VIVA MEXICO 4 - SAN MIGUEL DE ALLENDE

I had been wanting to visit San Miguel de Allende for years.  People had always told me what a picturesque city it is, and they were not exaggerating. Besides the gorgeous pink church in the centro historico (la Perroquia in pic above and below), there aren't many official "tourist sites" in San Miguel, in fact, the city IS the site.

During our 2 days there, we did what most people probably do there, shop [for great artesania], eat and take pictures. Everyone had said it is Gringolandia there (full of Americans) but we didn't find that. In fact San Miguel de Allende was oozing Mexican charm and we were smitten almost immediately. Around every corner was a great picture. For example:

{la Perroquia at night}

{the front door to some lucky person's house}

{a man selling roasted pumpkin seeds on the corner...yes we bought them}

{police on a horse? in this outfit? so classic. love it.}

{fuchsia bougainvillea, aged turquoise door, cobblestone street, yellow & orange wall, mexicana wanna-be}

{side entrance to the pink church, la Perroquia}

{woman selling handmade dolls...outside Starbucks}

{someones beautiful courtyard, pic taken though gate}

{crazy Mexican with mustache and sombrero}

We stayed at the Hotel Sautto, as recommended by Lonely Planet, and were quite happy with it. It was only 500 pesos (about $35 dollars) and had a great central location only a couple blocks from the zocolo.

The Sautto is an old hacienda that now needs some updating, but the Mexican charm still shines through.

The building was old stone and the walls that surround the lush courtyard were painted bright colors.

My favorite feature of our room, actually the only feature I really liked, was the domed brick ceiling that we saw so often throughout Mexico. (The pic below is that of our guest room at Aileen's house in Tepotzlan, but the ceilings at Hotel Sautto are just like this) So cool.

For our purposes (park bags and sleep) Hotel Sautto was perfect. If you want to spend more money, there are numerous haciendas in mint condition that offer luxury amenities in San Miguel, as it's main industry is tourism. For this reason you also find some of the nicest restaurants and shops around. We did experience some great restaurants, for example we had afternoon drinks, tacos and pulpo (octopus) at the rooftop restaurant La Azotea, a very chic spot, with an awesome view over the city.

One morning we enjoyed cafe, churros (Mexican donuts) and huevos rancheros at San Augustin, a very european-ish cafe, popular with foreigners.

Being the adventurous eaters that we are, the majority of the food we ate was on the street, in the markets and in little places we walked by randomly. Here is one of my favorite street treats: the corn lady (sometimes a man) shaves fresh corn off the cob into a cup, adds lime, spicy chili powder and salt. Many order it still on the cob with mayo and cheese but as often as I was eating it, I might have gained 20lbs.

One day we were craving pozole. Its a chile based stew that can be made with chicken pork or beef. Its one of my favorite Mexican dishes. We make it at home with pork, but we had to try in in Mexico right? We saw an ad for a restaurant that specializes in pozole, but when we got to the door it was closed on Wednesdays. Ernesto asked a man on the street if he knew of another place, and he pointed us to Al Borada. We ordered our drink of choice, micheladas (beer, hot sauce, lime, salt) and knew this was going to be good after our first sip. The freshly ground chile powder was already on the table, and Neto had picked some chiles off a tree earlier that day in case any of the food wasn't spicy enough! yeah right. We are in Mexico, hello?!

It was a small restaurant in a small courtyard with folding tables and red [coca cola] chairs and plastic tablecloths. We were seated in front of lush plants and a fountain.

The pozole came out and it was AMAZING!

Before leaving for Mexico, I knew I wanted to find a piece of Otomi Indian embroidery.  I was inspired by this headboard that I saw on one of my favorite blogs, Design Sponge.  Mexican artisans are known for their wood crafts, and so I asked around at a couple furniture stores and are you ready to hear the price quote I got for this monstrous headboard?  wait....wait for it.....$250usd!!  That's right folks, you can't by a plywood headboard for that much.  Did I mention that I love Mexico?

The material is pretty expensive, but worth the price due to the intricate work.  I bought a bright gold piece (as big as a bedspread for about $120) which I will use for my headboard.

I also bought this multi colored (a lot smaller, possibly to be framed.  Im in love with these.

All around Mexico you will find tightly woven wool rugs, called tepetes.  Ernesto liked this "tree of life" design, and since he hardly ever picks decor for the house, we bought it.  (I like it too)

Here is the mask I first saw at my friend Aileen's house and fell in love.  It has a place for a candle behind it.

 Over the last couple years, I have bought more art for my house when I travel.  I wish I had done this starting 10 years ago.  I might have made up for it in Mexico this trip. Ha!  I want a "well traveled" house.