San Miguel de Allende - Highlights

It seems long overdue that we put together a post about the highlights of our time in San Miguel de Allende.

For starters, we had fun adjusting to life without a car.  We were fortunate that we had lots of little shops nearby: tortilla shop next door, a handful of little corner shops, a paper supplies (papeleria) across the street, 2 bakeries within 5-10 minute walk, a fruit and veggie shop around the corner, as well as a butcher.  If we wanted organic and artisan goodies, there was a shop with farm to table café about 10 minutes away.  A big market and a neighboring premium butcher shop was closer to a 20-30 minute walk, but still manageable.  (For the whole month we were in SMA, we only visited a big box grocery store once, because it was next door to the movie theater, where we had gone to watch the latest Star Wars episode.)  Since this on foot lifestyle also meant carrying everything to feed 6+ back home on foot, we generally bought fresh every day (or near every day).  But it was also quite freeing to buy in smaller quantities, based on the day’s menu. 

Our choice to adopt a pedestrian lifestyle was also due to the fact that in a colonial city like San Miguel, traffic and parking can be an absolute nightmare, especially if one wants to go downtown.  And most cars that fit a big group like ours, don’t always squeeze nicely into small spaces.  So frankly, it was often faster to hike into downtown on foot (20-30 minutes, with kids in tow) and we didn’t have to waste any time getting to where we wanted to go.  The added bonus was that we could pop in to the many little shops and cafés along the way, as we explored our neighborhood.

One such place we’d discovered during our last trip to SMA and made a point to revisit, is the “Museo del Jugete Mexicano” or Mexican Toy Museum.  It is a wonderful museum full of artistic children’s toys from the various regions of Mexico.  They are made from whatever resources are prevalent in the area; whether clay, straw, wood, ceramic, recycled soda bottles, cloth, and so on.  Since children’s toys are also often a representation of the life they are living every day, they also serve as a wonderful opportunity to peek into the daily lives of children of different regions and different means.  Doll houses range from a traditional colonial style home to a one-room adobe home.  Cooking utensils often include a molcajete, metate, tortilla press, comal, and many other instruments that are much less common in a US kitchen.  The toy variations of fruits and vegetables include various chilis, chayotes, jicamas, papayas, mamay, guayavas, mangos, incredible variations of squash, corn and beans of all colors under the sun, tortillas, sweet bread conchas, and so on.  Again, not the things you find in your typical Michigan big-box grocery store, but the things that every child here would recognize from their own kitchen and neighborhood market.

Another place on our “must revisit” list was the local botanical garden, El Charco del Ingenio.  We came here several times to enjoy the fresh air, sunshine, and the variety of flora and fauna.  It is a great place to get away from the hustle and bustle of the city, and just be.  The botanical garden includes a greenhouse that provides a more controlled environment for tiny succulents and water plants.  And the expansive outside areas include both sides of a dam that you can walk across.  There is also a ravine that we explored, with the kids and Alex’s parents, just because we could.  It was a really great place for the kids to run and play and explore.

Of course, downtown San Miguel de Allende is a playground in and of itself.  It is chock full of beautiful architecture.  What makes it incredibly special are it’s old buildings, cobble stone streets, parks and plazas. During the holiday season and weekends, more of the streets downtown are closed off to cars, and frankly it becomes much nicer for us pedestrians.  (If we lived here and had our say, we would work hard to develop a more robust non-motorized plan for the city, so that vehicle traffic and non-vehicle traffic can both flourish.)  There are some beautiful parks that extend multiple city blocks and are full of walking paths, playgrounds, basketball courts, fountains, and trees. 

And what colonial city would be complete without copious street vendors of food, toys, arts and crafts, and so on.  One of the kids’ favorites were the guys selling hats.  You could spot them from afar with dozens of hats stacked high upon their heads.  There were also the ladies making dried flower crowns.  This seems to be traditional and specific to San Miguel, as we’d seen them on our previous trip, and had not encountered them anywhere else.  San Miguel is also full of street musicians as well.  At every hour of the day or night, there was always music and entertainment to be found in the main square; whether an organized event or a more ad hoc performance.

