Angie Does Denver

Angie, Charlie (with hand drawn "map") and Sue

 Just as we got back to Denver from three months in San Miguel de Allende, we were delighted to have one of our oldest and dearest friends, Angie Godfrey vist us (we raised our children together.) It was her first visit with us in Denver, and we enjoyed so much the time to talk and catch-up .

Unlike us, Angie has continued to work: she is the administrator for the Head Start Program for Indian Tribes, and she was attending a work related conference here in Denver and fortunately was able to spend some time with us.

Always something in bloom at Botanic Gardens

We probably exhausted her trying to share with her some of our favorite places and activities here in Denver.

If you visit with us, you have to see the Denver Botanic Garden--preferably with Charlie along to show you all the "secret passages." Angie was, of course, game, and she and Charlie quickly became fast friends.

We had a wonderful day, strolling through this beautiful treasure of this extraordinary place.

At the Sidewalk Chalk Festival, resting

Just a couple of blocks from our apartment is Larimer Square, where the revitalization of historic downtown began in the 1960's led by a Dana Crawford, a true visionary. Residents of Denver owe her so much--Denver is so much more of a livable city thanks to her efforts.

During Angie's visit, the Chalk Garden Art Festival was in full swing in Larimer Square. It is amazing what a talented artist can do with chalk and an empty sidewalk.

Larry and Angie at lower elevation 

The other place that we always like to take first time visitors is Rocky Mountain National Park--although we had never really visited in late spring, when winter was still trying to stay on.

Driving up to the Alpine Visitors Center, which we learned had just opened the day before, was a real adventure.

View as we climbed Rocky Mountains

 It was spitting snow, there was ice on the road, and the snow banks were piled up along the roadside. For Angie, who revealed to us that she was somewhat fearful of heights and driving on mountainous roads without a guardrail, it was a white knuckle experience.

Angie at the summit

Arriving at the Visitor's Center, we found the parking lot surrounded by 12 foot snow banks and the temperature in the mid thirties. We were happy to share the experience with Angie, but for her, it surely would have been more fun in more temperate weather.

View from our cabin

Driving down the mountain was a little less stressful and arriving at our funky mountain get away, the Ponderosa Lodge, there was no snow to be seen; the landscape was a multitude of shades of green

Grazing elk

While sitting on the the front porch and enjoying some adult beverages, we were visited by a lone Elk bull.  He wasn't really interested in us, just in finding tender grass and chutes to eat.  We let him graze undisturbed, while we listened to the fast flowing water in the creek which flows by the front of the cabin.

Angie's visit was all too short; we hope she will pay us another visit really soon! This time maybe we will relax more and sight see less; but there is so much to see and do.

San Miguel de Allende--Spring 2017

Lilacs on a terrace at sunset

Like the proverbial swallows to Capistrano, we seem destined to return each year to our favorite Mexican city, San Miguel de Allende.

We love the city, the people and the ambiance, and to make it even better we have friends who return annually like us or others who have decided that SMA will be their home.

There always seems to be something to do-- concerts, plays, and movies are frequently offered--often free but never at an outrageous cost. This year, with the collapse of the peso, living in San Miguel and in Mexico, in general, is a real bargain.

At urging from our friend, Bob Larson, Sue got more involved with art--taking lessons from a Mexico artists and joining the Urban Sketchers for weekly sketching outings to former haciendas, churches or other beautiful settings.

Media Luna with Gil Gutierrez

Last year, we first became aware of a local music group, Media Luna--two young brothers, Caleb and Jair along with some of their relatives and friends.

Almost every Friday evening would find us at the Paprika Restaurant, where we were able to enjoy a two hour live concert by these remarkable young musicians while dining in the restaurant's open air patio.  After a few Fridays, the band began to recognize us (especially Sue) and play our favorite of their songs (Tears of Joy).  You can see them playing this song on YouTube.

Fiesta at Marilu's home

This year, thanks to the generosity of our landlady, Maria Louisa (Marilu), we were able to return to our favorite apartment, which is located in the heart of the city (Centro) on Mesones, just a block from the Jardin, the city's main plaza.

The apartment consists of a large living room, a good sized and fully equipped kitchen, a bedroom, one and a half baths, and fantastic terrace.


Marilu, as she has done in the past, invited us to her house, which is just outside of town, for a beautiful fiesta, inviting many of her friends as well as a few other extranjeros.  The food was delicious as always--featuring chiles rellenos and chiles anojados, lots of wine, beer and tequila, and singing.

