A Few Months in Denver and Off Again

Charlie at a local playground

 It has been a while since we last posted.  We have been in Denver since just before Christmas, but our sojourn this time is just about over--we leave for our Transatlantic Cruise and European Adventure on April 19th.

Test driving his big wheel

But we will be back! We have decided to make Denver our semi-permanent home. We plan to keep traveling, but we know we will always be coming back to Denver as our home base.  To make it easier to do that, we decided to buy a place in Brooks Towers, a high-rise condo building in the heart of downtown Denver.

We have stayed in the building several times during our frequent visits and have found it the ideal location.  Just a block from the great Denver theater and performing arts center and an easy bus ride to Bryn & Grant's house in the the Highlands neighborhood. In the good weather--which is often the case here in Denver, even in the middle of winter, we can walk along the Cherry Creek walking trail or window shop on the 16th Street Pedestrian Mall

Charlie & his two Grandmas

 We are also beginning to explore more of the environs.  Recently, Shirley Llafet--Grant's mom and Bryn mother in law, introduced us to Boulder.  Just a 45 minute auto ride away, Boulder has lots of fun places to shop and eat.

The Pearl Street Mall is a great place to take a toddler like Charlie--lots of little pocket parks and plenty of other little ones to play and interact with. Charlie really like climbing on the beaver sculpture. We enjoyed our visit to Boulder so much that we took our friend Belinda Acre there when she visited with us for a few days.

Belinda & the Big Blue Bear

You guess? Giant's feet?

Among our favorite attractions in downtown Denver is the big blue bear standing in front of the Convention Center.  We really love showing visitors around the area.

Although Denver is not as old as some of the eastern  cities, there is still a lot of history-- and local landmarks make for fun tours and interesting city walks.

 So what else have we been doing? Larry recently was a guest of Greg Llafet (Grant's Dad), along with Grant and family friend, Dave Wall, at a nearby pheasant hunting ranch.

The last time Larry shot a firearm was when he was in the Army (1972), but he surprised himself and avoided embarrassment by bagging one bird sitting in a tree, just waiting to be shot.

He was not sure what the experience was going to be like, but it was fantastic--walking in the Colorado countryside and the companionship and camaraderie were terrific. All of us had a great time--and it was a wonderful gift on Greg's part--so much so that all of us have signed on for a return visit next fall! Is an NRA membership in the future?

Charlie & Delilah

 But, of course, the best part of being in Denver is being with Charlie and watching him grow and develop.  He continues to enjoy his daycare experience, but he's also up for any outings that Oma and Opa might come up with.  A couple of weeks ago, we invited his BFF, Delilah, to join us for a visit to the Denver Art Museum.

The museum is a great child-friendly locale.  It can easily provide entertainment and interest for children and grandparents for several hours at a time--truth to tell, more fun and entertainment than we find at the local children's museum.  Charlie loved showing the museum and its exhibits to his friend.

Denver also has a superb Zoo--just last Saturday, on a bright, early spring day, Charlie, his Dad, Grant, and Oma and Opa visited it. Again, the zoo does a great job of making the experience one that is safe and child-friendly.

Charlie particularly liked the gibbons, who have a great open air aerial walkway over the elephants, rhinos, and hippos' compound.

As we said, being with Charlie and his mom and dad make our time in Denver so very special.  We know that we will miss them when we hit the road again, but we are looking forward to our upcoming travels.

If you are wondering, here is our planned itinerary:

April 19: Leave Denver for a visit with Larry's mom and siblings in north Georgia
April 23: New Orleans--visit with friends, Lois & Martin Simpson
April 26: Leave New Orleans for a 17 day "Repositioning Cruise" to Barcelona, Spain
May 12:  Arrive in Barcelona; we will then be two weeks traveling to Granda, Seville and Madrid with Sue's brother and sister in law, John and Bonnie Roschy
May 24:  10 days in Germany visiting with the German Roschys (Sue's ancestral relatives)
June & July: Mostly in Italy--Tuscany and the Veneto, with a side trip to Istanbul to see Erin

We will return to Denver in August--where we are sure Charlie will be so big and grown up we won't recognize him!