 San Miguel is so full of artists and artisans that it is hard to get away without bringing something beautiful along.  Our home happened to also be across the street from Fabrica Aurora, an old textile factory which has been turned into a wide variety of artist galleries, studios, and shops.  Everything sold here is pretty high quality, and high end.  It is a wonderful place to browse (and drool). 

Behind its expansive terrain, is another pedestrian walk that extends well over half a mile, filled with little stands of “artesanias”.  You can find a treasure trove of silver jewelry, Huichol style beaded jewelry, wool rugs, talavera style pottery, colorful hand painted alebrijes, blown glass dishes, embroidered clothing, wall hangings, tablecloths, and anything else one could imagine.  It was fun to watch as the artisans created their handiwork and hawked their wares. And it was good that each kid had their own money to spend on those beautiful items they just couldn’t resist.

Christmas Greetings from San Miguel de Allende

I sit here on Christmas Eve morning, enjoying my cup of hot coffee, reflecting on all the joys and blessings bestowed upon us this year, and listening to 3 of the kids playing Minecraft together in the next room.  Alex and Juliana are enjoying the opportunity to sleep in, and I am enjoying the leisurely pace that this morning brings.


We arrived in San Miguel de Allende about a week ago and are quickly getting to know our new adopted neighborhood.  We are staying in a lovely historic building, which used to house the workers of former textile mill across the street.  That factory has since been turned into an artistic center, home to a wide variety of artist studios and galleries.  It's a place you can easily spend days wandering and enjoying the art and the people.  It's difficult to get out of there without spending a few (or a lot) of pesos on very beautiful items.

We have been taking it slow this week: our first night here, all four kids got incredibly sick and we spent all night in the restroom, mopping and re-mopping floors and changing sheets.  Thankful for the washing machine and that we aren't washing sheets by hand (as I did during my college semester abroad).  Little things make a big difference!

After we nursed everyone back to health, we celebrated Miriam's 7th birthday!  To be safe, we spread it across two days - actual birthday for presents and next day for cake (to be extra safe on the recovery of all stomachs).  In the end, it was fun!  And Miriam, the only of our kids who doesn't have a summer birthday, finally got a chance to wear short sleeves outside on her special day!

After birthday celebrations passed, we moved on into our Christmas mode! One of the things we really wanted the kids to experience in Mexico, was how the Christmas season is celebrated.  There are things Alex experienced growing up here, that simply don't lend themselves to the Michigan climate in December: specifically the Posadas.

Posadas occur nightly from December 16 through Christmas Eve and are essentially a parade of people revisiting of the pilgrimage of Mary and Joseph into Bethlehem and their search for a place to stay.  Some Posadas are private events, held by a specific church parrish or neighborhood.  And there are also centrally sponsored public Posadas, which are held in different parts of the city center.  Here, the place (usually a church) where any given Posada ends one night, is the place where it will begin the next night.

We participated in a Posada that began in the block behind our house and ended at one of the churches downtown.  Leading the parade was the image of the Virgen de Guadalupe (patron saint of Mexico), young people dressed as María (riding a donkey) and José (Mary and Joseph), a group of children dressed as pilgrims and shepherds, and a group of musicians who led the rest of the public in song.  Lyrics were handed out so we could all participate.  Then our procession wound through the city streets, with traffic cops managing the cars along the way.  In different places, the crowds along the route threw candy or goody bags to the participants in the Posada, called aguinaldo.  The Posada ended at the door of the church, where María and José and ask for posada (a place to stay).  After it is eventually granted, the crowd celebrates with a "ponche", a hot Christmas punch and song.  In many cases, the end also includes the breaking of a piñata, filled with sweets, fruit, and baby jicamas.  More bags of aguinaldo are handed out to all participants. Of course the kids found this to be fantastic fun, as they were loaded up with bags of goodies, and we proceeded to the main city square, which was crowded with families enjoying the music, food, and fun.


