Finally Visiting Vallodolid & Casa de Los Venados

Keith & I have been wanting to go visit Vallodolid for awhile now but never seem to be able to successfully schedule a time to go. Our friends, Randi & Dave, have also been wanting to go so we finally were able to schedule an outing.

The drive from Akumal is only about 1.5 hours and you drive through a few small towns filled with local art stores (and lots of street dogs).

I had read about an American couple who bought a home in 2000 and remodeled it while filling it with Mexican folk art. They now own the largest collection of Mexican folk art, which I am a huge fan of, so I had to see it. They open their home up to the public at 10am for a few hours everyday and you can take a guided tour, for free.

When we arrived it wasn't quite 10am so we wandered around a bit looking at shops. Then at 10am we went back to Casa de Los Venados to join the tour. The tour was about 1.5 hours and we were walked through the house and given lots of information on the art, the owners and the home. They wouldn't tell me what the house was purchased for and I was kind of scolded for asking... at-least I felt like I was. The guide made a comment about how he had been told it was impolite to ask about how much people make, etc... Well yeah, that is. I'd never ask that question. Asking how much a home was purchased for, especially when it had been in rubble for about 80 years seems like a fair question. The house was fully restored and they put a ton of work into it to bring it back to it's glory. If only they had redfin or zillow here...

Cathedral in Vallodolid

Anyways, I loved the tour and all of the art. I was so inspired I had to find a few pieces for our own little collection we have here in Mexico and Lake Ozark. 

After the tour we had lunch at a local restaurant suggested by Linda, El Atrio. We had hoped to have some al pastor tacos but they didn't have any. I opted for melted cheese with mushrooms and chorizo and chicken panuchos. So good!

The rest of our day was filled with touring the cathedral, shopping and walking around the main square. It's a cute town and an overnight stay would be really fun. Maybe when we get back from our 15 month hiatus...