MisProduccionesDeSombras #45 - San Miguel de Allende Dia 13

Anybody having a little San Miguel de Allende withdrawal? I am, so if you don’t mind I am going to post about a few things that have come to mind:

One note: Please see if you missed post #39, it looks like it has only been viewed one time?

Click here to see post #39.

One thing I forgot to mention. No traffic signals or stop signs at intersections. Speed bumps at intersections and halfway down each block. Pedestrians and cars and buses and bicycles and motorcycles and four wheel atvs all just taking turns and moving slowly but surely. I did not see an accident or hear of one. Very little honking of horns, no sirens and ambulances and fire trucks. This is a short video I took at a fairly busy T intersection:

I scheduled a “shared” shuttle (only $30 US) from my hotel for the 1.5 hour trip to Queretaro Airport and it ended up being just me. Very comfortable 12? passenger van, with stick shift. The driver was slow and patient through the cobblestone streets and speed bumps but when he got to “the highway” it was a different story. I think his name was Señor Gonzalez, as in Speedy Gonzalez!! Reminded me so much of the driver at Peetim’s in Thailand! Fast, passing, lane changing, fast, tailgating, fast, but in the end, I got there!

A few photos that slipped through the cracks :)

Chicken Quesadillas 

                Doble Vanilla 30 pesos, about $1.50 (guilty pleasure most nights)

                               Did you notice this photo in the movie/videos?

The old bullfighting ring, it is now an Event Venue, click here for an interesting look!

More photos that I think I missed in the movie/videos (you know you need to see them, right?)

                              Parroquia de San Antonio de Padua

Rosewood Hotel

                                                                     Guadiana Park

Thank you to everyone for looking at the blog posts!! It is very enjoyable to take the photos and it helps me appreciate all the moments!!

MisProduccionesDeSombras #44 - San Miguel de Allende Dia 12

Hola amigos and amigas!

Went to the Biblioteca Publica (Public Library). Very interesting! Plenty of influence there from Stirling Dickerson, who kind of helped make San Miguel de Allende popular.

I have read that another factor in San Miguel de Allende’s popularity was the GI Bill and veterans choosing to study art here.

This is a movie/video from my photos at the Biblioteca:

Walked down Insurgentes (a street) after the library and found Manicure and Pedicure (don’t judge:) for $100 pesos c/u. The c/u means per each :) But still worth it!

While I was in the shop I could watch activity on the street. Cars, buses, people walking, bikes, motorcycles, guy carrying mucho roses and a Transito Municipal Policio (Parking Police).

This woman officer blew her whistle and then removed the car’s front license plate and put it in her chest vest. She then spent a few minutes on her phone and writing a ticket to put on the windshield!!

Click on the photo and enlarge it and you can see license plate missing and white ticket at bottom of windshield. The other car parked there later, probably just a matter of time for them!

Here is a photo of the Mexican paper currency, it is missing the $200 pesos bill:

This photo is of some guys working on what looked like a private cobblestone drive, with curb and sidewalk!

iPhotos created the following movie/videos from my photos:

My last dinner in San Miguel de Allende was filete de pescado al ajillo (fish filet with garlic) that included brown rice, corn tortillas, lettuce, red onion, avocado and tomatoes. It was very good with the Limonada with mineral water. This photo does not do it justice, but I will show it anyway:

I am very proud of myself, I did all of the blogs for this trip without using the San Miguel de Allende acronym, SMA! I wouldn’t have known what to do with all the time I would have saved :))

Let’s end with a few photos from Plaza Principal and views behind some of those doors :)

Buenas Noches, leaving the hotel at 7:15 am to start the journey back to Denver!!

Last minute movie/video by iPhotos of Guanajuato, it includes a photo of hot air balloons in San Miguel Allende on the way to bus station :)

MisProduccionesDeSombras #43 - San Miguel de Allende Dias 9, 10 & 11

Hola!!

Kind of losing track of days a little bit :)

Monday and Tuesday I spent a lot of time trying to walk different streets, turning and looking back and even just walking on the different side of a familiar street. Amazing how many new sights appear! One thing for sure, most people walk on the shady sidewalk. When you approach another person going the opposite direction on the sidewalk, there is a psychological experiment that occurs.

Who steps off the walk to let the other by?

Maybe neither step off and the narrow sidewalk has room (just barely)!

One English speaking walker said the walker going against traffic should be the one to step off because they can see the traffic?

Some sidewalks have cars parked on the street so a car door opening can be a little bit of a surprise :)

Residents along the sidewalks water their plants on their terraces, or second floor windows and the water sometimes drips on the sidewalk and sometimes the drainage spouts are extended out from the building so the water hits the street. I would love to see what happens during a rain! 

