To Guatemala and Back! | Day 1 & 2

How this adventure started:
Sitting in a bar, watching our football team lose miserably I had a conversation with one of my good friends about life and how I was feeling down about it. (This is also the same conversation that sparked the 30 by 30 Bucket List). She was talking about all of her travels to other countries and it really moved me to think about my traveling experience lack of traveling thus far in my life. So she casually mentioned that I should join her when she travels to Guatemala in December to visit her sister. Keep in mind that this conversation was around the month of October. I immediately said "Seriously? Can I come with you?!" And the next day I booked plane tickets. Totally random, spur of the moment decision. Loved it!

The adventure | Day 1: Guatemala City
We flew into Guatemala City where our friend lives and works. (She teaches English at an International School). We had a great traveling group! Kim, KyleAnne, Rob and myself. We stayed the night with KyleAnne and ate breakfast at a neat little place in Guatemala City.

The breakfast restaurant called Saul. Had interesting holiday decorations and artwork on the walls.

Day 2: Antigua
We took a taxi southwest from Guatemala City to the town of Antigua. It was amazing with cobblestone streets, fountains, interesting architecture and little shops! We stayed in a hostel - which was my very first experience! It was called the Black Cat Hostel and the 4 of us shared a room with another traveler from Arizona. He was an older Japanese fellow and a "long distance walker"! We stayed in Antigua for one night, walking through the artisan market and shops. Here I experienced my first Michelata which is beer with bloody mary mix, similar to a red or tomato beer, but slightly better. :-)

Some of the neat old architecture that remained in the town.

View of the stairway in our hostel. Lots of the buildings had open air areas in their architecture. Some areas contain a garden and others had sitting areas. Let in a lot of natural light.

Antigua is surrounded by 3 volcanoes. Agua, Fuego and Pacaya. I'm not sure which one is pictured behind us, but my guess would be Agua.

One of the many shops in the market. Lots of handmade, woven items and other fun trinkets.

For dinner we ate at an elaborate hotel restaurant. Since most of us were tourists, they put on a traditional show with costumes and dance. They even persuaded Kim to join in!

Some of the more interesting bars/clubs were closed for the holidays, so we decided to call it an early night since we had a big day coming up. Next post will be Day 3: Panajachel and Lake Atitlan! So many gorgeous photos to share!!