Lovely & Laid-Back Jala, Mexico

We've arrived in the town of Jala, Mexico.

Jala is in the state of Nayarit. It's up in the mountains, inland from the beaches and ocean coast. But it's lovely. It's quaint and colonial and laid-back.

We're staying at a hotel called La Casona de Xali, which is the most surprising find. It's architecture has been fully resorted. It boasts a spa, a restaurant, a bar and in-room bathrooms with modern, chic fixtures.

When the check-in gal handed me the key to my room, I was happy to see my key ring was the Eiffle Tower. Something about that cosmopolitan icon seemed so in juxtaposition with this colonial hotel in the mountains of Mexico, and yet its aura seemed to fit exactly with the touch of refinement La Casona de Xali was out to capture.