El Tono's visit was *supposed* to be a surprise...but he ended up telling me before he came (which probably was a good thing due to all the crazy logistics involved in getting to Queretaro...plane, bus, taxi, donkey. Ok, just kidding about the donkey, but seriously, its a lot!). Even though it turned out to not be a surprise, I was extremely happy!! Tony's visit coincindentally coincided with my whole family's visit, which I was also extremely happy about! My dad had to come to Mexico City for work, and it just so happens that Mexico City is only about 3 hours away from Queretaro! So I had found the fam a hotel just up the street from where I live. So the visitor list included: Tony, Dad, Mom, Alex and Amber (Alex's girlfriend). So it was a week-long visit with me being the entertainer! The day they all arrived was also Julie's birthday!! AND her boyfriend was coming in also. So July 16th was a HUGE day in this household!
Julie's birthday celebration started off the week-long visit perfectly...we even got to witness her smashing a dog pinata (she's not a fan of dogs!) EVERYONE was there--so fun!!! Next on the agenda, was discovering Queretaro. Since I already had discovered it, well, just about everyday [Julie and I try to search out new things and explore places we have never been], I ended up being the awesome tourguide. And let me just say, that this whole week that I had visitors, my Spanish improved by at least 1,000%! Everyone depended on me to get us where we had to go, to order food, to get bus tickets, etc. And it was a lot of fun to know that I could actually do it!
My brother ended up hurting his thumb [huge chunk of wood stuck underneath his fingernail...gross and painful]. So the emergency room was one of the first places where I had to force my Spanish. After that, we walked to the market, toured the city so I could show them all the cool places, and made them try new things. I even saw some things I had never seen before [new adventures everyday, right?]...camels, zebras, and tigers in vehicles going down the street with music playing! The circus was in town. And these animals looked drugged. Maybe the drug cartels had gotten ahold of them. Either way, it was very sad and I just wanted to hug that poor white tiger.
**Check out Alex's bandaged thumb. Us in the taxi on the way back from the emergency room!A couple of days were spent around Queretaro; at the market, around the city, in the plazas, etc. But we did take a couple of side trips.
Next in store was a trip to San Miguel de Allende. I think everyone liked this town because English is spoken in most parts! So it felt more "at home." The bus ride there was not so enjoyable though because Amber is prone to getting car-sick. So here's the factors of the equation: bus with improper hydraulics + dirty bumpy Mexico backroads + smells of the bus... and well, you know what that equals. But once we were there, things were fine; food was great, shops were greater, and the scenery even greater! 
The next sidetrip was with Tony, Julie, and Remi (Julie's boyfriend). We went to Bernal and had a great time climbing the mountain together. It was a gorgeous day with beautiful clouds and it made for super awesome pictures. It was definitely hot though; once we had climbed down the mountain we were in need of some serious gorditas!!! The best of the best in Bernal!! 
Their visit seemed way too short and I was not ready for them to leave!!! But I think some of them were ready to get back to normalcy in the Bluegrass State.
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