One area near Parque Benito Juarez and the Mini Lombard crooked street area is Lavaderos de Chorro, a little plaza with what used to be about 20 little “washing stations” where laundry was done. Click here for location. My photos of the area are below:

On Tuesday I walked to Cruz Roja Mexicana (Mexican Red Cross) to get the COVID test that is required to fly back into the USA. Very simple, no line, just give information, get swabbed and wait 20 minutes for written certification. Cost is $899 pesos or about $45 US. 

There is a testing service that will come to your hotel/apartment for about same cost and I have read that you can get tested at Queretaro Airport as well, but I didn’t want to chance that.

Here are a few photos of that part of the trip:

Today, Wednesday, I finally rode on a local bus. Took Ruta 6 from a stop close to my hotel and went as far south as the bus goes ( maybe 6 miles?) and rode it back to Centro. The areas change from cobblestone streets to double lane highway with some large shopping centers, grocery stores ( La Comer ), new condo like developments and residential areas.

The entire bus ride, about 1 hour, cost 8 pesos, about 40 cents! At times in the Centro area it feels like you can reach out the bus window and touch the buildings!

After the bus ride, I bought a street “taco” from a family stand, their young daughter was in charge of drinks, I bought an orange juice from her!

The taco had steak, cilantro and onions with cucumbers and red onions on the side with a lime, which they call límon.

Turned out that I was still hungry after walking to the El Jardín area and I ate on the plaza.

I had quesadillas con tocino, quesadillas with bacon. The waiter taught me tocino=bacon and even tested me when I was leaving. The people are very polite in using their language and eager to teach a little.

That glass looks familiar, we had several those! I like drinking Limonada with mineral water.

This movie/video kind of catches me up on random photos:

That’s all for today, happy tomorrow!

MisProduccionesDeSombras - #42 - San Miguel de Allende Dia 8

Buenas Dias, Tardes or Noches as the case may be!

Decided to take a day trip to Guanajuato, the “Capitol” city of the state of Guanajuato, the same state as San Miguel de Allende.

The website rome2rio is great for searching options for traveling from one place to another.

This is what the result was for this trip:

The prices are in Mexican pesos, they use the $ sign also.

I chose to take Primera Plus bus, very comfortable, safe and efficient. Round Trip about $16 US. This is the ticket for the trip there:

Guanajuato, like San Miguel de Allende, is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. 

The city is famous for a very elaborate and old system of tunnels below the city center, as well as the architecture!

The tunnels handle a large amount of the vehicular traffic but are not large enough for the very large long distance buses. For that reason, the Central Bus Station for Guanajuato is situated away from the city about 20 miles. No worries, that just gives travelers a chance to use the local buses to traverse the 20 miles to Centro, including several of the tunnels!

Since I was there on a Sunday, it was a sure thing that the Centro would be full of local families and visitors from other parts of Mexico.

Like San Miguel de Allende there is a definite European feel in the architecture and setting in the hills.

Interesting though, the restaurant at breakfast was playing music by Frank Sinatra and Louis Armstrong (not at the same time :)

Another missed photo opportunity was close to the Central de Autobuses as I was on the local bus, in the middle of an an intersection there was a guy on a unicycle juggling bowling pins, no way to stop the bus for that photo!

The following 2 movie/videos barely scratch the surface of Guanajuato:

The last church in the movie/video was having baptisms, hence the photo op for the little guy dressed in white sitting on the lawn!

The famous artist Diego Rivera had a home here and it has been restored and serves as an art gallery. I took a few photos there but inside the building was too warm and stuffy for me :(

There is a Funicular that takes you to the top of a hill overlooking the city. The line was very long and I decided to pass, one drawback to visiting on a Sunday?

One thing to keep in mind when riding the local buses, they have their stops painted in white on the windshields, Centro is the city center and Central is the Central Bus Station.

I joined the break dancers in the movie/video but no one would take my photo!?!

Only a few days left, leaving Friday morning, but there seems to be something new and interesting around every corner and hill!

MisProduccionesDeSombras #41 - San Miguel de Allende Dias 6&7

Hola,

It has been kind of quiet the last few days.

Here is a movie/video of random photos, includes some peaks at what is behind all those doors:

The next movie/video was created by iPhotos:

As mentioned a few days ago, here are some street signs:

Public Parking (Estacionamiento)

Bus Stop

Car Parking and Motorcycle Parking

Street Name on the plaque. The arrow is for 2way traffic.

Again, street name and one way traffic. The Angel signs lead the way to the Parroquia de San Miguel Arcángel.

This one I do not have a photo for but the C on the shower faucet handles is not for Cold, it is for Caliente (Hot). The F is for cold (Frio).

Last tidbit for today, a few photos from Mercado SANO::