Playing Tourist
A few weeks ago, we hosted our first guests here in Oaxaca! Our prior neighbor from Washington and her friend stayed in our guest rooms for a full week. It was a fun change of pace from our usual routine of working from home during the day and alternating evening activities of going to Spanish lessons/the laundromat/or grocery store. They did a lot of research and made a detailed itinerary of their wish-list activities, and we got to tag along for much of the ride, as much as we could fit in around our work schedules. Some of the key highlights were:
Monte Alban Archeological site
Spontaneous Mezcal tasting near Monte Alban
A festive tasting room, beautiful views, and a quick tour of the fermentation cellar
Dining at a Michelin start restaurant, Levadura de Olla, which was surprisingly affordable!
*Upper left: Tablescape
*Middle and bottom left: The tomato salad contains something like 9 varieties of tomatoes!
*Upper right: Trevor enjoying a tamale.
*Bottom right: A modern, open-faced take on the traditional Tlayuda dish; which I can describe in short as a crunchy quesadilla. This one featured dried shrimp, tomatoes, breadcrumbs and herbs. My favorite Tlayuda has dried grasshoppers and Oaxacan cheese, though! In the background you can also see guacamole which is always fresh and delicious here; and can also be topped with grasshoppers if you like.
7-course Dinner at an exclusive one table/one chef restaurant, Cataran
It truly is a one-room restaurant, and you can watch the chef cook in the small kitchen behind the table.
The passion fruit ceviche was phenomenal!
Grilled fish in mole sauce.
Dessert was an unexpected delight: Grilled sweet potato in hibiscus reduction sauce.
Museum Visits and sightseeing
The Museum of Cultures is attached to the gorgeous Temple of Santo Domingo, in the heart of central Oaxaca. Housed in a former convent, the museum showcases historic artifacts from the region over the ages, including many finds from Monte Alban tombs. With three floors and many rooms, you could spend a long time here.
The museum also overlooks the Botanical Gardens behind the church, with lovely views of the surrounding mountains.
I'm looking forward to hosting more guests soon so we can continue to explore the city and surrounding region!
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