and now a 5-star hotel within walking distance of the city’s main attractions. The ornate, neo-classical Teatro Degollado, modeled on Milan’s La Scala, is adjacent to the hotel and is the site of the city’s founding in 1542, according to popular legend. The plaza located behind the theater commemorates this event.

The city’s main cathedral was finished in 1618, after more than 50 years of construction. The cathedral houses Bartolome Esteban Murillo’s The Assumption of the Blessed Virgin.

The eighteenth-century Palacio de Gobierno, an excellent example of Spanish colonial architecture, served as the headquarters of the Juárez administration in 1858 and today houses murals by the Mexican social realist, José Clemente Orozco.

Some of Guadalajara’s other notable sights include the Presidencia Municipal, the Plaza de Armas, the Rotonda de los Hombres Ilustres, the Museo Regional de Guadalajara, the Museo de Cera and the Palacio de Justicia. The Museo de Arqueologia de Occidente de Mexico, housed in a large pyramid-shaped building, is located in the center of the Parque Agua Azul.

Perhaps one of Guadalajara’s favorite attractions is its zoo. Considered the fifth best in the world, the zoo is more that just a place for observing animals; it is also an ecological center that aids in the reproduction and preservation of endangered species. Covering 34 hectares, much of which has been restored, and featuring 2,200 species of animals, it is difficult to see the entire zoo in one visit, even on the zoo train. 

The twin towns of Tlaquepaque and Tonalá are about 20 minutes from downtown Guadalajara. These artisan towns attract shoppers from around the world to purchase ceramics, pottery and some of the finest dinnerware made in Mexico. The Guadalajara suburbs may produce more crafts per square foot than any other place in Mexico. Tlaquepaque’s centro is a traffic-free area of about 300 shops and on Thursdays, Tonalá’s village center is transformed into a busy and colorful open-air marketplace.

The trip costs 1,900 pesos each, double occupancy (less than US$160 at today’s exchange rate), and includes hotel, first-class bus, breakfasts, tips, BYO cocktail parties with nibbles supplied by the Lions, plus a donation to the club, which dispenses glasses to the needy and does diabetes testing on Thursday mornings at Correo 63. Reserve by December 2, with Jean Schickel at 152-0934.

The villas and gardens of Lake Como
By Margaret Failoni

Perhaps one of the most beautiful and romantic places in Europe is Lake Como. Originally named the Lario nobles have been building their villas along its shores as far back as the sixteenth century. With the advent of the Grand Tour, Lake Como became a must-be-seen stop. Goethe wrote chapters describing the beauty of the lake on his first entry into Italy and traveled that route on every trip south. Being the deepest and the steepest of all the great European lakes, very few signs of the twentieth century, let alone the twenty-first, have marred its romantic beauty. 

Stone-carved villages dating back to medieval times cling to its sides, and the lakefront, especially the western half of the lake closest to Milan, is graced with a series of magnificent villas. Shaped like an up-side-down Y, the city of Como is to the northern end and Lecco to the south; marvelous Bellaggio rises regally in the center of the lake. Stately baptisteries, churches, bell towers, convents and baroque chapels marking the Stations of the Cross round out the palette.

In the last few years, the international jet set has joined the nobility of the past, succumbing to the lake’s beauty and sense of exclusivity. Celebrities such as Gianni Versace first and George Clooney later, have bought magnificent villas on the northwestern side of the lake. Hollywood invades its calm from time to time, to film scenes in the Star Wars series, “A Month on the Lake”, 007’s Casino Royale. Those of us lucky enough to have lived there, can never resist going back.

Lake Como is known as the Riviera of the Azaleas. Every spring, its magnificent stately gardens are a riot of every azalea specimen existing, plus rhododendrons, hydrangeas, camellias and roses. Most villas have arbors of wisteria and lemon trees. Many house exquisite art collections. Some are open to the public, such as Villa Carlotta and Villa Monastero.

A place of rare beauty, Villa Carlotta has 70,000 square meters of gardens and a museum, with masterpieces of nature and art living side by side. First built at the end of the seventeenth century by the Milanese Marquis Giorgio Clerici, it changed hands several times before reaching the summit of its splendor in the nineteenth century, housing works by Canova, Thorvaldsen and Hayez. After 1843, the new owners, nobles from Saxony, created the renowned botanical gardens with rare plants and trees from throughout the world. They cultivate over 150 different varieties of azaleas.

Villa Monastero, located on the southern branch of the lake in the town of Varenna, was originally a convent built in 1208. In 1567, the convent was dissolved and the property was bought by the noble Mornico family. They changed the convent into a splendid and noble abode. The same family owned it until World War II. Today the villa is an international cultural and scientific center owned by the National Council for Research. Its gardens, magnificent arrangements of cypresses, citrus trees, pine trees and agaves, stretch for more than a kilometer. Bas-reliefs can be admired along the paths.

Bellaggio, in the center of the lake, is the last town to get the sun’s rays, thanks to its location. Goethe, Liszt, Puccini, Toscanini, Churchill and John Kennedy have chosen Bellaggio to spend long periods in Bellagio. The town stretches along the lakefront with candy-colored buildings from the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. It is an oasis of beauty graced with warm climate, artistic treasures, unique nature, romantic views and one-of-a-kind shopping. 

But the main attractions, besides its baroque luxury hotels, are Villa Serbelloni and Villa Melzi.