Mexico City

Our apologies to those of you who follow our blog and have been wondering what has happened to us. Although we have been back in Denver since the middle of December, we have fallen behind on our blogging, but before we talk about our fun times in Denver, we want to share some thoughts about our time in Mexico City.

How to describe Mexico City? Huge, teeming, traffic choked, and full of wonders.  All of these, but a lot more.

Everyone in MC loves Christmas

Living and touring in Mexico City, we were constantly aware that we were in a city of 28 million people.  We stayed in the Historic Center, near the Zocalo, and at that time of year (December), especially, there always seemed to be hordes of people on the sidewalks and in the streets; some obviously doing holiday shopping, but many just going about their daily activities, but always hordes.

Getting into and out of the Zocalo often was a nightmare.  Once we finally had to abandon a taxi just three blocks from our apartment after nearly an hour stalled in traffic--we got trapped in a market area that seemed to have expanded exponentially for the Christmas season.

Our fallback transportation was the Metro, which functioned quite smoothly, even if it could be incredibly crowded. The Metro is a great bargain; with the recent fare hike, it costs $3 pesos a ride, or about 35 cents. There's a great free app that clearly shows you how to use the Metro most effectively.  We found that a Metro ride will get you to your destination in less than half the time of a taxi and far more cheaply.

Larry, Sue, Mart & Bob

Mexican People and Culture

The Mexican people are invariably polite and kind.  Almost everyone, both in Mexico City and San Miguel, was patient with our attempts to speak Spanish, and often went out of their way to help us.  They are very loquacious—you hear chatter everywhere; but it is not loud or obnoxious, just omnipresent.  It is pleasant, as most speak in a low tone of voice.  Most places seem welcoming and inviting as a result, and an atmosphere of joviality is felt.

Many are beautiful and have such classic features that you want to stop and stare.  If you catch anyone’s eye, they will smile and give you a “Buenos Dias” or “Buenas Noches” and always a “Hasta Luego” when you leave.  We felt quite at home in Mexico.  Like Americans, the Mexican population has gained weight over the last decade or two, and especially in MC you see quite a few overweight and even obese people. Sue fit right in (that's me, not Larry, speaking).

Sun Pyramid, Teotihuacan

The culture is rich and varied.   We North Americans really have no idea of the extent and diversity of Mexico’s rich history and culture. as well as the level of sophistication. During the Dark Ages in Europe, Mexico had a tremendously organized and high level of culture and government; actually, there were several such centers throughout Mexico and Central America.  

Larry & Mart at the top of the Sun Pyramid

Cortes arrived in 1519 and the Spanish invasion changed everything often decimating populations with war and new diseases, always forcing European culture and religion on the indigenous peoples. One of our favorite excursions while we were in MC was to the pyramids of Teotihuacan, about an hour outside of the city. Sue, feeling a little under the weather stayed home, but Mart, Bob and Larry marveled at these incredible ruins and the civilization that was able to create them.

When we were in San Miguel de Allende, we enjoyed listening to music—often mariachi, but there were a lot of different other types as well.  We very much liked the “tuna” groups which usually consisted of a group of eight or ten men, playing various stringed instruments and singing traditional, or at least well known Mexican songs.  We, of course, knew very few of them except for “Cielito Lindo.”  Our favorite was “Piernas de Carolina” to which our most memorable group, Tuna Real, played and danced.  We have a short video of Tuna Real on a previous blog.

Our last night in San Miguel we walked to the Jardin after dinner and found a local university group performing an exciting dance program with multiple costume changes and a variety of choreographies. Much of the dancing included some form of tap, with the men and women often doing a type of call and response with their dancing. The young people were tremendously energetic and talented.  It was intriguing just watching them perform, but also exhilarating and exciting.

Coming to MC, we decided to go see the Ballet Folklorico—and were surprised to see that much of the same choreography and the variety of dances were repeated on the beautiful stage of the Bellas Artes center.  The main difference between the performances was the fabulous, colorful costumes of the professional dancers.

Mart, Sue, Carole & Bob

We did some incredibly interesting things in MC, mostly thanks to Mart and Bob’s friend, Carole Reedy. Fortunately, we can now call Carole our good friend--and we plan to visit her many more times in the coming years, because there are just too many things to see and do in Mexico that we just didn't have the time or energy to take in. 

