Thanks to my local guide, Ignacio Rojas, who had previously been an exchange student in my Lee, Maine home for 6 months, I was able to get off the typical tourist routes and explore the city as an insider.

   This meant combing the mercados and centros, climbing the hillsides that surround the city, and even experiencing Guadalajara/s many-faceted night life excursions.

One of my US girls, Brittany Hannington, lived with the Roman family, a local restauranteur and owners of La Cabaña de Oliver. They invited our group to experience the delicious, authentic flavors of Mexico in their charming and romantic establishment. While there, a storm brewed-up in the air. We even had to move our table as the water came drizzling through the rooftop!

   Within 25 minutes, the streets were flooded and it seemed that people were navigating a river rather than a city. Mr. Roman stated that this flood was the worst he had ever seen at his restuarant.

On a second night, we climbed by auto uphill to the luxurious residential community of Bugambilias. The houses atop this hillside are palatial. I couldn/t help but to envy the residents, not just because of the beauty of their homes, but because of the views they experience every day. It would be a photographers heaven. On this night, the smog of the city prevented us from gaining worthy photos of the valley city below, but the sunset was promising to be spectacular for anybody willing to wait patiently for it. We photographed the ancient chapel of Tepeyac.

   And we photographed the flowers.

   We photographed the sky and the skyline of houses. But the sunset didn/t pan out as we had expected. Instead we were treated to a thunder storm crashing all around us and the lightning dropping to the city below us. The trip down the hill was slippery and a little dangerous.