Updating while Unpacking

I'm back! What a journey - I'm so glad it went smoothly. I'm trying to stay awake for another 2 hours so that the adjustment back to Kuwait's time zone isn't too bad.

I thought I'd give a quick update of my trips.

It started off with a short trip to Abu Dhabi to see Madonna.


The concert was excellent though she did take a long time to come out on stage. Still, I couldn't have asked for a better spot in the stadium - just 3-4 people away from her. Most of her songs were from the new MDNA collection though she did play some classic favorites like Papa Don't Preach, Like a Prayer, Vogue ... I was absolutely thrilled. (Couldn't get the lighting right with the pix - plus I was too excited jumping up and down/signing to really take pix!)




That day overall was exhausting ... D & I worked out in the hotel gym (almost 2 hours) - some weights and I did Week 2 Day 1 of C25K. Compared to Day 3 of Week 1, I struggled quite a bit, but still, I got through it.

We stood for 6 hours at the concert and then walked back to the hotel which was 2 km away. We were utterly exhausted by the end of the night! Still, it was absolutely worth it :)

On to Mexico!! A lot of my time was spent at the conference, but I had the evenings free plus an hour or two in the afternoon to explore. Everybody was so incredibly friendly - I absolutely loved it! I can't wait to go back and visit more cities.

I stayed at one of the most charming hotels I've ever been to - it's called El Meson de Los Poetas. It was a very simple hotel, but full of character. Each room was named and designed after a famous poet. I was thrilled to be in Pablo Neruda's room because he's one of my favorite poets :)

The hotel had several nooks and crannies as well as lots and lots of stairs!

That's me at the top of the main staircase ...

This one was taken in the breakfast area ... aren't the colors so warm and inviting? 

I mentioned the (steep) hills in a number of my posts. Here's an example of what I was talking about. These are the steps that lead up to the University of Guanajuato ... however, this staircase represents only half of the distance that I had to go ... double the distance and then you've got an idea of how far I had to go. Yup - lots of stairs! 

In the background of the photo below you can see the different colored houses. You can also see that they're built on a hill, so everywhere you look you are surrounded by these small colorful houses.

I really found the sights, smells, and sounds of Guanajuato enchanting. The people were so friendly. I've never studied Spanish, but I knew enough to get by, and I always found the reaction of the locals to be even warmer when they heard me attempting to speak their language (although many of them were first surprised when I told them I wasn't Mexican).









It was a short but fabulous trip!

I definitely foresee another visit in the future.