Feb 10
It is Sunday and today we slowed down and did some planning for the next few days. We went out to lunch nearby to Oso Azul (Blue Bear). It is written up as a good place to eat but it struck us as dated, no longer a rip-roaring concern. We had an okay meal. Afterward, we went on a self-guided walk we found written up in a free local brochure. The Rinconada de la La Aldea Walkway is a residential pedestrian street where muralist have painted the walls. It felt so private and peaceful, a quiet retreat from the busy streets of San Antonio neighborhood. It is located near our house so we came home after taking photos and admiring the homes.
On the way, we saw a house for sale that we had looked at online.
The rest of the day was spent relaxing at home. I had made marinara portobello mushroom sauce before S and B arrived. We had a pasta and salad dinner with garlic bread. Yum!
Feb 11
Today the four of us took the historical walking tour which was three hours long. It was great. Our guide was a former California lawyer who has lived here for 15 years. The organization that sponsors the walks collects a fee of $15 from each person and 90% of the money goes to helping local children with dental and medical needs. It appears that the ex-pats here do a lot of good works for the local community. In addition, our guide teaches English to children in a village out of town. The ex-pat community is about 10% of the local population. The area’s population is about 140,000.
We visited churches, a former art school that was a former convent and now a cultural center, homes of famous leaders, murals and a library that contains one of the largest collections of English books in Latin America. 
We learned about the Ignacio Allende, the leader of the revolution against Spain who lived in this town. He is a national hero.
We learned about weddings in San Miguel where after the church ceremony members of the wedding party walk to the reception accompanied by a mariachi or brass band, dancing as they go through the street. In addition, there are 12-foot puppets representing the bride and groom leading the way. We were fortunate enough to witness this on Saturday when we were out and about. Because of the cobblestone streets, a woman with a basket swaps the women’s high heels for flip-flops she carries in the basket. Small plastic glasses are dispensed and the booze starts flowing as the parade to the reception continues down the street.
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| Nun's Church with traditional bell tower |
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| Nun's Church in Baroque style |
We learned about numerous wars fought and how the war of independence started here in SMA. We learned about the history of the churches and their architecture, the economic and social strata and how rigid they were. Full blooded Spaniards born in Mexico were rated lower than those born in Spain for example. I could go on and on but it was a very engaging presentation and not without humor.
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| Mission style church |
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| Church built by freed African slaves for their own use Later taken over by Spanish oligarchs. |
Afterward, we came back to our neighborhood and ate an incredible lunch at Hecho en Mexico (Made in Mexico) including shrimp tacos, fish tacos (our seafood was grilled), chili relleno and of course guacamole. There were NO complaints other than mild groans from eating too much.
We ate a late dinner of small plates of roasted veggies because we all had eaten such a large lunch.
Afterward, we watched the News Hour then headed to bed.
Feb 12
Today S and B are taking a tour to Guanajuato, a nearby town where Diego Rivera was born. After they left early this morning, we went out to take a couple of photos of nearby homes.
On the way home, we met a woman from Chicago who was walking her dog. There seem to be no strangers here. Anyway, she told us a story that was distressing. She said she was walking down the street and stepped into the street to let a local woman pass by. The sidewalks are very narrow here and it is almost impossible to pass someone without one person stepping into the street. When our new friend, Louisa, stepped into the street she said to the woman ‘buenos tardes’ which means good afternoon. The woman fired back, ‘You are an American. We don’t want you here. Trump’s wall is … Our experience has been that the locals are very friendly and courteous. But Louisa said she thinks that some of the more negative feelings are suppressed. We have been surprised that we haven’t seen this before given how SMA has been ‘discovered’. It is overrun with tourists, both Mexican and non-Mexicans. It is a wedding destination for Mexicans now. As a consequence, the prices of housing and food have risen and it affects locals negatively. Our political situation in the US with all the negative rhetoric about Mexicans only exasperates this.
We also saw an older ford parked in a very tight garage space that reminded us of the movie Roma.
Ron and I love to look at real estate so today we went to see a house nearby that we spied a couple of days ago. It was a charming, traditional, three-story house. It was in perfect shape and immaculate. The couple who owns it is from MI and are moving to a condo in SMA as they are now in their 80’s. It was a fun ‘look see’ but neither of us is ready to do anything but look. Houses in the centro area have a small footprint and are at least two stories with one or two more stories of open-air rooftop patios, usually covered and uncovered. If you want to see it Google Casa Rosado listed with Agave Sotheby’s San Miguel de Allende and it should come up. Afterward, we checked out a restaurant to see if it would be a nice place for dinner before S and B leave on Friday. It meets the Bergman Seal of Approval. Then we came back to our neighborhood and had lunch at a tiny place that had been recommended by our host and Louisa whom we met this morning. It was good and we have a lovely view from the rooftop.
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