But some of the other highlights from Carole's tour of the city include: Chapultepec Park and Castle, which introduced us some of Mexico's incredible history. The Soumaya and Jumex Museums which are world class art museums. All of us thoroughly enjoyed the Frida Kahlo and Diego Rivera homes and studios and the surrounding neighborhoods. The National Anthropology Museum would require perhaps a week just to take in all of its different exhibits covering the many, many civilizations that have flourished in Mexico.

With Nicola

 Besides spending time with Carole, we so enjoyed re-uniting with Erin’s good friend, "in loco parenti," and driver, Rosalio, who to this day carries her phone number in his taxi’s visor and a note she wrote him when she left.   

On one our final days in Mexico City,  we were able  re-connected with Erin’s good friend, Nicola Souter, and enjoyed one of our best meals at Casa Portuguesa. We look forward to seeing her again this summer in Basel, Switzerland.

Felinni does San Miguel

Larry & Sue in front of city Christmas tree

Procession

We are told that San Miguel is a city of some 80,000 people; that's hard to believe.


We have not explored even a small fraction of the city, but in many ways for us, it seems like a small village.

Bike racers

We are a block from the main square (Jardin) and walk to the market, supermarket, public library, restaurants, and even a French-style bakery in less than 10 minutes.


When there is something happening in the Jardin, and there always seems that there is something, often involving music and dance, we can easily stroll there in two minutes or less; and if we are bored, too cold or too warm--we can go back to our place just as easily. What an easy life!

Just last night, around 10:00 p.m., we heard music and laughter in the street.  Stepping out our door, we were delighted to see Tuna Real, a band of strolling musicians, leading a group of fifty or so celebrants--all singing along with the band. We followed them to the Jardin--wishing we understood the Spanish language songs, but enjoying it tremendously anyway. Tuna seems to be the name for a type of band featuring mandolins and guitars.  They are often dressed in "renaissance style costumes" and entertain with beautifully executed traditional songs and dance.  Tuna Real is one of our favorites.

Dance demonstrations

This past weekend there was a three day music festival, a street theater production, a dance demonstration, the finale of a 1000 person bike race, a native Indian religious procession, and, of course, throngs of tourists who in turn attract street vendors and local artisans hawking their wares--much of it occurring simultaneously. The city also decided to finalize its Christmas decorating and to light the official city tree on Friday evening.

Street theater performers

Bob said it made him feel like he had stepped into a Felinni movie--and we all agreed!

Balloon vendor

One of our favorite recent activities has been the three day Festival de la Sierra.  While we did not appreciate every act, there was so much to listen and dance to.


In this video, you can see the fun of watching the "mojigangas" or large puppets dance to the music of the band and entertain the crowd.  Earlier we had thought the puppets  were called catrinas--but we have since learned that catrinas are the beautifully dressed female skeletons that you see on Day of the Dead celebrations.

Unfortunately, our time here in San Miguel has come to an end. San Miguel is such a great city, all four of us are sad about having to leave it. 

Return to El Charco

A collage of our experience in El Charco

El Charco Ingenio

This week we paid a return visit to one of our favorite places in San Miguel de Allende, El Charco Ingenio-- the Botanical Garden.

What a wonderful place! Our guide on a recent tour, Lorie Topinka, told us that the garden is only about twenty years old: very young for a botanical garden.

Despite that, the garden has grown and matured to become a remarkably beautiful and unique place, with hundreds of varieties of cacti, dessert plants such as mesquit and acacia, and wild flowers galore.



Centered around a hundred year old reservoir, the garden and preserve provides a habitat for many migratory waterfowl. It also includes a very, very deep, vertigo inducing gorge.

San Miguel is semi-arid and averages about 22 inches of rain annually, mostly during the period from June to October.  This year has been unusually wet, with the rainy season extending into November.

Thus the garden is a lot greener than usual, and some of the cacti and annuals are actually re-flowering. With Lorie as our guide, we explored parts of the garden we had not seen before and thoroughly enjoyed our two hour walk. Joining us for the walk were Mart & Bob Larson & their long time friend, Carol Reedy, who lives in Mexico City but came for a visit this week.

