Author: Marcia Blondin

When all the plans are smooth as silk, a gremlin pops up and seemingly messes with your day. I have learned to observe the changes as an opportunity I hadn’t considered before the interruption or disruption. My long day of shopping with Sharon was disrupted half an hour before it could begin by circumstances beyond…

If this is Tuesday, then it must be a great shopping day! I am meeting Sharon, then we are descending on the colonia of Coapinole for their fabulous outdoor tianguis, then La Comer for coffee and Costco, and be done and home by noon. That’s the plan anyway! A full report on the extravagant abundance…

I hope everybody had a weekend like mine! With not one but two Mother’s Days back to back to celebrate being the mom of my kitty Bogie, I did only what I wanted for 2 days straight. I futzed in my garden a little, caught a few rays, didn’t nap because I didn’t have to…

It’s the weekend, and don’t forget Mother’s Day is tomorrow! If you are looking for someplace new to take your mom and treat her royally, head over to Pulpito, just up the street from the Tryst Hotel and Coco’s Kitchen, and try the new brunch at ZUMO. Owners Vanessa Venegas and Stewart Haverlack invited a handful of people yesterday to peruse the menu…

Every game created by humans involves luck to a certain percentage with skill taking up the balance. Scrabble hovers around 15% luck, and when that 15% attaches itself to you during a tournament, as it did to me yesterday, you can do no wrong. Four games straight with the last two played because we had…

My sister Patrice and I are moving forward with our plans to attend our niece’s wedding this summer. In Sweden. The reason I am reluctant or recalcitrant about this trip occurred to me this morning – I don’t know how to plan, never mind actually take, a vacation. Prior to moving to Vallarta 34 years…

I was looking forward to the press conference at Restaurante Barcelona Tapas. I wanted to see Juan Pablo Hernández Salcedo, an old friend of more than 20 years, whom I had not seen since the last production of Princesas Desesperadas. Juan Pa’ plays Bella. So, it had been too long. As he has done from…

Happy 5 de mayo, the second of three holidays this month; Mother’s Day is coming this Saturday. At noon today, I am walking up the hill to Restaurante Barcelona Tapas for a press conference on Restaurant Week by Vallarta Lifestyles, which will last nearly a month. It will soon be coming to about 50 restaurants…

Last night, I sat at a dining room table placed almost exactly in the same spot I had stood in a week ago at the Red Carpet opening of The Tryst Hotel. It was so quiet and tranquil compared to the tremendous excitement of the grand opening. My dinner companion, owner of the extravagantly gay…

It’s May Day, and my plan to hit the bank, pay some taxes, and get some cash, have to be put off until tomorrow, when Intercam will be busier as it’s Friday, but it is what it is. Fiestas are what make Mexico the greatest country in the world; nobody parties with as much heart…

A big shout-out to Georgia Darehshori. Happy Birthday, girlfriend, – may you enjoy many, many more! The world needs your radiance. With Pride fast approaching, Frida’s Bar needed a new representative to ride in the big parade and be the face of Tom Finley’s namesake bar for the next year. And the winner of Finding…

How does this sound: “Creme brule brioche topped with cinnamon-spiced applesauce and a red berry medley?” Too sweet? Try this then – “Two perfectly poached eggs, fresh-sliced avocado, wild arugula, basil pesto.” Those are two of the seven breakfast offerings at The Courtyard at the Tryst Sunday Drag Brunch. And, whatever you choose comes with…

This past weekend was one for the record books. A hectic, champagne-fueled, celebrity-peppered with black-shirted security guards inserted appropriately between us and them. The occasion? The grand opening of The Tryst Hotel on Pulpito in Zona Romantica. I interviewed Tristan Schukraft in the lobby of his condominium building here in Vallarta 13 months ago. He…

The only problem with writing a daily, Monday to Friday column, is that you have to do stuff that people may actually want to read about. With the current entertainment situation in Vallarta, with all the venues scaled back somewhat for the off-season (with an upcoming blip for Pride Week), there is not much new…

Happy Easter, everybody! I hope the Big Bunny leaves you loads of yummy chocolate treats and that your bonnet wins a prize at lunch, and if you are brunching somewhere fabulous, you have tons of mimosas to wash everything down. Traffic is heavy, as is the rule on our narrow streets during any holiday, and…

Angeloo is a twelve-year-old wunderkind, a winner of the So, You Think You Can Rise? talent contest a bit over a year ago. He started out singing at Open Mic at Incanto and can be found around town singing where and when he can. He does have school. His dad Oscar is with him always,…

Humpday, middle of the week, and only a few days left to play with my baby sister Patrice before she flies back to Canada for the summer on Easter Sunday. One of our rituals – and we have created many specific for Mexico – includes the Tuesday tianguis in Coapinole (what a haul yesterday!) and…

The annual MAC Awards (Manhattan Association of Cabarets and Clubs) concluded last week in New York City. How fun to read the list of winners and recognize three of them from their performances this season in Vallarta: Nicolas King (Major Artist), Tracy Stark (Best Song), and Natalie Douglas (Major Recording). Previous Mac winners David Sabella…

The Vallarta Botanical Garden is just 20 years old, barely around long enough to raise one good-sized tree, yet it has won every major award possible in our entire continent. Going up against revered Gardens like Butchart’s outside of Victoria on Vancouver Island, which has flourished for over a hundred years. And some pristine Gardens…

Dinner at Il Pesce Cocina de mar has been long overdue and wildly anticipated. As we suspected it would be – everything was perfectly cooked and delivered to the table by expert, caring wait staff. I ordered what I always do – the homemade fettuccini with three kinds of mushrooms and truffle oil. My superlatives…