Valle de Bravo — Wow, other people have heard of it!

Found this cool NYT article on Valle de Bravo yesterday.

http://travel.nytimes.com/2011/02/20/travel/20overnighter-valle-de-bravo.html

Also, I've met this woman pictured in the photo gallery link below! Her name is Carmen and she owns this tiny bar downtown near Said's aunt's house. Carmen is always grumpy but serves a really good Paloma — tequila and grapefruit drink. If you're lucky, her 10-year-old daughter will take your order and bring you some chicharrón (fried pork rinds shaped like wagon wheels) to snack on. I always let Said and his cousins eat those. lol.

http://www.nytimes.com/slideshow/2011/02/20/travel/20110220-OVERNIGHTER-2.html

How do I know about Valle? Said's mom Josefina owns and operates a small gift shop in this gorgeous vacation town outside Mexico City. Picture cobblestone streets, open air markets, lots of tiny shops ranging from ritzy to affordable traditional, and of course, some of the best taverns and street food.

Of course, the writer in this article doesn't recommend any of the street food but I say go there. Try the pambazo! It's like a torta (Mexican sandwich) but deep-fried and made with a special bread.

Here's a picture of one although it's the kind from Temas — a neighboring town where Said's parents live. In Temas, they cover the pambazos with mole. Either way, it's all good and so not in line with any diet. That's why you justify this indulgence by walking everywhere.



The writer also doesn't mention the paragliding, which is weird because the Valle/Temas area is one of the five most popular places in the world for the sport. Paragliding takes place year-round because of the amazing weather so go check out the equally amazing views like a bad ass. See that rock SPRAWL? You can climb it. The area is called El Peñón.



Here's me risking my life paragliding and enjoying every minute of it. Make no mistake I was freaking out until I took some Dramamine.



So once you find the paragliders you've also tapped into Valle's tourist scene. And I'm not talking about your typical big-sunglasses-Corona-drinking-donde-esta-el-baño tourists. I'm talking about people who come from all over the world just to experience Valle's rich culture, speak their best Spanish and really live like a local.

We found our first tourist friend — Don from Atlanta — when we picked him up as he was hitchhiking between Valle and Temas. Don lives in Valle for many months out of the year, renting a house from an old woman in town. Let's just say I'm super jealous of Don because his day job (flipping properties back in the states) allows him to work remotely. I hope to see him when I'm back next month. He owes us a party at his house.



Overall it's a really good article on Valle. Visit me and I'll introduce you to the rest of the action. Oh, and we'll go say hi to Carmen and eat wagon wheels.