Casita Quetzal San Miguel de Allende

... du cafe en quantitees industrielles, ils cuisinent des tamales... Bref, open bar pour tout le monde. Je me suis fait offrir de quoi a manger, ou a boire a toutes les 2 metres pendant ma marche de 50 minutes.Javais ni faim, ni soif, des No gracias, jen ai dit en masse.

En plus, il y avait du monde qui en avait bien plus besoin que moi.

Jimagine que refuser quelque chose dont on a pas besoin, cest une forme de generosite ca ...

Well, we get to O'hare and there is a long line. So, when I am checking my bag in, they can't get my bag to Buenos Aires, the computer system won't let them, because it's a different day or something. So after much trying, they said I will have to leave the terminal and pick up my bag, go to the counter for the airline and get tickets and check my bag!
Horrible.
The flight to Mexico City was ...

... a piece of art." I can't help thinking of Aldous Huxley's Brave New World and his depiction of what was then considered to be a futuristic society, dominated by consumerism and pleasure seeking, It existed right next door to the reserve for "savages" who were destitute - just like the beggars along the walls of the new complex.

The streets here abound with pricey art, craft, jewelry and souvenir shops, as well as restaurants and other services that ...

... a trovare dei posti dove vendono souvenir (proprio quelli per turisti!!) di un certo livello; i negozi "ufficiali" di artesanias non avevano nulla di particolare, i mercatini erano ancora pių dozzinali (fatto salvo per un teschietto decorato). L'unico posto dove ho trovato cose belle č stato a San Cristobal, per il resto un piattume unico, capitale compresa. A Merida c'erano molti negozi che vendevano le camice e le amache, ma non c'era niente di interessante lo stesso. Mah...

... leftovers and watched TV until we went to bed at 10:00 p.m.

Wedensday May 20th

It is difficult to realize that this vacation is coming to a close. We got up about 8:00ish and had coffee and tea. When Maria arrived at 9:00 she wanted to know if we wanted frijoles and cheese on a piece of bread. Sheila was very curious and said yes. Well, Sheila used to be shocked at the English who had beans and toast for breakfast and here she was doing the same thing! Not her favorite ...

... of close to 10,000. If you want a soft landing in Mexico that would minimize your cultural shock, this is the place you are looking for. On a personal level, I have been aware of SMA since the 1980's when I read that the famous Canadian figure skater, Toller Cranston, made his residence in SMA. I thought at that time that since he had the opportunity to travel the world as a professional figure skater, San Miguel de Allende ...

... 5/4 - Cacahuamilpa caves I went early in the morning to Cacahuamilpa caves, which are 40minutes away. I arrived too early, they open at 10:00, and talked to a Costa-Rica couple. The caves are very big, wide, tall and long, full of stalactites and stalagmites. It took almost 3 hours(2.5km each direction), because the guide lighted many of the shapes, trying to use our imagination and find out "what it is". Back to mex.: left my back in the Juarez hotel and ...

... own apartment and it is free. We are still having trouble wrapping our mind around it. And they are so hospitable, so nice and amazing. They have accepted us as part of the family. I know Owen is 81 but I am not sure how old Nancy is. They invite us up for coffee and pastry's in the morning and yesterday they drove us to the neighboring town Dolores Hidalgo to see a friends art exhibit. On our way there they took us to a random restaurant on the way and we ...

... up our sleeves. And there are a million things we´ll miss too. - #1 being hummingbirds - tropical fruits, cheap and great - exotic animals and locations - having each day being an adventure - meeting wicked worldwide friends all the time - learning new words every day - Guatemalan prices, coffee, chocolate - oh, a new #1, being unemployed creatures of leisure!! How can we ever go back?!

... and is called Three Kings Day. It was the day the Kings came to see the baby Jesus. There is a local market, not too far from our house that has a huge toy sale that goes well into the night, around 4am. It is held the night before on January 5th. It has everything from clothing, dolls, cars, and puppets, to cookies and candies. The day after Three Kings Day there was a lot going on in the Jardin, main square. Groups were arriving throughout the day. The first group to come in ...