On to San Miguel de Allende

After 3 days in Guadalajara, we got back on the bus for a 5 hour journey to the charming town of San Miguel de Allende. Located about 4 hours north of Mexico City, San Miguel is home to about 7,000 American and Canadian ex-pats. It has become a famous retirement location and is often mentioned in Sunset Magazine and the NY Times as an ideal place to retire. From out perspective, its being such an ideal retirement location is both its curse and its blessing. It is very English-friendly, has some wonderful restaurants, has become a sort of artists colony and possesses a great many interesting shops with truly unique crafts. However, because it is so Americanized, it feels a little like Palm Springs. However, it does have a beautiful cathedral and is organized around a central "jardin."




We traveled there to see our friends, Mirl and Carolyn Gratton, who retired to San Miguel about 4 years ago and have since built a beautiful home. They were both school teachers, Mirl a science teacher at David Douglas and Carolyn, a drama teacher at Jefferson and Central Catholic. When were in San Miguel about 3 years ago, we saw the start of the home, but had not seen it since it was completed.

San Miguel is an old Colonial town and so many of the homes are built behind high walls and around a central entry courtyard. Despite Mirl and Carolyn’s home being brand new, they have adopted the traditional Colonial style and have done such a great job of laying it out and decorating it. As you can see from the photos, it is beautiful.

Here we see Polley and Mirl and Carolyn standing outside the entrance. The rest of the house lies behind this very bright yellow wall.

Once inside the door, you walk into a beautiful central courtyard. I have shown from a variety of angles, including a shot from their lovely rooftop deck which is a great place to have coffee in the morning as the sun comes up. Also a good place for a tan.





From the courtyard, you turn right into the main living room and dining room area of the home. It is bright and airy, with a beautiful corner fireplace. Fireplaces, one in the living room and one in their master bedroom are the only sources of heat in the house.



Just off the dining room is the kitchen.


Also leading off the dining room is the atrium, with stairs leading up to the rooftop deck.


Behind the wall at the end of living room, lies the study, library, computer room.


And beyond that is the master bedroom and master bath. All of these, of course, open onto the courtyard.



Across the courtyard is the guest bedroom and bath. I hesitate to show it because a lot more people will show up at Mirl and Carolyn's and we won't be able to get a room on a regular basis.



As you can see, it is really a gorgeous place. Carolyn has done a wonderful job decorating it and my pictures really don't do justice to it all.

OUr second night in San Miguel, the four of us went to dinner at Bella Italia. This is a local restaurant, but the real draw is that 4 nights a week Doc Severnsen, late of the Tonight Show, and who has retired to San Miguel, plays with a group at the restaurant. We had front row seats. In fact, Polley was about 5 feet from the bell of Doc's trumpet (which for some reason he feel needed to be mic'd) and nearly went deaf.

However, the amazing thing really was the other musicians. They were fantastic! The violinist and guitar player, Gil and Cartas were some of the best I have ever heard. They were backed up by percussion and bass. A truly amazing evening and we bought one of their CDs so we can try to relive one of the best evenings of music I have ever experienced.

The next day Mirl and Carolyn had to go to doctor's appointments about an hour away, so Polley and I had time to wander about. We stopped in at an art school that was built in an old convent. We had lunch in a courtyard restaurant that served wonderful salads (we had great salads each day in San Miguel.


We also explore some of the art exhibitions including this room-size mural


Following lunch and some further downtown exploration, we visited the "Jardin Botanical." It sits in an isolated setting outside of town, but was very interesting. They have tried to preserve all the indigenous plants of the region. They have transplanted many variety from other regions where the vegetation was threatened for one reason or another. We wandered about in the desert heat for about 2 hours.






Friday, we spent the day at the local garden and plant show and then had to bid adieu to Mirl and Carolyn. They took us to the bus station and this time we made the whole trip in one every long night. We travel from San Miguel back to Guadalajara from 4:30 to 9:30 pm, then had a two hour layover. At 11:30 at night we caught the bus from Guadalajara to PV, arriving back at the PV station about 5:15 in the morning. We had a great cab driver who took us as close to our door as possible and by 6 am were back in our apartment. It felt good to be home, but the week-long sojourn was a nice break from the regular routine.

Kitchen - Slide Bathroom

Surely the most idiosyncratic aspect of our apartment in Puerto Vallarta is this room. We can’t decide whether to call it the “Bitchen’’ or the “Batchen” – You’re welcome to vote for your personal favorite – or come up with an alternative of your own choice.

During the 6 weeks we have lived here, we have tried to approach the allocating of various tasks associated with the kitchen and bathroom in a creative and open minded way, in order to use this multi-purpose room in the most efficient way. So – most kitchen tasks are done on the kitchen side [SR] i.e. kitchen utensils are kept there, and all food prep is done on the kitchen side , EXCEPT, the sink on the kitchen side is a tiny bathroom sink, so doing the dishes happens in the shower.


This was Ed’s idea, and it works excellently. Of course, when you go in to take your morning shower, you have to be aware that the dishes have been draining all nite in the corner of the shower [and are dry by now] so you don’t want to get them wet again! An option that I realize we have not explored would be drinking a beer while showering – I can’t believe we haven’t thought of it before. See the opportunities that creative thinking can present?

Speaking of creativity, we have actually come to believe that there is something inherently creative in this unique feature of our apartment, which affords us much esthetic pleasure. For example, we’ve never before had a bougainvillea growing [and blooming] in through the ceiling of our bathroom!



Also, check out the perfect color coordination of fallen blossoms and garbage bag.


