There is just a short blog today as we are going to the Organic Market at 10:00 and there are a full day of activities after that planned. Well it is the weekend. I guess a shorter writing day will have to do,
I didn't do as much walking yesterday as I would have liked as the days plans just did not have enough walking to be done. I will need to make up for it in the days to come. I am planning some longer walking trips for next week and given the number of meals out will need to find an exercise class or two if I can't manage to up my distance and pace!
First order of business after writing was my 12:00 film "I 'll see you in My Dreams". The film was very well done, but I was expecting a light and breezy senior's romantic comedy and what I got was a mildly depressing study in aging and relationships within the genteel and affluent set. Even so, I enjoyed the movie. It gave me pause for those ught as I saw my future elderly years - well, my future years but probably minus the handsome and wealthy suitor with a yacht character, played by Sam Elliott and I would hope, embibing far fewer glasses of wine each day than the leading lady, played by Blythe Danner.
I met Marc and Sue in the Library Cafe after the film and we listened to some live music over refreshments while we discussed the days plans. They had a busy morning accompanying a friend to a hospital for a follow up appointment up in Balcones and had walked all the way back. We opted for a mid afternoon main meal at the Loreto Hotel restaurant, where you could get an all inclusive meal from noon to 5 for 120 pesos.
The Hotel Loreta is a few streets behind the mercado Ignacio Ramírez, the market we had visited briefly on Monday. The hotel is a fairly cheap alternative for those wanting to be close to the action and don't want to spend a lot of money. The rooms looked to be motel style off the main courtyard, but they also had apartments for long term rental inbehind. There was also a meeting room which was used for documentary films by the local chapter of a local social justice minded group.
The food was good and plentiful - soup, salad, main and dessert and drink and it was a bargain. I added a corona for 45 pesos. We waddled out of the dining room in desperate need of a long walk.
I could post another 10 photos of house and streets just like the last lot posted yesterday, but i would presume that you have the idea now. The Streets of SMA are picturesque.
We wandered our way down (to the north of the Parroquía) to the large grounds and building which houses the Fábrica La Aurora.
The building houses restaurants, studios and art galleries and other boutique shops. We didn't have time but to look into a couple of galleries at the front of the large building so we will be going back again for sure.
Our last stop of the day was a rooftop patio to watch the sun go down.
The shades were drawn when we got there, the sun was not quite yet sinking into the west and was still very bright. The upstairs bar was busy with mostly younger Mexicans and as the sun started to set it got pretty full. Four friends of Marc and Sue arrived - it seems they know hundreds of people in SMA - and we enjoyed the wonderful view of the mountains to the west as the sun set.
Last night was an early night and I was glad to have sone down time.
Hasta luego, mes amigos!
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Thank you, Peggy, for your detailed response to my questions about life south of my border and very, very much south of your border.
ReplyDeleteIt has been a few decades since I spent a year anywhere without a real winter, and I was too young to really pay much attention to the difference. I might like it now; I might not.
I am not sure I would fit in very well with the sort of lifestyle you describe in San Miguel, but that is a topic beyond this comment. Actually, based on your not one, but two pilgrimage treks, you seem to be cut out for a bit more adventure and independent travel than a retirement community in Mexico would have to offer. But, San Miguel could be a perfect hideaway for a month or two each winter, and especially so if writing proves to be a permanent pursuit .
I am glad you are writing. I think everyone should practice a creative endeavor -- writing, photography, painting, whatever -- to broaden their horizons and to test their talents. Writing short stories is akin to your walks in Europe, I think. What emerges from you during these "experiments" reveals things about your inner self which otherwise might remain undiscovered.
As always, keep writing, and I will follow your shadow.