Last Week in San Miguel de Allende

—Blogpost written by Bob 

In this blogpost, we continue our 6-month winter excursion in Mexico.  We arrived by car on October 15 in San Miguel de Allende (SMA), traveling from near Annapolis, Maryland where we live on our sailboat.  This blogpost described our last week in San Miguel de Allende.  (At the end of January we will be moving to Bucerias near Puerto Vallarta, on the Pacific coast, for our last two months in Mexico.)

Monday, January 24

This morning was the start of our last week in San Miguel de Allende.  We were looking forward to being in a warmer area of Mexico on the coast but not necessarily looking forward to packing and moving.

----------

Our agenda for today included finding some Mexican beads so that Maggie could continue with her bead projects.  Of course, we combined it with lunch out.  We originally planned to go to Testavere, which was convenient to the two bead shops we found out about.  

We couldn't find the bead shops--they may have gone out of business.  Our plan became a little wrecked when we couldn't find the bead shops.  We also had second thoughts about eating at Testavere, based on our experience with another recent visit to a high-priced restaurant, Spice Market.  So, we stumbled upon another restaurant that looked intriguing from the street, Cafe Monet.

Cafe Monet's windows and doors
opened into the street.

Cafe Monet was filled with artwork
and the background music
was a very relaxing jazz.

Cafe Monet was the kind of place that stirred my artistic interests.  The simple (but elegantly presented) food was very good too.  Maggie had fish tacos and I had lasagna--both were outstanding!  During lunch it seemed like we were transported to a different place than the Mexico we have inhabited for the past four months.

Maggie's four fish tacos
for today's lunch.

After lunch we took a taxi to the Artisan's Market so that Maggie could get some beads.  I captured the following images along the way:

A rambunctious group of
handmade Mexican rag dolls.

Two colorful hearts
outside a little shop.

A red Coca-Cola chair in the
window of a little shop.
(Supposedly, there 
is more Coca-Cola
sold in Mexico
that the U.S.) 

Just another beautiful
archway and courtyard.

We were back at our apartment by the magical hour of 3 PM, Maggie having purchased at least four necklace-length strings of different-color beads.

Tuesday, January 25

The low temperature last night was in the mid-40's, at least 10 degrees higher than normal!  (Colder nights in the 30's were expected to return later in the week.)  In the morning when we stopped by the corner cafe for breakfast, it was already 65 degrees, headed for a high of (only) 73 degrees for the day. 

---------- 

We went out for a leisurely breakfast ("desayuno" as it is called here) at the corner cafe.  Over breakfast we talked about some possibilities for spending next winter: (1) in the Bahamas by boat, (2) spending the winter on board in Annapolis like we did this past winter, (3) spending three months somewhere on the coast in Mexico, or (4) somewhere totally different like spending time in a cabin with snow outside.  (We're open to suggestions!)

When we returned to our apartment, the maid was there cleaning.  (Kali was running around the kitchen and Lola was hiding somewhere--they have completely opposite personalities.)

A skull planter on our table in the Cafe
de la Esquina.  The plant and planter
were for sale for 150 Mexican
pesos (about $7.50 USD).

Previously, I mentioned the primitive electrical wiring in Mexico.  Plumbing is another issue that is quite different in Mexico.  Because most buildings are more than 300 years old, toilets are typically mounted on a higher level than the surrounding floors so that the discharge plumbing could be fit underneath the toilet without ripping up and redoing the concrete floor.

The typical increased floor elevation
in the bathroom of our apartment.
(Note the trash can beside the
toilet for soiled toilet paper.)

In the U.S. wood floors are more common than concrete floors which is why the increased floor elevation is not common in the U.S. like it is in Mexico.  Many times, the doors to bathrooms are made shorter to accommodate the increased floor elevation.

----------

I found myself with nothing to do today, an unusual situation for sure--it started about 11 AM, after the maid left.  Maggie started cooking a meatloaf for a late lunch.  (Lately, we have been eating a later-than-normal lunch as our main meal of the day, most times skipping dinner.  We still have Happy Hour almost every day but we have just one drink of some kind, albeit a beer, a glass of wine, or a mixed drink.)

Wednesday, January 25

This morning was relatively warm again (mid-40's outside)--it certainly beats the mid-20's back home!  We had no real agenda for the day except lunch at Pizza Guy and a minor trip to the supermarket.  We are trying to use up food items we have here in the apartment since we are leaving for Bucerias on Monday morning.

After a delicious lunch at Pizza Guy, our favorite pizza restaurant in San Miguel de Allende, we stopped by La Comer for a few grocery items.

I was attracted to the moving colorful
lights of this sunglass exhibit
within La Comer.

We were back at our apartment by 3 PM.  For some reason I was really bored today--I don't know why today I was more bored than any other day but I was.  I guessed it was time to start packing (or day drinking).  The more I thought about it, day drinking seemed like a good idea (but was so out of character for me).

In the middle of the afternoon, Maggie made a frozen mango margarita for me using a very ripe mango we just bought at the supermarket.  The yellow mango was soft and very aromatic.  After all, we couldn't allow the very ripe mango to rot--it would have been such a waste!

A frozen mango margarita made a
perfect mid-afternoon treat on
an otherwise boring day!

We were completely out of triple sec but had plenty of blue curaçao for the margarita--it made it a beautiful lime green color.

----------

At the Pizza Guy restaurant today I noticed the higher floor elevation in the bathroom (like almost all other buildings in SMA).  Their toilet was of a higher pressure variety and there was a sign in the bathroom about one should put soiled toilet paper in the toilet and not in the waste basket, contrary to normal practice in Mexico.

This was a snapshot of Kali on our boat
just before we left for Mexico--she
was only six months old
at the time.  (Now, she
is as big as Lola!)

Thursday, January 27

This morning was another relatively warm one--no temperatures near freezing!  Our morning was very leisurely, having oatmeal for breakfast in our apartment.  I took a nice hot shower around noon before heading out for lunch.

----------

For some reason Lola (our oldest Maine Coon) was very needy this morning, trying to cuddle with me at every opportunity.  She must have felt insecure for some reason.

----------

We decided to go out for lunch at the first restaurant we visited when arriving in San Miguel de Allende, Hierba Santa.

A handprinted sign for the restaurant
appeared along Aurora.

The dining area for Hierba Santa is
in this outdoor courtyard.

I had very tasty fish
tacos for lunch!

After lunch we stopped briefly at the nearby OXXO (like a 7-Eleven) and checked to see if they had sugar-free Magnum ice cream bars--they didn't.  Maggie continued walking into to town to get some more cash from the ATM while I walked back to our apartment.

Housing way up in the hills above the
town of San Miguel de Allende.

Well, tomorrow we begin packing up our things for our trip to Bucerias.  We have one more new restaurant we want to try here in San Miguel de Allende before leaving.  Stay tuned...

Thanks for following our blog!