I have been totally lame about blogging here, so I will link to ANOTHER article. Others write! I tag along! I do like this series of travel articles in the New York Times. Their suggestions for San Miguel are pretty good, by and large. Of course, Casa Colina is a MUCH more comfortable and economical choice than the hotels they list in the article. Click the link to read!
New York Times 36 Hours in San Miguel.
I am pretty fond of La Azotea and La Sirena Gorda, two very different bars mentioned in the article. It's always worthwhile to ask if there is an Hora Feliz going on. As to hot springs, Escondido (mentioned in the article) is my personal favorite, although most of my friends prefer La Gruta, and the kids are all about Xote.

An article from Vogue on San Miguel

Destination of the Month:
San Miguel de Allende

written and photographed by Richard Alleman

Richard Alleman heads to one of Mexico’s loveliest—and liveliest—colonial towns and discovers why this long-time favorite of North American expats is now luring the hip Mexico City set.

Here's the full article.
See, dahlings? It is just THE place to be!
You don't need to worry about the accommodations section, as Casa Colina is both more comfortable and MUCH less costly.

You never know what you'll find here in San Miguel

Yesterday I got my hair cut, and then I was walking over to pick up some shoes I had had repaired. A side note on that - you can get anything fixed here. I broke a heel off some really nice boots. Replacing a heel is something that literally cannot be done in the US. Here in San Miguel, no problem at all.
Anyway, as I walked down a street I don't usually take, I passed a printer's shop. I saw some printer's trays out of the corner of my eye. I have one in the US that I use as decoration. Here they were still in use - a real, old-fashioned printer's shop where they set the type by hand!
I asked them if I could take some pictures, and they said that I could. So great!

Jamaica, Farewell

Last night we attended the one-woman play, Jamaica, Farewell at the Santa Ana Theater. The tiny theater is part of the Biblioteca Publica in San Miguel. It is a very intimate experience, as there are maybe 6 or 7 rows of seats in all.

It's a typical San Miguel experience - this sort of amazing thing happens all the time. Debra Ehrhardt is an award-winning actor and writer, and I was close enough to hit her with a spitwad. Not that I did, of course. Afterwards, I went to a private party and talked to her about her experiences getting out of Jamaica during its period of political unrest.

I took my kids (19, 15 and 10) to the play. One never knows how this will work out, but all of them enjoyed the play, too. The whole evening was fabulous.

While I was at the party, my two boys (19 and 15) went out to get a bite to eat. They ran into some other kids with whom they had done some volunteer work, and off they went for the rest of the night. Chris (15) came home with us around midnight, but Brad was out late. San Miguel is such a safe town that he can do that.

Only here!

A bi-cultural evening

We spent a lovely evening with my friend Sue and her family. Sue is a writer and spa owner I met here in San Miguel. (You can check out HER blog). She is married to Carlos Ortega, and they have two great girls, Carla and Sean. Anyway, they came over, and later Carlos' brother Hector, his wife and two adorable boys came over also.

The total of 7 kids had a blast sliding down the water slide into the swimming pool, while we adults hung out on the outdoor sala having a couple of cocktails. We grilled arrechera (yum!) and marinated chicken from the grocery store, plus threw together some nachos. Sue brought over some fabulous salty olives (something else to bring back to the US when we leave in August) and vegetable munchies. Later, we adults went up to the azotea, or rooftop terrace. The kids drifted up, and we all played a dice-rolling game. The evening was a mixture of English and Spanish speaking.

This evening highlights many of the things I love about San Miguel. We met every one of these people here in San Miguel. Sue and Carlos and their girls are bilingual, and the rest of us can converse in both languages. In my case not very elegantly, but I am still trying! The indigenous inhabitants are gracious and friendly in accepting those of us from north of the Rio Grande (or Rio Bravo, if you are here). My children are growing up in two different cultures, and becoming at ease in both of them.