The approach into Guatemala City International Airport is one of the most dramatic (a close third after Hong Kong, where you seem to fly between the high rises, and LAX where the city seems to sprawl forever) and most beautiful. The city is ringed by magnificent volcanos with just a few halos of mist for a little extra impact. A driver was waiting to take us to our little hotel in the heart of Antigua, 45 minutes away.

Antigua is extremely touristy and admittedly quaint. We decided it isn’t “charming” for that would imply some greater emotional draw, which for us, is lacking. There are more than 60 language schools here so a large majority of the population is about 23 years old, English-speaking (mostly from the U.S. but with plenty of Aussies, Brits and a few Europeans to round out the mix) and doing their homework in Starbuck’s –like cafes. There are also LOTS of older (older than us, that is) people who seem to like hanging out in the very pricey restaurants and shopping in the very chi-chi boutiques that line the main streets and ring the town plaza. (Note to T: C’s shop looks like it belongs on Coast Village Road to clothe and accessorize the beautiful, après-Botox session crowd. She’s going to make a bundle.)

We stumbled upon a lovely little, mucho upscale shop one afternoon. The savvy, American ex-pat owner has all sorts of expensive items artfully displayed – including Trader Joe’s vinegar, Trader Joe’s pad Thai (all three flavors) and Trader Joe’s red pepper sauce – and not at TJ prices. This is a good example of where this city is headed.

Weather? They don’t call Guatemala the Land of Eternal Spring for nothing. The skies have looked threatening a couple mornings, but every day we have enjoyed perfect weather in the high 70s.

Antigua is surrounded by lush green hillsides and postcard perfect volcanos. The narrow streets are cobblestone which means little parking and therefore, not too many cars. The single-story cement buildings have colorful facades, formidable wooden doors and some nice iron work over every one of the windows of those chi-chi boutiques, pricey restaurants, as well as everything else with an opening.

Speaking of safety, this feels like a relatively safe place. There are tourist police in the main tourist areas but relatively few state police (the scary guys). There are, however, armed guards in front of every bank and ATM, the expensive jewelry stores, the McDonald’s, the Subway sandwich shop, and Pollo Campero, the Guatemalan answer to KFC (that evidently has franchises worldwide).

That being said, Antigua is clean; it’s easy to navigate; there are some good sights; it has a few gorgeous examples of colonial architecture; and it makes a good base from which to venture out into much more interesting places that we know will feel more like the “real” Guatemala we came to explore and less like a Latin-flavored Solvang.