Last week I was complaining about my upcoming schedule. I want you to feel my pain but really, I've had an incredible year so far, sometimes traveling to Mexico twice a month. The highlight was Veracruz, both the state and the city.

We started up north in Papantla, famous for its vanilla, and made our way down through the capitol and on to Xalapa, home of the jalapeño (or xalapeño) pepper. All along the way we had incredibly rich and delicious black beans. I hate to ask what was in them for I'm sure there was more lard than frijol, but who knows?

They were almost sticky with goodness. These were from the famous Gran Cafe de la Parroquia in the city of Veracruz. It's a great place, bustling at all hours and serving good local food.

I think in the end, I love a port city. San Francisco, Napoli, Genova, Veracruz....citizens of port towns seem to really love a good time.