San Miguel de Allende, Mexico - 28 Jan - 02 Feb 2025

Not sure that I've seen many more beautiful cities than San Miguel de Allende...I've heard wonderful things about it for years, but truly didn't expect it to be this pretty/quaint/friendly/stunning...pick your superlative. We got lucky and met some St. Louis neighbors from Lafayette Square that have had a 2nd home here for years, Joan and Mike. They invited us over to their beautiful home right after we drove into town, shared some wine and gave us some great local tips on the city.

We met them out at the Rain Dog Lounge on Wednesday to listen to a wonderful local singer, Maria Sanchez and her band. Coincidentally, it was also Tequila night, so...BONUS! Thanks to Jorge, I now act like a snooty tequila connoisseur and order tequila with sangrita, a side drink that tastes a bit like Bloody Mary mix. It's really quite delicious!

The city is definitely a tourist town but it is fully deserving of every tourist dollar. You're just as apt to hear Ameriaan English in parts of the town as you are Spanish. It seems like there is a good and healthy coexistence between the populations...the expat communities seem to donate a lot back to the city, especially in arts and education for locals. I'm sure there are tensions that my day and a half here hasn't let me see, yet, but it sure seems as if the city is a generally happy place to live.

Tonight I wandered around for a bit, peeking in different bars and restaurants. It's a bit deceiving because the buildings are crowded around tight little cobblestone streets with about a three foot stone sidewalk, and most of the building fronts don't show much until you are able to see through the open doors. And then they are cavernous...some maze-like with multiple bars and seating areas...a little like the old Casa Bonita in Tulsa that had tons of hidden little rooms to wander through.

Our hotel (Selena - pretty crappy, to say the least, although it does have some great views from the rooftop deck/restaurant) is just beneath the main square, that fronts the stunning Parroquia De San Miguel Arcangel (see pics below). The cathedral is the city center and crown jewel...one of the most stunning churches, from the outside, that I have ever seen. It is a beautiful shade of pink and gleams in the sun, but is most beautiful at night, especially on the wonderful starry, cloudless nights we've had so far. The story I read (and Wikipedia is always correct on these things) is that the builder wasn't an architect, but someone that saw a lot of pictures from European churches and built it from those...amazing!

It's a little after 9:00 (17:00) as I write this and the rooftop restaurant next to us has violinist playing an electric violin accompanied by an EDM DJ with a tight-rope walker walking over the diners' tables. From our open balcony, it sounds both ethereal and odd, since there are competing mariachi bands a couple hundred feet away on the corner in front of the cathedral.

The pics below are really in no order - sorry. I added a separate grouping of just doors, because the doors here are stunning. Some 20 feet tall and ornate as any I've ever seen, but all seem to carry a lot of attitude and style that I am not used to seeing. The grocery store shots are from the nicest grocery store I have EVER been to...figured I needed to add those just so people would believe it.