South of the Border

As luck would have it, one of mi amigas from Austin is spending a few months down here in Mexico and has been kind enough to share her lovely abode with me. I am really enjoying her company as well as this beautiful Mexican home she is renting. The same people have used it as their vacation home for eighteen years ( I think) and have filled it with colorful art and fascinating books about Mexico. I have my own suite on the 3rd floor complete with a gas fireplace and a view.









Above me is a rooftop terrace where I snapped these photos.

That's the famous cathedral on the left. The sky behind it looks smokey , I think, because they have started burning the fields already out on the farms. I saw a number of fires and blackened fields on my shuttle ride into town.



Luxury homes



There is a building with a large goose on top in the photo below. My best understanding it that it was supposed to be a restaurant at one time. Now defunct. Were they serving goose? Who knows!





Many folks are unfamiliar with the town of San Miguel de Allende. It is located in the mountains about 3 hours north of Mexico City . I flew into León and then rode a shuttle van about an hour and a half into the city.



The weather here is pleasant all year, with cool nights and mornings (sweater weather) during the winter, and sunny days in the upper 60s and low 70s. Summers are not hot, if you can believe it! This is due to the altitude ( approx 6500 ft) and the rather arid environment.
San Miguel was founded in 1542 by Franciscan monks and became a colonial city. Now it has about 140,000 people, a few thousand of whom are expats, mostly from the US, Canada, and Europe. It is a UNESCO world heritage site. There's lots to explore here.

On Sunday I went on the home and garden tour held by the library. The first garden we visited was several miles out into the country in a small village. It was fascinating to see the countryside and all the locals out visiting with their families. This lady built this house about 8 years ago and has developed all the gardens. She has quite an imagination.




The green fence is about 8 ft tall so these are not small pieces.



This is the head of a snake planter that entwined another 30 ft or so behind along the pathway.


I wondered what this red guys story was but didn't get back to ask the owner.


The palapa was lovely.





La Caterina, an icon of Mexican folk art for over 100 years, reminds everyone that rich or poor, death comes to us all.



The next home we visited belonged to a local artist who has been living in SMA for over twenty years. He has collected beautiful rocks, crystals and fossils in addition to plants and artwork. This is the little patio by the front door.







His mask collection is impressive.





His back patio was lovely.




Next week there will be different houses! Yippee!

After the tour I went down to the plaza and had some ice cream. The kids were bouncing these large pencil shaped balloons (?) all over the place and having a grand time.






Then I went home to my own little patio!


My view includes a few leftover christmas decorations, hanging laundry, and a lemon tree. I think it is pretty cool.


Hasta luego, amigos!

Location:San Miguel de Allende, Mexico

All things Belgian

We have been here in Brussels two night now and the place is really growing on me. First off, hearing French spoken is always a pleasure, and after a day or so it starts to seem familiar and I can pick up a word here and there. No less of a delight is the food here. The prices are reasonable, people are friendly and accommodating and the food tastes splendid.
We ate lunch in a sidewalk cafe in the Galleries du Hubert , which is one of the first "shopping malls" in Europe .




There's Bill below getting a few great shots as usual.





Every other store was a chocolate shop. Of course we had to buy a few bon bons and they were delish.


Another thing Belgium is known for is waffles. So good!



Comics are very popular here.





Oh and beer made by Trappist monks. This old tavern dates from 1928.


Between chocolate shops are stores selling a huge variety of specially brewed Belgium beer.


Of course the most famous resident of Belgium is the little statue known as "Mannikin Pis". It dates from the 1600s and was originally used as a drinking fountain I think. It's really small and wears clothes people have made for it. Once again, underwhelming. Here you see him wearing a lavender soccer. uniform for some unknown reason.



A school field trip stops by the statue. Interesting how all the kids had to wear vests.



There appears to be no limit to the commercial potential of this Mannikin.


Even the French fries salute him. Note yellow sign. The fry is peeing!


I have to say that even though the sky is usually gray, the shops are colorful.














The Grand Place is the main square and has been there for a thousand years. Here's my movie of it.

Tomorrow is our last day. Can you believe it? We plan to spend it in Bruges.

Copenhagen

My first reaction to Copenhagen is, wow, I had this place all wrong. I was expecting the reserved demeanor of the Norwegians mixed with the orderliness of the Swedes. Oh my. The little section of town I have seen so far is just the opposite, raucous, rowdy, and out of the box. My impression is that these people pride themselves on their nonconformity! Interesting side note : some researchers say they are the happiest nation. Also, some of this craziness is probably because it is Saturday night and there is a big soccer game in town.



First thing you notice here is that it is a town ruled by bikes. They have their own lanes with traffic lights and crosswalks. Nobody wears a helmet. Many people have modified bikes with a large compartments for dogs and kids. I saw a woman today with 3 kids in the front compartment and one in a child seat behind her. Dang! Four kids equals a minivan in the US. I also saw a lady my age pedaling along with two 8 packs of toilet paper, a few other groceries in a bag and a flat of impatiens on a plain two wheel bike in traffic! Wow!
Unfortunately, I was not quick enough to get a picture of any of these "bikers". I should also mention that there were an inordinate number of people with crutches and bandaged arms. On a more cheerful note, I was able to snap this update for the fashion followers out there. Yellow pants with red jacket and tasteful murse (man purse).


Obligatory little mermaid picture. Underwhelming. Not sure why it is famous.


There are so many more intriguing and unusual objects d'arte like this scandalous fountain which originally was a drinking fountain before they elevated it. You'll notice the water shoots out of her breasts, also the standing boy appears to be peeing. Who in the world thought of this for a drinking fountain?




Also saw this boat sailing in the harbor.


Nearby was the royal yacht.


Hans Christian Andersen was from Copenhagen. According to what I read, Danes like to sit on his knee and get their picture made topless. I decided to break with tradition and keep my clothes on.


We rode one of these boats.

This is the area called Nyhaven. It's a canal, and also an area where the sailors used to dock and hang out since the 1600s. A lot of the buildings are actually that old.



It's legal to drink beer on the street so lots of people were getting it "to go. " The bartender told us the drinking age is 16, but I didn't see many young people drinking. Maybe they hang out somewhere else.


It was a superb opportunity for people watching.


Sad to say, there were a lot of drunk folks in some areas.



A theater


Tivoli gardens which we did not want to pay to see.



Statue of two guys blowing a Lur horn, which Rick Steves says is an ancient horn used to call the guys to battle. Now I think it's just used to signal happy hour!


One thing I noticed about the Danes, they seem to be very politically active and very concerned with "green" causes. Also, taxes must be very high. I read somewhere that there was 100% tax on buying a car and that is why so many bicycles. All I know is I paid about $6 for a large cup of plain coffee this morning. Don't judge me. I really needed it. We have just been eating sandwiches here because food is so super expensive, even at the grocery store.


The one thing we did not quite get to do was go to the area called "Christiana" where the hippies created a commune by squatting in an abandoned military base in 1971. They declared themselves a "free nation" and have been in a tug of war with the Danish government ever since. Kind of interesting to see how their experiment turned out, but I'll have to check it out next time.
Onward now to Brussels, which is, sadly, our last stop. I'll be home on Friday!