No, I did not choose the garbage bag, the maid did. And, no, I did not place that blossom on the toilet brush, that is where it chose to fall. All of which leads me to believe in an innate creative spirit in the bitchen/batchen. Apparently, it specializes in interior design.

Final proof of magic: where else could you find a view like this from the business end of the bathroom?

Our Journey to Guadalajara

Any trip of significant duration begins with the purchase of tickets from one of literally dozens of bus companies that operate throughout the country. These are apparently regulated to serve specific routes. The two largest of them all are Primera Plus and ETN. These companies take their cue from the airlines (except that they run on time and never lose your bags!). They are large, tour-type luxury coaches that have only 24 seats per bus. The seats recline to nearly full horizontal and the bus provides films, and music along with what they refer to as “Snack.” In our week of touring we took four of these busses and “snack” consisted of 4 different types of sandwiches: 2 slices of wheat bread and a slice of ham and cheese; a semi-sweet croissant with a slice of ham and cheese; a hamburger bun with 2 slices of cheese; and another two slices of wheat bread with one slice of cheese! Each sandwich had mayonnaise on it, but you were also given the additional condiment of jalapeno jelly to spread over the offering. It was actually quite good. A soft drink or water was also provided along with a piece of candy that usually was of a color not in nature.

On Saturday, February 2nd, we caught a cab at about 7 am to the Puerto Vallarta bus terminal, located about 10 miles north of PV, near the airport. At 8:45 am we left for the large city of Guadalajara, about 5 ½ hours away. It was non-stop and about 2:30 pm we arrived at the second of Guadalajara’s two bus stations. There, through a very efficient and honest system of payment, you buy a ticket for a cab based on the distance you need to travel to get into town. We were staying about 3 blocks on the central square of Guadalajara, right downtown. For about $10 were there in 30 minutes (time was really due to traffic, not distance). We checked into the Hotel Universo. I had reserved this sight unseen based on an obviously blind travel critic for Frommer’s. It was pretty awful! The building was a cross between old Soviet government and bombed out Lebanese architecture. It obviously was sustained by being the destination hotel for low-budget Mexican tour packages. Not only could people check into the hotel with pets, I think there was actually a place in the basement for goats, and burros! However, our room, while possessing only one working drawer, was clean and it was an ideal location for seeing the heart of the city. And as we always say, how much time do you spend in your room. In this case, very little!

The center of Guadalajara is organized around a central mall that really begins, as most things do in Mexico, at the Cathedral to the west, all the way down to the Instituto Cultural Cabanas to the east. The total distance is probably just under a mile. Between these two landmarks are a series of elaborate Colonial government buildings, plazas and a kind of shopping mall. It is the heart of activity for the people of Guadalajara who seem to stroll endlessly from sun-up to the late hours of the day.







On Sunday, our second day there, the Plaza de Liberacion, was devoted entirely to a live concert that was apparently televised. Thousands gathered for the band and large screen TV’s were set up for others to enjoy the music.

At the east end of the Plaza was the Church of St. Augustin. This Greek revival building was located right where the street from our hotel joined the mall and was about halfway along the promenade. Beyond that was a series of arcades with a variety of small businesses and restaurants.




The mall was also decorated with a wide variety of sculptures, many representing moments of significance in the city.




Fountains were also included in this stretch of the city. Among our favorites was the one of 4 little boys, being “little boys.”

There was also water included in a number of other displays. They were quite elaborate and often were set to operate in such a way as to provide variety in terms of water patterns and timing, often luring young children close to the water, only to soak them by surprise.




I have tried to provide some sense of this part of the city both during the day and at night.









Polley and I did discover one very good restaurant, the Restaurant San Miguel. It is set in an airy indoor patio of Guadalajara’s oldest convent. The food was excellent, and the ambiance and service very nice. We so enjoyed the place that we went back for a brunch of traditional Mexican offerings on Sunday morning. Sunday evening was, I am sad to admit, devoted to a Spanish broadcast of the Superbowl!



However, I did make that up to Polley by catching a cab the next morning out to the little artists village of Tlaquepaque. This is a charming Colonial town filled with upscale shops and restaurants. It feels a little like Ashland, without the Bard, of course. We just wandered the streets on a beautiful sunny day, stopping to buy some leather goods and having a terrific lunch at a highly recommended restaurant (and rightly so) called Restaurant el Patio. It too is set in, as you might guess, a delightful courtyard patio, under some shady old trees.





Polley even found a cat in Tlaquepaque


After an afternoon of shopping, sun and good food, we returned to downtown Guadalajara for a last night of strolling. We had a glass of wine at the Restaurant Rinconada, an old style Profirian building (One built during the period of José de la Cruz Porfirio Díaz Mori, President of Mexico. He ruled from 1876 to 1880 and from 1884 to 1911). The bartender seemed to take a liking to us and kept feeding us small appetizer, including some delicious cucumber and jicama that gets lightly sprinkled with chili powder.


What was amazing was that when we went in for a glass of wine, the streets were jammed with Mexican families. At 8:30, on a school night, suddenly all was relatively quiet.

Polley and I found a place for dinner and then got ready for our journey on to San Miguel de Allende.

I must confess that despite the less than ideal hotel, we came to really love Guadalajara. Called by some the most Mexican of cities, it has non of the tourist feel of PV or even a little town like Tlaquepague, which now has been enveloped into the larger city. There are very few tourists, almost no English is spoken, and when one visits, one truly has to adapt to the Mexican way of life. After only 3 days there, Polley and I have definitely put it high on our list for next winter. Ideally, taking a month in a coastal town like PV would be a perfect match with a second month in Guadalajara.










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