guanajuato

i've never been to europe. never seen france in the springtime. never paddled around the waterways of venice. but i've been to guanajuato, mx. i liked vallarta a lot - i'm a born beachbum i can swim in the ocean for hours without growing tired or bored - but i'm not sure i could live there for more than a year at a time. guanajuato is the city for me. if it was closer to the ocen, i would do everything in my power to move there. first, it's a university town of 70,000, about the size of bellingham. after living in vallarta it was so refreshing to see college-age students with their shirts on and with out giant cups of booze in hand. second, the city is beautiful; look at the pictures. third, all above-ground city traffic moves from east to west. all other traffic moves through a massive maze of tunnels underneath the city. it's unbelievable. the central plaza is a shady tunnel of trees, filled with wandering mariachis. no more words.