New Page 1

If your Bailliage is thinking about a getaway, we can strongly recommend San Miguel de Allende, Mexico. This lovely city of 80,000 residents was founded over 450 years ago by a Franciscan monk named Juan de San Miguel. Today, she retains her rich colonial charm with cobblestone streets, old mansions and centuries old cathedrals. The shopping is excellent for traditional crafts, furniture, ceramics and women’s shoes. San Miguel is nestled on a hillside with spectacular views of the Guanajuato Mountains.

Our home from January 11-15, 2007 was a lovely boutique hotel, Casa Schuck. The original structure was an 18^th century Spanish colonial home and has been beautifully restored. The staff prepared made to order breakfasts every morning from their very ample menu and in the late afternoons they prepared their own special margaritas, which were welcomed by our group after long days of touring and shopping. Thursday evening’s event was at Casa Schuck where we dined on paella, which had been paired with wines from the region. The meal gave us an introduction to the culinary offerings we could look forward for the next few days. We were entertained by three flamenco dancers, which were very talented and dressed in Mexican finery.

Friday’s events included a cooking class or a walking tour of San Miguel. That evening, we dined at La Capilla Restaurant which is located in a beautifully restored 16^th century building. The outdoor section offers spectacular views of the city with the cathedrals and churches bathed in beautiful lights. We got to see a wedding party walking down the street below, led by a band of mariachis and then a fireworks display to cap off the evening. The food and wine offerings were all excellent.

Saturday, we traveled to the beautiful city of Guanajuato. This is a large city with subterranean streets, art galleries, museums and the Valenciana silver mine, one of the richest silver mines in history. Back to San Miguel, just in time for dinner at L’Invito Restaurant. It is hard to believe, but this is an Italian restaurant and is part of the Italian Institute of Culture. Their recipes use imported Italian ingredients and produce from local organic farms. If you make this trip, a meal at L’Invito is an absolute must.

Sunday is a spectacular day in San Miguel. Around sunrise, the cathedral bells begin to ring, summoning their worshippers. By 9:00 A.M., all of the towns bells are ringing at the same time and you are pretty sure that this must be what heaven sounds like on Sunday mornings. We enjoyed Sunday brunch at Harry’s New Orleans Café and then departed for Delores Hidalgo. This is the home of the famous talavara style, glazed and brightly colored tiles, dishes, basins, planters and decorative items. There is so much to see that it is a little overwhelming, but beautiful. You can’t leave Delores without going to the park for an ice cream cone. There were twenty something flavors and we tried several of them. Several of our group stayed at Casa Schuck and enjoyed massages, manicures and pedicures.

Our final evening was spent at Bugambilia Restaurant. This is an old Mexican Restaurant that is frequented by many of the locals from San Miguel. The ambiance, music and food were the perfect farewell to our trip. If you dine here, be sure and check out the Mole-it is outstanding!

Departing on Monday morning, we boarded taxis to return us to the bus terminal. We took one last look at the mountains, poinsettia trees, cobblestone streets, beautiful children making their way to school and marveled at all we had seen and done in a few days. While San Miguel is only six hours from San Antonio it is truly another world, rich in history, culture and wonderful people. Our Bailliage is stronger and better because of this trip, where our education, understanding of people and their customs were so beautifully enhanced.