This big 2-0!! This entire month was spent in San Miguel de Allende, Mexico, one of our favorite cities. This month we:
+ arrived in San Miguel November 24. We were welcomed back into the Aurora neighborhood, parking on the street in the same spot as last year nestled between the elementary school and soccer field. The residents recognized us and were super helpful in sending us around to their cousin’s sister’s neighbor as we tried to find a place to rent for the holidays.
+ rented an apartment!! Since we love this city and didn’t want to spend the holidays hopping aimlessly from one city to another in search of friends, we decided to rent an apartment through the new year. That and Neli’s are here too and it’s great to have friends to play with. We found a sweet apartment right in the center of town, everything included (plus laundry) for $100 a week! A friend of a friend of a friend connected us with Susan who lives on the outskirts of town with a massive property for Skyhorse to chill out on. It’s nice (weird?) to have so much space again, a “real” home, wifi on demand, cable, and a rooftop deck with spectacular views of the city. It’s complete city living in this area with standstill traffic, nonstop church bells, cool cafés next door, an Argentinean restaurant underneath the apartments, the main Jardin a block away, and butcher shops and the local market close at hand.
+ spent Thanksgiving cooking with Victoria and Jason and their dogs, Neli and Maya. We had our hearts set on turkey, boxed stuffing (for Victoria), and canned cranberry sauce (for Jason). The turkeys were plentiful but frozen solid and no boxed stuffing was to be found so we settled for a feast of 2 chickens, mashed potatoes 2 ways (Sarah vs Jason), sautéed spinach and mushrooms, Jason’s gross canned cranberry gel, and the tastiest pumpkin pie compliments to the best bakery in town, Petit Four.
The rowdy night ended like this:
+ built a puppy pee area on the roof. We are in the heart of downtown which means very few green spaces. And the ones that exist are either fenced, elevated, or surrounding monuments and churches. We kept getting scolded by locals when the dogs walked on the above listed grass areas, even after showing them we have bags to pick up. Hello!? Where do they think the stray dogs go?!? So Hani ordered 10 pieces of sod and 4 bags of dirt to fill the 2 wooden boxes he had a carpenter build. Needless to say the 7 pieces of unused sod and bag of dirt are still up on the roof one month later. And the “lawn” is brown. But the dogs still use it and it’s far easier to walk up a flight of stairs at night than brave the 4 blocks in the cold and hope no one in front of the church sees you.
+ wandered around the colonial streets and market sampling some awesome eats. We get our daily liter of oj for $1.40, sometimes fresh churros along side. The market has been a fabulous find serving up brothy soups and stacked high sandwiches. Even the street carts here are plentiful–sliced fruits and veggies (a liter container is under a dollar), ice cream (even though it’s cold out!), tamales and alote in the mornings and tacos at night. The cafés have such delicious coffee and sweet treats. Happy hours are everywhere on rooftop terraces. And the restaurants serve amazing international cuisines. This town is dangerous!!
+ froze! Our first week in San Miguel was SO COLD we had to buy a heater and layered on every article of clothing. I don’t know how we are going to survive the winter when we get back to the states!
+ but still love this cool colonial city.
+ met some great new friends, fellow travelers Krista and Paul and their dog Rufus. Rufus became part of the family as we watched him one weekend when Krista and Paul went into Mexico City. Olivia was in heaven, finally having a big dog to play with.
+ celebrated out second wedding anniversary on December 1. No flat tire like last year but still an adventurous one as we explored more of the city and learned that most places are closed on Mondays. Also, I’ve decided that all future anniversaries need to be spent in Mexico to continue the tradition of the past 2 years.
+ went to La Gruta hot springs, right outside San Miguel, with Krista and Paul. At first we were disappointed, seeing only one semi warm pool and an empty one. Then we discovered the grotto, a long enclosed hallway half underwater that opened up into a dome shapes room where the hot springs flowed. We stayed until we got pruney and successfully avoided a super creepy man talking to himself.
+ saw two movies–one in the big multiplex and one in a quaint cafe. It’s been a year since we last saw a movie in a theater and these two did not disappoint! The fresh popped carmel corn didn’t hurt either.
+ karaoked!!
+participated in a Posada on Christmas Eve. We started in the Jardin watching the ex-pats sing carols while the locals passed strange looks, then walked from one church to another in procession singing Spanish carols. Well, we didn’t sing, but it was fun all the same.
+ Christmased with Victoria, Jason, their dogs and Victoria’s parents Lorna and David at our apartment. Lorna cooked a beautiful turkey, some delicious sides and ended the gorge-fest with another amazing cake from Petit Four. Happy holidays everyone!!!
Tags: anniversary, karaoke, Mexico, month, Neli's Big Adventure, San Miguel de Allende
Sarah
Hani
Adventures in Skyhorse 