First Guests

February 7, 2019

We’ve been busy getting ready for guests since Sandi and Bill arrive today. This evening Ron grilled some chicken and we had quinoa salad, green salad, and roasted potatoes. It was late when we ate but we enjoyed dining outside.

Feb 8

Today we took S and B to centro, the core of SMA. I think I failed to mention that SMA is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The centro has beautiful Spanish colonial architecture. We started by visiting the Instituto, a former art school where artists and shops are around a lovely courtyard.

From here we walked to Parque Benito Juarez where the botanical sale was still going on, but first stopped at a hotel with an art show.

 

After this, we walked up the hill to Parroquia de San Miguel Arcangel ( a church that looks a bit like a pink wedding cake, 

Next was the Museo Historio de San Miguel (this included seeing part of Ignacio San Miguel’s home with period furnishings). See two pooped geezer tourists after the museum.  

 It was time for lunch so we wandered into a small eatery down the street, further away for the main tourist area. On the way, we came across a small parade. Lunch was a forgettable meal. 

After lunch we went to Museo del Juguete Popular Mexicano, a museum of handmade children’s toys made of many types of materials; cloth, paper mâché, metal, wood, and reeds, some of which were woven into buses, trucks carts, and figures.

 Back at home we rested until time to leave for Zumo, a fabulous fine dining experience. The restaurant sits atop a small boutique hotel and has a 360-degree view of San Miguel. The meal was terrific. Ron had tender, boneless short ribs, Bill had ribeye, Sandi had duck and I had lamb. We sat outside although the restaurant has glass walls all around.  It was great to sit outside to enjoy the chilly night. The restaurant provided us with efficient heaters that look like stainless trees…sort of. Ron got some great sunset photos and night shots.

Feb 9

It’s Saturday. After our usual breakfast of cereal/granola, fruit, juice, coffee and on the patio, we headed for the organic market that occurs on Saturday. We were efficient shoppers scooping up wonderful fresh veggies; lettuce, broccoli, cauliflower, carrots, fennel, potatoes, green beans, and avocados. This market is just a 10 minutes’ walk from us. On the way back we stopped by Textures and Colors, an artisan crafts fair, with beautiful silver jewelry, weavings, pottery, photography, and metal. At home, we washed all the veggies in the disinfectant. It made us a little late for our reservation at La Parada, another fine restaurant. We were dashing there on foot and had to climb a long steep hill. At one point, we had to stop and catch our breath due to the altitude. Two of us had fabulous salads and Ron has pork belly and Bill had liver making him a very happy guy. La Parada is famous for its chicken livers.

After lunch, we proceeded towards an old textile factory that has been converted to art galleries and studios.  Along the way we walked straight into a Mexican wedding parade.

To get to the location we passed through an artisanal market geared towards tourists. We walked through a long gauntlet of every kind of Mexican crafts. We went to Fabrica La Aurora, a former textile mill that served the community for nine decades and is now home an arts and design center filled with fabulous art galleries, antique stores, home furnishings, clothing shops and on and on. It is large and I do not think it is possible to see it all in one day.

 (NOW WHO'S TAKING A PICTURE OF WHOM?

We took a cab home after being on our feet most of the day. Tonight, we dine outside at home with a hearty salad.