Guadalajara, Mexico: Ride the Tequila Express; things to do

Ride the Tequila Express  

F-Sun. Reservations advised.

One of only two passenger trains left in Mexico (Copper Canyon is other), the festive, usually crowded, journey on the Tequila Express includes a two-hour-long scenic train ride, a distillery tour, a Mexican buffet, a folkloric dance show, and strolling mariachis, not to mention all the Tequila, beer, or soft drinks you can consume. Every weekend, this train journeys from Guadalajara through the agave fields to the town of AMATITAN, to the very old Hacienda San Jose del Refugio distillery, where Herradura tequila is produced (the one with a horseshoe symbol, and the only Tequila that doesn’t use yeast in production). Dedicated to partying, mariachis begin belting out tunes at the Guadalajara Railroad Depot. When travelers are on board, waiters pass by offering beer or a Tequila cocktail and return again and again, and no one is in any special hurry to arrive. Mariachis wander from car to car. It is a lot like one of those Mexican bay cruises, except on rails.


mariachis warm everyone up at the train station

these kids keep the party going!

More things to do in Guadalajara.

More ideas for exploring Mexico.

videos c2010 Carole Terwilliger Meyers

updated August 27, 2023

Take a virtual tour of the Vatican

Move your mouse slowly around the room or you might get dizzy.

Did you know the Vatican is an independent country, and completely surrounded by Italy?

More ideas for exploring Europe.

Guadalajara, Mexico: spider sculptures; things to do

spider sculptures in Guadalajara, Mexico

While recently riding in a charming horse-drawn calandria cab through downtown Guadalajara, I viewed the “creepy spider sculptures” by Alejandro Colunga that are displayed on a small plaza there.

Learn more about the artist.

More things to do in Guadalajara.

More things to do in Mexico City.

More ideas for exploring Canada and Mexico.

image c2010 Carole Terwilliger Meyers

Santa Monica, California: Real Food Daily (CLOSED); restaurant review

Real Food Daily  

CLOSED AT THIS LOCATION  514 Santa Monica Blvd./5th St., (310) 451-7544. L-D daily, SunBr; $$.

The all-organic vegan menu here features items made from fresh vegetables, whole grains, and soy products. Cooking is done in stainless steel with filtered water. Opt for a familiar salad, or venture into the section of the menu offering Salisbury seitan and a tempeh Reuben sandwich. Create-your-own-bowls--with choice of veggies, beans and grains, and plant proteins—are also a good bet. And keep your eyes open for celebs; many are vegans.


More things to do in Santa Monica.

More vegan-vegetarian places.

More ideas for exploring the U.S.

National Park Week

National Park Week

In addition to free admission to all 392 national park units being offered by the National Park Service during National Park Week in April, hundreds of special events, discounts and special offers are available by visiting
https://www.nps.gov/subjects/npscelebrates/national-park-week.htm

http://nationalparksonline.org/

http://parkpartners.org/


More ideas for travel adventures in California and the U.S. and around the world.

image Hawaii Volcanoes National Park,
c2010 Carole Terwilliger Meyers

Tel Aviv, Israel: Utopia Orchid Park; things to do

Utopia Orchid Park

Located near Tel Aviv, this park includes an indoor orchid garden with more than 20,000 orchids from different species from around the world; a rainforest with tens of thousands of tropical plants, including carnivorous plants, waterfalls and lush greenery; and a butterfly garden and animal park with a wide range of animals and birds.

The park also features two plant mazes--a classical English-style maze and a 6,560-square-foot obstacle maze.

More gardens around the world.

More things to do in Tel Aviv.

More ideas for exploring the Middle East.

Holland, Michigan: deBoer’s Dutch Brothers Cafe & Bakkerij; restaurant review

deBoer’s Dutch Brothers Cafe & Bakkerij

360 Douglas Ave., 616-396-2253. B daily, L M-F; $.

Jakob deBoer emigrated here from the Netherlands. His great grandson, Jakob deBoer, is a fourth-generation baker known for his Klompen cakes, pea soup, pig in blankets, Hippy Hash, buttermilk biscuits and sausage gravy, and much, much more. Don’t miss a yummy, atmospheric Dutch breakfast at deBoer’s Dutch Brothers Cafe & Bakkerij.

More things to do in Holland, Michigan.