It seems every Mexican can sing and play the guitar and we were entertained with many a Mexican ballad or love song. As in the past, this celebration was one of the highlights of our visit. The guitar, along with wine and tequila, was passed repeatedly around the table and we were provided with one lovely song after another.

Procession down our street (Larry watching from our patio)

This year, our stay overlapped with Semana Santa, or Holy Week, and many a religious procession passed by our apartment.  But there always seems to be some reason to celebrate or an event to commemorate with a parade or procession, and of course music and fireworks.

Palm Sunday Procession

We had originally planned to stay on through March and April, but as time went on, we decided to stay through the month of May.

A mistake--everyone had told us that May is the hottest month of the year and that the city can be almost unbearable at times, and indeed it was. We still enjoyed ourselves, but we now know that we will never voluntarily stay in SMA during May.

View from our patio

Easter is a spring celebration and its celebration is connected with the vernal equinox.  Tuesday night, before Easter Sunday, there was a beautiful full moon filling the night sky.


 Looking from our terrace towards the San Francisco church made a beautiful picture.

View from our patio

Later in the week, the clouds somewhat obscured the moon, but the view towards the church still made a beautiful, but different  picture.

Crowd gathered to watch Easter Procession

One of the votives in the Easter Procession

Bob, Sue, Mart and Larry

One of the most special Friday evenings at Paprika, listening to Media Luna, was our farewell meal with our great friends and traveling companions, Mart and Bob Larson.


They left SMA just before Easter, and we were so sorry to see them leave--but we know that our paths will cross again in the not too distant future. Most certainly next Fall in Tuscany!

Carole and Larry

No trip to Mexico is complete without a visit with our friend, Carole, who lives in the Roma Sur Neighborhood (Colonia) of Mexico City.

Carole, Fernando and Sue in a Mexico City subway entrance

Carole is the consummate hostess, always stocking up on what you like to eat and drink and making sure we are always entertained and introduced to new sights and sounds. MC  is a wondrous city, full culture, museums, theater and, of course, good restaurants. Carole wants to make sure we don't miss anything!

Besides gabbing and eating and a lot of dominoes, we took in a New York Met Opera HD live broadcast performance of Eugene Onegin and a live broadcast of George Bernard Shaw's play, Saint Joan.

Both performances were great as expected. Carole's friend (and now ours) Fernando joined us for both--it's always great to catch up with him and to talk about theater and performance with him, as he an arts reviewer for the Auditorio, a large performance venue.

Bob Larson sketching

A new adventure for Sue was to go sketching with Bob Larson (thanks to his giving her a totally equipped sketching pouch:  pencils, paints, brushes and sketch pad).  Thanks, Bob !!

Sketch

Actual View

These are a couple of her sketches with photos of the actual setting for comparison.

Sketch

Feathered dancer with tiny companion

Actual view

Often in the Jardin, some of the "Indigenas" (indigenous people) perform and march in parades and processions.

We particularly like this photo as it shows one of the young children who is learning about their heritage by participating in the celebrations.

Woman with doll we bought for Elinor

You can not visit Mexico without buying a Maria Doll--we liked the ones that this woman had to offer and bought one as a present for some young friends whose little girl, Elinor, was born in the USA while we were in Mexico.

We mentioned the heat and how all pervading it was.  With air conditioning at a premium, it was some times hard to escape the heat,

but at her suggestion we accompanied our friend Mary Abernathy, to the Rosewood Hotel where we spent a wonderful day luxuriating in the opulence and comfort of the pool and other facities--it's a pricey getaway ($30/ person including drinks and lunch) but well worth it.

So much so, that we had to return for a repeat visit on our next to last day in town.  We were not let down or disappointed by a second visit.

Baby on the bus

We often take the public buses to get around town--a ride costs eight pesos (40 cents) versus a $2.50 or $3 cab ride. Most often, we are the only gringos on the bus.


We loved this little baby with her smart hat who happened to be traveling with her mom during one of our trips.

Sue and her heart throbs

And, of course, this visit to San Miguel will forever be associated with Media Luna, the great local band, featuring the guitar virtuosos, Caleb and Jair Cabrero. Here is a link to their own composition and Sue's favorite, Tears of Joy.

We end with a photo of Sue with her Boys--they are not only talented, but quite handsome as well.  They were always welcoming and delighted to see at their performances.