Celebrating Thanksgiving, a Birthday & our 43rd Anniversary

Larry, Sue, Carol, Bob & Mart at the Rosewood

This year, Thanksgiving coincided with our 43rd Wedding Anniversary. It was also Carol's birthday.  With no functioning oven, it was impossible to attempt to cook a traditional Thanksgiving dinner, even if we had known how to find a turkey here in Mexico.

Still, we had a wonderfully celebratory day.  After our inspiring tour and walk in El Charco, we all came back to our house, rested, cleaned up and then headed out to the Rosewood Hotel--possibly the nicest hotel in San Miguel--for cocktails and sunset viewing.

Sunset at the Rosewood

 It was a mild evening, with just enough clouds to make the sunset interesting.  We talked and lingered for a couple of hours.  After awhile, Sue and I decided to order a round of Cuarenta y Tres (43) on the rocks for everyone, explaining how we had been introduced to this delicious banana liquor when we were young newlyweds in Spain in 1975.  It seemed only natural to celebrate our 43rd anniversary by introducing our friends to this tasty liquor.

View of SM from the Rosewood Terrace

Finishing our time at the Rosewood, Carol wanted to treat us all to dinner at one of her favorite San Miguel eateries, La Fenicia--a Lebanese restaurant.

Perhaps because it was Thanksgiving, we were the only clients in the restaurant--so we felt free to talk and laugh as loud as we wanted.  The food was wonderful, rivaling any Lebanese restaurants we have been to in the States or elsewhere.

 

 

Toy Museum

Pancho Villa & other revolutionarios are heros

Friday morning, we said goodbye to Carol, but we are looking forward to seeing her when we are in Mexico City the week of December 8th--she has promised to be our own private tour guide to the city she loves the best.

In the afternoon, we decided to visit the Toy Museum, or the Museo la Esquina, based on recommendations from some friends we have met here in San Miguel.

Tiny circus

We were so very glad we did.  It is located in a 300 hundred year old house, that has been beautifully restored and renovated to accommodate the extraordinary collection of Mexican handmade toys, the fruit of fifty years of collecting by a local teacher, Angelica Tijerina.

Caballeros that move with a clip-clop sound

In room after room, we marveled at the amazing craftsmanship and creativity the toy makers showed both in design and in the materials they used to make the toys.  Some were made of clay, others of straw, tin, fabric, or wood and most were intricately put together, often painted in a kind of pointillist manner.  Also, we thought about the incredible patience and love it took to make each one.

Lots of Frida dolls

With Mexico's growing prosperity and the availability of cheap imports from China and elsewhere, many of these toys are no longer made (we see a lot of cheap, plastic toys in the tiendas).  The knowledge, skill and patience to make them is probably a thing of the past.  We hope not--perhaps people in the countryside retain the skills and desire.


We took some photos of the house and toys--but as is so often the case, they really don't do justice to the reality.

Every day there seems to be something new and wonderful to discover and experience here in San Miguel--there's not enough time or energy to see and do everything!

En El Jardin

Saturday night in El Jardin

 As we are just half a block fom El Jardin, San Miguel's central plaza, we often can be found there--passing through on our way to or from some event, or more likely just taking an hour or so to relax and enjoy the ever changing scene. Our favorite time is late afternoon or early evening.

One of the many mariachi bands

Weekends, the Jardin is invariably packed with visitors and locals.  Couples stroll hand in hand, families sit and watch their children running and playing, and foreigners like us just gaze in admiration at the wonderful, changing scene.  Ice cream is the food of choice for all--morning, noon or night. We love it when the mariachi bands are out in force--usually on weekend nights but often throughout the week as well.

Bob, Larry & Sue--afternoon in the Jardin

 A couple of days ago, after enjoying a late pizza lunch at La Grotto restaurant, we all decided to stop in the Jardin on our way back to the house, so we chose a strategic viewing bench and sat down.

After a few moments, we were approached by a small group of Mexican high school students visiting from the nearby city of Guanajuato. They were in San Miguel to practice their English--as there are so many expats here. 

Soon others from their class joined them, and we ended up having some 50 kids and their teachers with us all  laughing at our Spanish and their English.  Some could barely tell us their names while a few could actually have a simple conversation.

Visiting Guanajuato students in the Jardin

It was so much fun visiting and laughing with them, and they were delighted to pose for a group picture.

After the students left us, we continued to linger--the sun was setting, the air was cool, and it was relaxing and invigorating at the same time just to sit and people watch.