Villa Serbelloni dates from 1400 and has been modified over the years. In the eighteenth century, the Serbelloni dukes enlarged the grounds, parks and 18 kilomaters of avenues. The house has played a role in the lives of many personalities who have stayed there, from Da Vinci to Ludvic II, from Queen Victoria to Kaiser Wilhelm. The estate was given to the Rockefeller Foundation in the late fifties and is used as a conference center and an international study center for artists and scholars. The garden is an informal parkland planted with olive trees and Italian cypresses.

Villa Melzi is a perfect example of neoclassical architecture. The architect Giocondo Albertelli built the villa in 1803 for Count Francesco Melzi d’Eril, Vice President of the short-lived Napoleonic-Italian Republic. The lavish garden was the first example of an English garden on the lake. Along the hilly paths one finds sculptures and Roman statues which add to the romantic atmosphere of the garden. Ponds and beautiful plants are spread throughout. The greenest and thickest grass imaginable covers the soft hills bordering the lake.

Villa Balbianello overlooks the Gulf of Venere. Situated on the far end of the peninsula, with its extensive woods, the villa reaches far out onto the lake. Thanks to its unique position, the view from the villa is incomparable. A small Franciscan monastery was built by Cardinal Durini in 1787. Each owner added a distinctive touch to the estate.Count Giuseppe Arconato Visconti enriched the garden, an American general renovated the entire complex and Guido Monzino housed his collection of Chinese, African and pre-Columbian art, 18th century English and French furniture collection and documents and mementos of his expeditions. Yet the true masterpiece is the panoramic terraced garden dominated by the elegant loggia with its three arches, rising on the highest point of the promontory.

The next-door town of Ossuccio has a tenth-century church on its waterfront with a magnificent bell tower. Half way up the hill, one finds the magnificent seventeenth- and eighteenth-century Lombard-Baroque chapels, all 14 of them, with frescoed interiors and polychrome statuary depicting the Stations of the Cross.

As late spring is the season when the lake is at its most splendid, a small tour is planned to visit the lake, its villas and gardens in May of 2009. For those who may be interested in joining or who wish more information, contact Margaret Failoni  at 152-4938, 044 (415) 153-6618 or mjgfailoni@yahoo.com. 

Travel News You Can Use
By Judy Newell

International News

Discounted rail passes on Amtrak

Europe ahs been doing it for years, but now Amtrak is offering the USA Rail Pass. It is available for 15, 30, and 45 days of travel, but you can space out that travel over six months. As the AP reports, “the 15-day pass offers eight segments of travel for US$389.” A “segment” starts whenever you board a train. There are no restrictions or blackout dates, so you can travel during peak times—assuming a train has not sold out. Some exceptions apply. You can’t redeem the passes for travel on Amtrak’s high-end services, such as Auto Train and Acela Express. 

New Ramada in Mecca

Ramada Worldwide will open its largest hotel, a 998-room property in the holy district of the Haram in Mecca, less than a quarter of a mile from the Holy Mosque. The 29-story Ramada Makkah caters to guests making the Mecca pilgrimage during the Hajj and Umrah seasons.

Cher returns to Caesar’s Palace 

Cher returns to The Colosseum at Caesar’s Palace in 2009, with tickets for the first series shows going on sale November 3 for 35 performances from February 21 through March 21 and April 25 through May 24. Ticket prices are US$95, $140, $175 and $250 plus taxes and fees. The 90-minute, concert-style shows begin at 7:30pm on Tuesday, Wednesday, Saturday and Sunday. 



Airline News

Aeroméxico’s new Salt Lake/Seattle service 

Aeroméxico began nonstop service between Seattle/Tacoma and Los Cabos this month. Twice-weekly flights depart Seattle/Tacoma on Thursdays and Sundays. Return flights depart Los Cabos every Friday and Sunday. Aeromexico also launched twice-weekly, nonstop flights between Salt Lake City, Utah, and Mexico City on November 16. 
Mexicana spreads its wings 

Mexicana Airlines will begin service from Mexico City to London (Gatwick), São Paulo and Orlando when it receives new Boeing aircraft early in 2009. The company is shifting more domestic service to Click, its low-fare subsidiary, while the parent concentrates on international routes. Mexico’s airlines, like those around the world, benefit from lower fuel costs as oil prices drop, but now find aircraft rental costs are soaring as the value of the peso declines. International revenues provide compensation in this respect.

New airline boarding rules

The US announced that starting next year airline passengers will be barred from boarding planes if they refuse to provide full name and birth date. Travelers will be asked to provide this information when they book flights originating or ending in the US, as well as flights traveling over US territory, such as trips from Canada or Mexico.

That data will be compared to federal terrorism watch lists and will supposedly prevent false matches that have caused problems for some travelers, including Senator Ted Kennedy and several children. Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff said the rule will “dramatically reduce” the number of people hassled at airports because their name resembles a terrorist’s on a government watch list, Technically, the new rules start in July 2009, but some airlines may begin using the rules as early as January. Travelers who book flights and do not give required information will not be able to print a boarding pass at home or at an airport kiosk. They will have to go to an airline counter and show an ID card with the required information.


Sources: Mexico Tourism News, Travel Agent, Travel Pulse Daily, OSSN, Travel Agent Central, USA Today. 


Judy Newell heads the travel company Perfect Journeys that specializes in discounted rates for airfare, hotels, tours and cruises worldwide, as well as in luxury and adventure travel. Contact her with comments or suggestions at JudyNewell_03@msn.com or go to her website www.PerfectJourneys.net.