This Morelia Bed & Breakfast has Location...Location...Location

by Ingvald Mjonerud Hansen 

Ingvald Hansen is a Mexicophile hailing from Minnesota. 

If you’re looking for a warm welcome, a comfortable bed, lots of hot water, excellent home cooking, and the extra added bonus of real city sounds and smells in the bustling historic district of Morelia – then we’ve found the place for you. Parador Amado Nervo is a family run B&B. Our family spent nearly two weeks there recently and we will be going back as soon as possible. 

Since we traveled with two teenagers, we needed a two bedroom suite. We found that we had ample space to spread out and make it our home in a very short time. The apartment has a small refrigerator and a two-burner gas hotplate, so if you wish to cook for yourself, you could – or you could eat with the host family. Our hostess made our breakfast every morning and our children brought it back to us so we could eat it in the privacy of our suite without having to be presentable in order to eat in the dining room. The children, early risers only on vacation, ate breakfast with the family. Mealtime, besides being an opportunity to enjoy authentic Mexican food, also gave us a chance to meet the other guests who always were interesting and made each meal an enjoyable and memorable experience. 

Having lived in a city for years, we loved the sounds coming from outside our bedroom window that overlooked the street. We could stand there and watch the comings and goings in the street for hours, and after a few days of observing we began to recognize people going about their daily routine, like the elderly couple that came out every evening and went to one of the many small stores and bought milk. There was another couple that went to the market early every morning and came back pulling two immense carts piled high with fresh produce. If you want the peace and quite of the country, this isn’t the place for you. But, if you want to feel like part of the action, part of the life of this historic city, then this is the place for you. All you have to do is open the black steel gate, step over the threshold, close the gate with a thud behind you and your adventure begins. 

Parador Amado Nervo does have a great location. You can easily walk to many interesting sites. The Mercado Revolución is just a block and a half away from the B&B. This market seemed to have something new to reveal each time we visited it. On one of the mornings that we went to the market, it was awash in freshly cut flowers of every description. The people working there were very kind, patient and helpful. You are only a few blocks from Madero Ote., the main downtown street, and once there you can easily walk to the Cathedral, but make it a stroll. You can look in the shops and stop and take in the flavor of this very old colonial city. But, if you go in the opposite direction on Madero Ote, you will find some charming parks and the acueducto. Morelia, typical of many of Mexico’s colonial cities, has wonderful crafts, shops and restaurants. All you have to do is open a door and create your own adventure while maintaining your common sense. 

Our hostess found and made arrangements to have a local seamstress make and help our daughter design her quinceanera gown. She took our daughter to half a dozen fittings, and also helped her find a wand and a crown. They took our children to Morelia’s zoo and also to visit Lake Zirahuen. If you’re starting to think they neglected us, you’re wrong. We went on an enchanting evening tour of the city and saw Morelia illuminated by moonlight from the heights of the Santa Maria hills. We also went with them to an evening wedding and a quinceanera in a small church that was covered in paintings, carvings and lit by many large crystal chandeliers. If you saw the interior of the church in the daylight, the overall effect would not have been as dramatic as that evening.