Destination - The Mexican Santa Barbara
Trip Start
Jun 26, 2004
1
4
15
Trip End
Aug 08, 2004
San Miguel de Allende, Guanajuato, Mexico
Friday, July 2, 2004
I know those of you who are familiar with my penchant for lack of grammatical accuracy, might have noticed that these travel entries contain more than the typical level of typos and the like. Before you conclude that I am losing grasp of the English language after only a week in Mexico let me come to my own defense and blame it entirely on the confounding lay-out of the keyboards I've come across here. They have all kinds accents and other things where I am used to seeing ALT, SHIFT, and other familiar keys. For example the keyboard I am typing on now has the parentheses keys, but when I hit it I get a *, go figure....Damn Mexican keyboards!! Just kidding. Notice how I manage to damn something MEXICAN in every entry_ It's all in jest, as some of you may not be aware of the fact that I am MEXICAN! I can't even type happy faces on this keyboard. Very frustrating...
After leaving the last internet cafe - the one Susie rushed me out of - she had a near panic attack as we could not hail down a taxi to get to the bus station and we were heading into one of the cities many underground streets. We finally got a cab and made it to the bus station on time and we were in San Miguel de Allende by 8 PM.
The best way I can describe this town is to say it was the original Santa Barbara. It's colonial Mexico at heart, but with an European and American sensibility. Maybe it has something to do with the fact that more than half the residents here are expats or retirees from abroad, especially US, Canada and Europa. This doesn't detract from the town's charm but it is strange to see so many "gringos", as they call themselves, walking doen hundred plus year old cobble stone streets. Most are out and about buying fresh produce from the markets - the orginal Trader Joe's.
The town is pretty small. We've practically seen eveything already and we've been here half a day. Susie and I decided to stay here an additional day to enjoy the slow pace and colonuial heritage before we head to the crazy metropolis that is Mexico City.
Our two meals here thus far have been great. At the expense of starting to sound like a scratched record, I must say the food continues to be amazing. LAst night we ate at a cool little place with the best tortilla soup ever. The enchiladas weren't bad either. Before I forget, if ever you get the chance you must try the Mexican beer "Victoria". I don't think it is widely available in the US, but it is excelente! qwe got a good night's rest and slept in late since this was the first day that we didn't have to run to catch a plane, train or bus. We had breakfast at a restaurnat called El Pegaso, that is an institution in the city and it did not dissapoint. I had Eggs Benedict with the best hollandiase sauce ever - Sorry Janet and Nargis I did not ask for the recipe. We called a couple of places to take a cooking class, but they were booked! WAAHH! For sure we are learning how to make Mole in Oaxaca.
I'm worried thatr Susie will soon get a bad case of Moctezuma's revenge as she is eating every tasty treat they sell such as freshly made potato chips with chile and limon, fruit coctails, chocomilks, and other guzgerias - junk food. So far so good though, and I must confess that I am probably eating more than my fair share of these tasty treats.
Due to popular demand I have posted pictures to these entries. Please revisit all previous entries as they all now contain pictures.
Enjoy! Cause we are!
