Thursday, December 08, 2005

The Wedding -- Part Two

Once we were all gathered outside and all the photos had been taken, people started leaving for the hall which was in Zapopan, a suburb of Guad. Cliff and Leticia arranged with relatives and friends to ensure that all their Canadian guests had rides. Guess who we ended up with? JJ!!! He consulted with Leticia and others to make sure he knew where he was going before we all piled into his car. The drive took over 20 minutes because traffic was really bad in Guadalajara (Saturday!) but we finally reached out destination -- sort of. We knew we were in the right neighbourhood so when a parking spot loomed ahead, JJ did his best imitation of parallel parking, Mexican style. LOL Happy to have finally arrived, we all jumped out and starting walking away, looking for the hall. Martin found it in about 30 seconds.

The hall is hard to describe so I hope the photos turn out well. It was dark but welcoming, well lit with high ceilings and an old fashioned feel about it. Big mirrors and paintings adorned the walls, along with candle sconces festooned with royal blue ribbons and candles. In addition, the table were all set with glasses, cutlery and a huge centrepiece with flowers, ribbons and fresh pine branches for accent. Up on the wall was a huge Mexican flag next to a huge Canadian flag. I think Cliff mentioned that the Canadian flag was a little bit bigger and he seemed very proud of that fact. When we arrived, a few guests had trickled in but no one was drinking. Apparently they were all waiting for confirmation that the bride and groom were married "legally" at the civil ceremony (which I knew wasn't happening because of a screw up with the paperwork).

Taking matters into my own hands, I asked one of the waiters for a corkscrew. I had brought wine with me (at Cliffie's suggestion since none was being served at the wedding). A really, REALLY young waiter (I think he was 12 or 14 years old) returned with an ice bucket and proceeded to place my red wine into it. Heidi jumped up and grabbed the bottle back. Again, I explained that I needed at corkscrew which, truth be told, I didn't know how to say in Spanish so I said "the thing to open the bottle" which he apparently understood. Returning a few minutes later with a corkscrew, he again took the bottle and seemed puzzled at how to unwrap the outer layer around the neck and over the cork. Again, Heidi came to the rescue, grabbing the bottle and a knife, slitting the cover and ripping it off in one movement. The waiter stood by transfixed and handed over the corkscrew, finally deciding that we knew more than he did.

Unfortunately, the corkscrew was broken -- the "screw" portion was about 1/2" long, not the usual 2" required to unplug the cork. Desperate for a drink, I shoved the broken corkscrew into the bottle, dislodging the cork down into the bottle and poured some wine into the tumblers provided. It was delicious! Thank you once again, Bob and Kathy K., who brought the wine to me from Vancouver, Washington. (www.classicalwines.com/bodegas/haza.htm) With respect to the booze at the wedding, Cliff was told that Leticia's family didn't drink (except tequila) so she was planning to provide one case of beer for the wedding. Cliff knew that there were going to be CANADIANS at the wedding (and Martin) and bought six more cases. He told me afterwards that there were only four beers left at the end of the night! LOL

We toasted and danced before we ate. The appetizers were Mexican and the main course was roast beef. We toasted and danced after we ate. In fact, we danced quite a bit and whatever calories I took in, I'm certain I danced out. We enjoyed meeting all of Leticia's friends, who insisted in coming over to our tables and introducing themselves to all of us. It was very sweet and really helped to bring the two cultures together. When they left the reception, they did the same thing so when we left, we followed their example and went to every table in the hall, hugging and kissing everyone goodbye. I think we got home around midnight. The highways and streets in Guadalajara were virtually deserted. I was surprised because everyone has been telling me how big the city is and how many people live there. Other than rush hour, late Saturday afternoon, I didn't really find it that busy, big or overwhelming. Actually, I found it rather underwhelming and it made me miss Toronto even more.

When we got back to the Motel Puerto Vallarta, all was quiet, save for the transport trucks zooming by. After we came in the door, I locked it and, noticing that the doorknob seemed kind of loose, I dragged one of the heavy wooden armchairs over in front of the door. Two seconds later, I could hear Martin doing the exact same thing in the room next door! After rubbing our tired feet and inserting our ear plugs, Heidi and I were ready for bed. The room was cold but we both slept like angels. Must have been all that dancing! LOL

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