Not long after the students left, we were approached by an elderly couple who were strolling through the park, serenading and passing the hat. 

He played the guitar, she the tambourine, and they both sang.  At our request they chose a Norteno ballad--Norteno music is traditional Mexican music originating in the north of Mexico--thus the name.  Below is a short video of part of their performance; hope it can be heard!

 

Bird Watching Again

Countryside vista

Last weekend we participated in an Audubon in Mexico sponsored excursion to a nearby hacienda for birdwatching and a gourmet lunch. 

The birders in the group were disappointed with the scarcity of the bird life, but it was fun for the rest of us to walk through the countryside which is so different from what we are used to--mesquite and cactus, grasses and high desert wildflowers. 

We liked this rock

It is hard to imagine how beautiful the countryside is.  San Miguel residents tell us that it is so much greener than normal this fall because of the extra long and very wet rainy season that now has lasted more than six weeks longer than normal.

Some of the wildflowers

We have been told that it seldom rains after the middle of October, but we have have had numerous thunderstorms since we arrived on November 1st, including a really thunder rocking, gully washer one night.

One of the hotel "portales."

After the birdwatching walk, we were driven to a nearby 17th century hacienda, Las Trancas, that has recently been renovated as a luxury hotel.

One of the luxury suites

The hacienda gardens

The renovation has been done with taste and a good budget, so the rooms are extraordinarily lovely and rent for $300 to $500 a night.

 

At the Tuesday Market

 

Sue & Mart at the Market

Another fun outing was going to the very big "Tuesday Market".  Located just outside of town, it is a huge outdoor market covering several acres and featuring produce and and an incredible array of other merchandise--clothes (new and used), hardware, furniture, electronics, toys, etc. Both couples bought a bunuelos maker (a kind of fried pastry often served at Christmas time in Latin America).

Our favorite vendor

Our favorite vendor was an older woman whose display was so very carefully set out.  She had a lovely, serene and beautiful face and it was quite clear that she was very proud of her produce and her display area.

And her display

We were told the market had "everything", and, indeed, it did--including telephone poles and solar heating devices.  As usual, we had a really good time both experiencing the market and seeing all the people shopping.

Nirvana, Mexican style

Last Wednesday was a cold, raw day and we stayed inside much of the day, catching a showing of "The Blues Brothers" in the afternoon and then a jazz concert in the evening--these last two events are part of the San Miguel de Allende Jazz and Blues Festival.

Thursday, however, was  sunny and warmer, and as all of us were healthier and had more energy,  so we decided to go further afield.  We had read about the thermal springs outside of town and decided to check them out.

Stepping out of our front door, we flagged down the first taxi to come along and asked him to take us to the Nirvana Restaurant, which we had heard was great and near the baths.

Felipe, our cab driver, didn't know exactly where the restaurant was located, but he was more than willing to help us find it.

About ten miles outside of town, we came across a turn sign for the Restaurant and Resort Hotel.  The road, mostly dirt and holes, was in pretty bad shape, but we persevered and after a couple of more miles we arrived at our destination--a lovely green oasis. Felipe dropped us off, and offered to pick us up later if we called him.

Nirvana doesn't have any thermal pools, but does offer a lovely outdoor restaurant set in a wonderful garden with views of the countryside.

Casita at Hotel Nirvana

We were seated, ordered drinks and were happy just to relax and admire the garden. It was a lovely, peaceful afternoon.  After eating, we explored the grounds looking for the hotel which signs told us adjoined the restaurant.  But where, we wondered?  We found it--small casitas built into the cliff just below the restaurant.
We checked out each one, about nine total, and thought it would be fun to stay there, but probably would cost more than we could afford.

Altar in Atotonilco Sanctuary

As promised, Felipe, our taxi driver came back to pick us up.  He was very excited to show us a small village nearby, Atotonilco.



The sanctuary there is very old and famous and attracts thousands of pilgrims each year to pray at its shrine of the Virgin Mary . 

Ancient Baptismal Font

We enjoyed exploring it--seeing the beautiful altar, baptismal font and interesting frescoes throughout.





It was a wonderful day and just what the doctor ordered to get us all back into shape health wise.  The hot springs/thermal baths could wait for another day.

One of the many frescoes