George and Deborah's Great Adventures: January 2015

Friday, 30 January 2015

The First Few Days in San Miguel de Allende

We have spent the last few days in San Miguel de Allende. San Miguel is a hilltop town located about 260 km from Mexico City. It is renown for its artisans and tranquil setting. Most of the buildings are from the 17th and 18th centuries and separated by narrow cobblestone streets and alleys. The central plaza is a major gathering place for residents and tourists alike. The city has lots of gringo ex-pats from the U.S., Canada and Europe. There are countless stories about folks who came for a holiday and never left.

Former Canadian figure skating champion Toller Cranston retired from skating to live in San Miguel and cultivate a career as a painter. He passed away at age 65 here last week.

Margaritas Room - Hotel Mirasol - Our Home in San Miguel

Before going on about San Miguel, we have to mention how we got there. We travelled Premier Plus bus lines for the 3hr. 45 min. trip to our destination. The bus was simply the very best we have ever travelled on and the comfort easily match many of the business class air travel we have been lucky enough to have taken. The comfortable seats reclined fully and a padded bench for your legs dropped down from the seat in front of you. You could relax with your own TV entertainment centre or surf the net on your free Wi-Fi. The time flew by in comfort and we enjoyed complimentary ham sandwiches, cookies and bottled water along the way. We highly recommend Premier Plus!

We Were Reluctant to Leave the Gran Ciudad de Mexico

Premier Travel on Premiera Plus

View From the Window

More Bus Views Along The Way

Arrived At The Hilltop Town San Miguel de Allende

Now back to San Miguel. The city is a UNESCO World Heritage of Humanity site. It is renown for its architectural variety depicting changes over the centuries. We spent our first days simply walking around taking in the sites, sipping cold beers sitting in the zocolo , and choosing restaurants and music venues for our five-day stay. We completed a walking tour of the historic centre, fruit & vegetable markets and the artisan market at the Fabrica Aurora. We ended the day at an Italian/Mexican restaurant, Momma Mia’s, where we enjoyed Italian food with a Mexican flair, while being entertained by a band playing traditional Mexican music.

Even the Trucks are Works of Art - 53 Ford Classic

Main Cathedral

Even Looking Up You Will Find Art in the Streets

Old Gas Pump Not Art - Still Working!

Slightly Lost on Self-Guided Walking Tour

Fabria Aurora - Home to Artisans

On day two we took a taxi just out of town to the Galleria Atotonilco to view, a collection of folk art, antiques and traditional crafts from all over Mexico. We returned to San Miguel and enjoyed lunch at La Posadita on the roof top dining.

Their House Was a Piece of Art.

Chicken Enchiladas

Chilies Rellano

Roof Top Lunch

It is important to note, San Miguel de Allende has more gringos that one expects to see in Mexico outside of a resort. As a result, the prices of restaurant meals and drinks are parallel to back home in Canada. This is not something we are used to but the meals and drinks are fabulous in themselves.

As you have probably concluded by now, San Miguel is a preferred destination of art lovers. Galleries, boutiques and shops selling a wide range of art and handicrafts are so plentiful you cannot walk a block and not have an “art experience”.

Tuesday, 27 January 2015

Cycling in Mexico City

The last time we were in Mexico City we heard about a recommended bicycle tour of the inner city. This time we decided to take it. The reservation was made from home for a 10 am departure (only time available) for a four-hour tour. We booked with the Reforma-Chapultepec, Aztec Bike Tour Company and our English-speaking guide, Renne. Renne turned out to be a student studying Ballet at the university. Her English was great and her historical knowledge of the city was superb.

Our bikes were well-worn Trek 18 speed cruisers with comfort seats. They were old but they worked just fine. We seldom needed to shift gears for hills.

Our ride covered much territory and consisted of dedicated street bicycle paths, separate bike lanes, park trails and quiet streets. Bicycling in Mexico City is not for everyone. You need to be strong on your bike dexterity with all the varying road surfaces, transitions between surface levels, and of course; you are riding in a city of over 20 million people. That said, at no time did I feel unsafe or at-risk from a motor vehicle. I would not though, as the website suggest, bring young children on this tour.

Renne stopped at various points of interest and gave us the back-stories certain things. One example was why a particularly wide, straight street ran from the city’s only castle, directly to the centre of the city, unlike the surrounding roads. It turns out that when Macimillian and Carlota were the Emperor and Empress of Mexico, Carlota wanted to be able to watch Max go to work everyday so she demanded that street be build to give her an unobstructed view of her hubby’s movements.

The best part of the ride for me was the final half hour through Chapultepec Park. The Park is huge but closed on Mondays, except if you are on a bicycle. When we arrived at the closed gate, a policeman let us in, asked us our specific exit location, and radioed ahead to another policeman to expect us. You are not to dilly dally but proceed directly. We had a half hour of cruising through the trees, flowers and paths without any distractions. Again, this in a city of over 20 million people. Loved it!

Our last comment - Mexico City must be overladen with smog because the media tells us that but for our only two visits it has only been blue sky above us.

We will let the pictures tell the story of the ride.