Bienvenidos- would you like mint or orange-scented pillows?

Here's the update: I had a very tough goodbye with my family and roommates in Guanajuato. I hugged a few people and then I hugged Sam and my senora and felt the tears coming. I have this overly-emotional button that gets pressed during EVERY goodbye. The same thing happened in Spain last summer. I was leaving my roommate and hugged Jose Luis, our teacher that was there with us, and just lost it... so I knew what to expect of myself this time. After my goodbye I headed to San Miguel with my sister to stay at a Bed and Breakfast and to do some serious shopping with serious prices. However, I think I've officially gotten presents for everyone I needed to get them for, so that's the silver lining.

Next we headed to Guadalajara to visit our friend Liliana. I can tell you all for sure that two days is not nearly enough to see a sufficient part of Guadalajara. We visited the downtown area and saw El Palacio, the Plaza de Armas, the cathedral, and amazing murals painted by Jose Clemente Orozco. We also went out to dance at a club called Wall Street. The joke is that my sister will soon be moving to NYC and working in finance.

We headed to Puerto Vallarta, unprepared for the long trip ahead of us with the loud teenage boys sitting in the back of the bus. Eventually, we made it. We're staying at Villa Premiere Hotel & Spa...and it's exactly how it sounds. With all the complaints of damn capitalism and gringos and the U.S.-Mexico relationship flowing through my mind, I have to admit, I am having an amazing time. We walked in and immediately received champagne with cherries and cold towels for our faces. Soon after we received massages...and I realized this trip would be very, very, very enjoyable. We were also asked which scents we wanted sprayed on our pillows, and which type of pillows we wanted. We spent some time at the pool and went to a Cuban restaurant called La Bodeguita del Medio for dinner. I came back to my minty pillows, and I'm prepared to sleep very very well.

Buenas noches :)