A very Peaceful Day

Faithful followers,

There is little to report today. Yesterday was a lazy morning. We really stayed around the house in anticipation of going to lunch with Neal Higgins and his wife, Judy. Neal is a former Associate Dean in the Business School and we have socialized a bit with them, both early this month and last year. We had a little pre-func with our cameros at La Fuente and then wandered down to Neal and Judy's nice condominium which sits right above Época, a restaurant that we have mentioned often. We sat on their lovely balcony sipping a beer for an hour or so and then shared a cab out to a new place called Hacienda Xochitl. It sits east of the downtown and is still new enough that many cab drivers don't know how to get there. Ours struggled a bit, mostly from us trying to help him, I think. It is is a poor section of town and your drive through the pot-holed, dusty streets until you come to this bricd colored stucco building. You step inside and suddenly you are in this beautifu, lushl Hacienda courtyard. It was divine.


There was just one other couple there and they soon paid their bill and left and we had the place to ourselves the rest of the afternoon.


We had some drinks and shared two appetizers, one a chili-stuffed empanada, with a creamy dressing and a roasted pepper dressing. I ordered chayote with dollops of roasted bacon cream and a reduced basalmic vinegar. This is a recipe that we will be bringing back to the states.Polley had a fabulous spinach soup, while Judy had a lettuce soup. That sounds strange, I know, but reports were very positive . The women both had salads and Neal and I had a chicken in a delicious mole sauce. Just a great place, nice people and no sense of being rushed. It was 5 p.m. when we caught a cab for old town.

Polley and I headed home. As we walked along the Malécon, we stopped and shot a couple of pictures of on of the newest sculptures along the sea. This is in front of the enormous new set of condominiums and was done by the artist we met a few nights previously. It seems to honor the women who did their wash along the Rio Cuale which runs right next to the units.



Another of my favorite pieces along the Malécon.



We then headed home and tried to nap a bit , but gave up and just read. About 8 p.m. we strolled down to Candela and just enjoyed a glass of wine in the courtyard. The owner came up to us and expressed his appreciation for our regular visits. We told him we just loved the place and it was our pleasure. He was very touched and bought us a second glass of wine. A lovely night, hardly a breath of wind and just perfect temperature. With that we went back up the hill very contedted.

Ed and Polley