Monday, 16 January 2017: San Miguel de Allende

Today was the day for the walking tour of the city center, historical buildings and a few of the churches.  The tour started at the Parroquia, the fabulous church very near our hotel right across the street from the Jardin Square. 

When we did our walking tour in Edinburgh, the guide said that he'd never done a tour with a dog before. Well, today, in San Miguel de Allende, Gemma was accompanied by Emma, a cute Javanese from New York City.   Allende, one of the big movers and shakers in Mexican independence was born here and, it was here in SMA where the fight for independence actually began.  The tour ended in the biblioteca and since it was a bit after noon, it was time for lunch.  About halfway through our meal Everesto joined us.  What a delightful man.  And, he even bought our lunch.  When we contested a bit, he explained that when you meet good people, you know it.  I'd say that goes both ways.  I got out a piece of paper after lunch and started a day-by-day planner and the conversation with Mike and Justin. 

At the conclusion of that conversation, we'd decided to stay in San Miguel de Allende a few more days.  Mike went one way and Justin and I headed to extend our lodging.

Just roaming around this city is great.  The cobblestone streets and the tiny little alleys lead to one discovery after another.  One of the stories they have in SMA is about the doors, or rather, what lies behind the doors in the city.  Following true Mexican tradition, the houses most often have fabulous interior courtyards and very little visible public space.  Some of the doors are simply spectacular.  Of course, the courtyards are works of art most often with fountains and plants that are meticulously tended.  Fortunately for the traveler like me, many public buildings also have these designs so we are able to enjoy them too.




We didn't connect with Mike for dinner.  Justin and I thought we were entering the door of the restaurant where we'd had a brunch buffet when we first arrived in town.  Instead, we turned early and ended up in Puebla Viejo.  Oh, what a find!   What asked for our drink order, I told the waiter, who in actuality was the restaurant manager, that I'd been in town almost a week and still hadn't had a margarita.  He told me I was at the right place to take care of that!  He suggested that we start with with a special tortilla appetizer.  The tortilla, made from thinly sliced jicama, was filled with breaded and fried shrimp, thinly sliced fried leeks, chipotle mayonnaise and tamarind sauce.  OH MY!  Our next course was really the chef's muse -- a small tostada with marinated pulled pork topped with a dry Mexican cheese.  Next, for our main course, we ordered "sopas de champion y nopal" -- a tomato broth with fried mushrooms, chilies and cactus.  Bolillos and tortillas came with the soup.  This was heaven! 

And, even better than the food, was the music.  A four man ensemble completed a two hour set from about 7:45 until about 9:45.  These four men have been playing together at the same place for 16 years, every night except Sunday.  Their mix of Mexican, South American, Cuban, etc isn't captured on CDs.  Three of the four are music teachers by day.  The instruments included guitars and vocals, drums, wooden flute, maracas, and even a rain stick.  One of the guitar-like instruments had a tiny body like a ukulele but with ten strings.  I really hope we get to come back here!