San Miguel de Allende

This weekend I didn't work on Saturday because it was a national holiday in Mexico (their version of Labor Day). So, I took advantage of the time off and visited the so-called "prettiest town in Mexico:" San Miguel de Allende. It is only about a 2 hour busride from Leon, and indeed, lives up to its name. The streets are colorful, charming, and spotless and the people are very friendly. I took some pictures and am looking forward to painting some watercolors of them (which I haven't been able to do in the urban, dirty city of Leon).

However, as you might guess, the "precious" town attracts many tourists: I saw more white-haired, hippie Americans than I ever want to see. One asked me if I wanted my picture painted, another was an owner of an Art Gallery, and another was my guest house owner...the list goes on... to cater to the huge tourist population, there are lots of cool arts and original crafts galleries around the central plaza - some stuff is way overpriced (think Ann Arbor Art Fair) and other stuff is cheap. I did pick up 2 cool souvenir t-shirts!

One highlight of my trip was, of course, the food.

• My first day I ate a Mexican specialty I had never tried before: cazuelitas. It's melted cheese with peppers, mushrooms, and chorizo served with warm tortillas. Yum.
• The next day I had "huevos rancheros" (ranch, or "country-style" eggs): a corn tortilla with fried eggs on top, covered in a tomato-chile sauce. Yum again.
• But the best culinary experience was at a cafe owned by a former Mexican soap opera star. There I had mouth-watering "churros con chocolate": long strips of fried dough, sprinkled in sugar and served with sinfully rich chocolate sauce for dipping and later drinking. Mmm. It reminded me of my study-abroad time in Spain (where the treat originates).

Two other cool things happened in San Miguel: I went to mass (in Spanish) at the famous church in the central plaza (pictured). And, as I was walking through a garden, around the corner came a mariachi band, followed by towering Mexican puppets, leading a wedding party! It was such a cool spontaneous experience and I was able to capture it on video :)

So, I crossed one town off my to-do list for the 1 month and 1 week that I have remaining here. Hope to cross off some more...