Another tradition we have had the opportunity to enjoy are the Pastorelas.  This is a Christmas pageant which includes a high degree of Mexican humor and often some sort of twist.  You can attend many and they will all be different.  Even with limited Spanish, the kids were doubled over laughing the whole time!  We found one by accident, as we were wandering the streets and found an angle peeking out of a door in the wall around a church.  We asked if they were going to do a Pastorela, and were immediately invited in.  The kids concluded that if we find another, we are definitely going!


So today we will continue our explorations to see what we find... We will go to a mass at one of the many beautiful churches in our downtown.  And we will see what other exciting events we discover downtown. Merry Christmas to all! May we all bring peace and joy to those around us in this year ahead!

Botanical Gardens - El Charco del Ingenio

With a welcome bit of sunshine, we headed for the botanical garden and nature preserve just outside of San Miguel de Allende; el Charco del Ingenio.

El Charco is a wonderful place full of walking paths, scenic lookouts, and of course a wide variety of plants native to the region. 

They are particularly well known for their efforts to preserve and restore a variety of cacti on the verge of extinction. 


We had a great fun exploring the greenhouses, where we were able to enjoy an immense number of lovingly planted and cared for cacti of all shapes and sizes. 

Each one was labeled and displayed such that it could be appreciated and enjoyed.

The preserve is full of paths which provide all sorts of opportunities to explore. 

Crossing the dam that runs over the river, we were able to view some of the old ruins that were once part of the mill and hacienda that were on the property.

We had fun exploring and getting our hands dirty. 

The kids found a wide variety of flowers among the cacti, as well as grasshoppers, butterflies, and all sorts of other insects.

They also discovered a wide variety of sparkly stones to collect and play with.

It was a great place to simply enjoy the fresh air and sunshine, and relax a bit in nature. 

There were all kinds of nooks and crannies to explore from large grassy areas, to deep canyon like cliffs, and even areas to play in "plant caves".

Toy Museum

During one of the downpours of rain, we ducked into the Museo del Juguete Popular Mexicano, or the local Toy Museum in San Miguel de Allende.

Walking through the toys evoked all sorts of emotions - desires to reach into the display cases and play for the younger viewers, memories and nostalgia for the older viewers, as well as simply wonder at the ingenuity of the creators of the toys, and the love put into each one.

The materials used were just as fascinating.  We ran into everything including straw, paper maché, wood, clay, cardboard, recycled aluminum cans, gourds, mango pits, coconut shells and husks, etc.  Depending on what materials were most common for any given region or population, the toys were crafted and painstakingly adorned and made beautiful. 


The doll houses, their furniture, and cooking utensils were particularly interesting to the kids, as they reflected a very different architecture and lifestyle from what the kids are accustomed to, and at the same time, the kids saw miniature versions of many of the items they'd seen here in the markets during previous visits. 

By the time we made it through the museum and gift store, the kids found a few mini items to with which to remember Mexico by, and which they could add to their own doll house and toy box back home.

Back to Mexico - Welcome to San Miguel

Right after Christmas, we headed back to Mexico. 

This time, we flew into Mexico City and from there, we took a van ride to San Miguel de Allende, about a four hour ride to the north of the airport. 

It was interesting to drive through the outskirts of the megacity, and then through the countryside, past various villages, all the way to the town of San Miguel. 

It was evening by the time we found our house, a beautiful older home with lots of windows and traditional charm.  The only thing it lacked was some form of heat, to take the chill out of the unseasonably cold evenings. 

For our first two days, we encountered a lot of rain, again not typical for this time of year.  Apparently it was the first December in 35 years that it had rained in San Miguel. 


During the breaks of the rain, we braved the cobblestone streets that had been turned into little rivers, and walked into town. 

All was great, until the rain started up again and everyone's shoes were soaked by the time we got home.  We found a little electric heater and lined up the essential items (especially the shoes) to slowly dry out in the 40 degree house.

 Despite the cold rain, the downtown of San Miguel was beautiful! 

The plazas were welcoming, and all of the churches were open.  It seemed there was one wedding or Quinceaños (15th birthday coming out for girls) celebration mass after another.  Each church still had up all of its Christmas decorations, so there was quite a lot to see in each one.