Friday, March 30, 2007

When is the Mexican dinner?



Wednesday & Thursday – Week 4: For a change of pace we enjoyed breakfast at a nice little restaurant (El Correo) just down the hill on Correo Street. Then off on a road trip to Dolores Hidalgo with the Boyd’s. We stopped at La Fabrica Aurora to pick up the box of Mall’s dishes. Hmmm, a bit bigger than I hoped. Maybe a rocket box on the roof of the car! Then on the road with a stop at Atotonilco. This time it was much quieter than our visit a couple of weeks ago. Because of the big procession last Saturday night the Lord of the column was missing from its usual spot in the church. In Dolores Hidalgo we stopped at the ceramic house where Mary Ann mortgaged our future for the beautiful plates. Mall appropriately approved of our selection and Tom rested in a chair. It was the same one I used two weeks ago.

Downtown was busy and we enjoyed the activity of the square. We shared our appreciation for the City Hall stained glass and murals, and the very beautiful Hidalgo church. We all stood on the first step and replicated the “grito”, the cry for freedom reminiscent of the 1810 revolution. One thing we did do different on this second trip was to visit the market. It is much smaller than the two in San Miguel, but we did see a tortilla factory in operation. It had an actual assembly line. When back in San Miguel we feasted on ice cream at the Santa Clara ice cream store after exposing the Boyd’s to the Super Gigante, stocking up on staples like tonic water, sodas, wine, bakery goods, and lots of other things probably not good for us. For dinner we splurged at what probably is our favorite, La Bugambilia. My, that shrimp wrapped in bacon in a creamy cheese sauce is good.

What Tom Boyd and I won’t do to sacrifice for our wives. Thursday was the day scheduled for the Sazon Mexican cooking school (http://www.sazonsanmiguel.com/). We were literally abandoned on the street and became wife-less for two hours. Will this result in better home cooked meals? Mary Ann went to Puebla for a week last year. Thai cooking school the year before and still not appreciable changes. Well coffee was a start, then to the Jardin and then to Juarez Park to sit, contemplate and enjoy the greenery with a good book. After the school we had a chance to all talk to Natalie Hardy, bending arms trying to give away her SPA animals. She had a recent family visit which was a whirlwind of activity in planning for Natalie’s current home construction project.

Next? Naturally it was a walk to the Mercado for some serious handicraft buying by Mall. Mary Ann got in the spirit with buying, what Tom Boyd refers to as machine tool scraps. This was the buying of small silver (?) charms (Milagros) which are used to ask for divine intervention for illnesses, broken bones, and help of any sort. They were in the shape of your request, such as an arm or leg, and then pinned to one of the statues in a church. This was all for Anne White, who obviously is in need of these things (for a gift, not a miracle).

Our weekly pattern has been to then go for a bit of a siesta and then play bridge starting about 5 p.m. until it gets dark at 7 p.m. We have gotten in lots of hands so the bridge club better watch out when the Boyd’s return! For dinner we had a very nice dinner at El Pegaso. This elegant eating out is addictive and probably fattening. But…I keep pushing the walking to keep everything in balance.

Quirky Living Note: It is hard to notice things that are not there. But I finally realized that in San Miguel there is no graffiti. I haven’t seen the building owners repainting all the time, and there sure are a lot of flat surfaces, as all the walls are flush with the sidewalks. The Latino gangs, and other kids, that seem to be defacing Chelan and Wenatchee are certainly not getting their anti-social behavior habits here in San Miguel. Maybe our police departments should do some consulting with the San Miguel authorities to see how they are controlling it.

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