Woow, I've been frustrated with the download limitations here… I spent the entire day trying to download the latest video..

We're settling well into our environment. This sure seems a good place to spend our Aussie winters and we will seriously think about it.  All we need to do is to transport our family too.

sigh!!!!!!

We left the house mid morning yesterday, we just wanted to explore the city. The sun was hot on our backs and the pavement is just about 2 feet wide (if that), you have to manoeuvre your way around the light poles to stay on path. I almost stepped into the path of a taxi trying to get past the post with my camera.

You pass the most intriguing doors. I know they hold wonderful mysteries behind them and very few yield their secrets unless you get a peek through the partially opened door.

The stones are worn and shiny. How many feet have trod this path. What stories could they tell. Buildings of every color fringe the pavement and spread warmth with their very presence.

Women with bucket and mop diligently clean their personal patch of path. Everything is spotless.

The elevation is about 6800 feet  and you certainly feel it as you walk up the hills to the Jardine. I did it four times yesterday and my legs certainly told me so. I have to hold keith back from using a taxi…. "Walk Honey"

Behind the blue door we found the most wonderful bakery. A loaf of bread, a few forbidden delicacies and two mexican pasties cost less than $3. We sat in the sun in the Jardine and ate them.

There was a passing parade of people. I feel like I'm in a living documentary. "Cowboys,  – I whispered to Keith…. "I really think they are REAL cowboys", artists, children, and a rather large gathering of American men who appear to be there each day in good humor.

The food vendors have a good trade and we sampled some of the fare…. mmmmmm

The Jardine is overshadowed by the church and you are reminded of its significance by its towering presence and the frequent ringing of the bells.

The thing most people notice first in San Miguel is The Parroquia (right), the pseudogothic church in the heart of San Miguel de Allende.

Legend has it that the architect of the facade (added in 1888) of the church had never seen a gothic church and had to take his ideas from picture postcards of the gothic cathedrals of Europe. Apparently not much of a draftsman, he drew pictures of his concept in the dirt in front of the church to show his workmen what he envisioned.

In the tombs beneath the main altar of the church are the remains of former bishops of the church and many dignitaries who once lived in San Miguel, including a former President of the Republic of Mexico. The tombs are open to the public just one day of the year, November 2, Día de los Muertos – The Day of the Dead.

We visited the local market and spent time looking at the herbs, fruit and vegetables for sale. Everything is a riot of color. You just can't help feel elated.

The knife sharpener

I did give in and come back to the house by taxi… we had to carry a very large lemon meringue pie, our offering at an afternoon tea with friends.

I spent the rest of the afternoon on the 3rd floor balcony doing my art homework…. it's pretty awful, but I decided to finish it and do something tomorrow….

Today, the nails need attending, another visit to the Jardine and a few museums before visiting a quilt event.