More ideas for exploring the U.S.

images c2010 Carole Terwilliger Meyers

Holland, Michigan: Windmill Island Gardens; things to do

Windmill Island Gardens  

1 Lincoln Ave., 616-355-1030. Daily April 30-Oct 1.

Situated on a small island in the eastern shallows of Holland's Lake Macatawa, Windmill Island Gardens is home to the only authentic Dutch windmill in the United States. The 12-story tall, 248-year-old DeZwaan (The Swan) was brought over from the Netherlands in 1964 and is still used to grind grain into graham flour--bags of which make the perfect souvenir. (It is the last one brought to the U.S., because they are now national monuments in Holland and can’t be exported.) It runs silently on gears greased with bees wax, and its blades usually turn every day during Tulip Time.

The windmill is the centerpiece of the lovely island, which also includes the Posthouse Museum, a miniature Dutch village called "Little Netherlands," an 1895 Dutch carousel, and lush pastures where Frisian horses and cows graze. The park also has canals, a drawbridge, and a replica roadside inn, and it displays a 1928 Carl Frei street organ donated by the city of Amsterdam in 1947 to the city of Holland in gratitude for its role in liberating The Netherlands in World War II.

Even though the 150,000 tulips that bloom here in spring will be long gone, in summer Dutch klompen dancers dance in wooden shoes to traditional music and picnicking is choice.



More things to do in Holland, Michigan.

More ideas for exploring the U.S.

images c2010 Carole Terwilliger Meyers

Holland, Michigan: Holland Museum; things to do

Holland Museum  

31 W. 10th St., 888-200-9123, 616-392-9084; M-Sat 9-5, Sun 12-5. $5, children free.

Located within a historical building, this atmospheric small museum holds an impressive collection of Dutch art. The second-floor Dutch Galleries displays 56 17th- through 20th-century Dutch paintings and more than 150 cultural objects, including fine furniture and Delftware.

More things to do in Holland, Michigan.

More ideas for exploring the U.S.

Holland, Michigan: DeKlomp Wooden Shoe and Delftware Factory + Veldheer Tulip Farm; things to do

DeKlomp Wooden Shoe and Delftware Factory  

12755 Quincy Ave./US 31, 4 mi. N of downtown, 616-399-1900. Hrs. irregular; Tulip Time 8am-8pm. Factory: free; tulip farm: $7, 3-13 $4.

At the DeKlomp Wooden Shoe and Delftware Factory store you can see Dutch wooden shoes being hand-carved or carved by machine in a range of sizes--from a miniature Barbie doll version all the way up to a man's size 13. The only authentic delftware factory in the United States is also here, and artisans still hand-paint the blue floral and windmill motifs onto white china just as they have in the Netherlands for more than 500 years. All materials and equipment for both the shoes and the pottery are imported from Holland.

In April and May, the adjoining Veldheer Tulip Farm--the Midwest's only working tulip farm--blooms with more than 5 million tulips in 125 varieties. The blooms are at their peak from the last week in April until mid-May. Begun more than 50 years ago, this 30-acre extravaganza becomes a huge summer garden after the tulip season ends. Tulip bulbs are cultivated here for sale in the fall.

More things to do in Holland, Michigan.

More ideas for exploring the U.S.

images c2010 Carole Terwilliger Meyers

Takuapa Town, Phuket, Thailand: See pretty pink 100-year-old eggs

pretty pink 100-year-old eggs

Happy Easter!

I saw these pretty pink 100-year-old eggs last week in the Takuapa Town market just north of Phuket in Thailand. They are actually made fresh but described as rotten beneath the shell. Yum, yum!

Learn more about these eggs.

More things to see and do in Phuket.

More ideas for exploring Asia and the South Pacific.

image c2010 Carole Terwilliger Meyers

Holland, Michigan: Tulip Time Festival; sights to see

Tulip Time Festival  

held in May; 800-822-2770.

Founded by Dutch settlers seeking religious freedom in 1847, Holland, Michigan holds on to many Lowlands traditions. Many of the outlying towns here—some are just tiny bergs--are named after The Netherlands’ 12 provinces. In 1871 a fire destroyed most of the town’s buildings, but the white Pillar Church still stands and performs Dutch services and some Dutch step-style architecture remains. Currently there are 174 churches in town.

Holland is one of the first cities to introduce a snow melt system beneath the sidewalks and streets. Theirs uses 125 miles of plastic piping and recycled warm waste water from a water treatment plant to heat sidewalks and melt the snow.

Holland Area Convention & Visitors Bureau  

800-506-1299.

And the perfect time to visit Holland is next month, when the 81st annual Tulip Time Festival celebrates the area's Dutch heritage and blooms with 6 million tulips, 1,500 wooden-shoe dancers (mostly high school girls), and 3 parades. Fireworks and trolley tours are also part of the fun.

More things to do in Holland, Michigan.

More ideas for exploring the U.S.

video cCarole Terwilliger Meyers
(this is my first video, and one of my most popular)