Endlessly Enchanting San Miguel de Allende

After visiting San Miguel de Allende, it is easy to see why this charming colonial town has attracted artists, actors and writers since the 1930's.   The town is noted for its street scapes with narrow cobblestone lanes, that rise and fall over the hilly terrain. A thousand rustic doors open to a thousand well tended courtyards with rich architectural details, facades of ocher, orange and yellow, many with colorful bougainvilleas spilling over.   Its cultural and artistic reputation has brought many people from Mexico and abroad to live here.  In fact, San Miguel has one of the largest American communities in Mexico.
 Although it is still small and rural, it has a wide variety of upscale and ethnic restaurants, roof top bars, specialty shops and art galleries.  With it's temperate climate, it attracts Canadians in the winter escaping the cold and Texans in the summer escaping the heat.  On our recent trip in July, we found the weather a delightful escape from the Arizona heat with temperatures in the 70's and afternoon thunderstorms.



Some typical street scenes

On the day we arrived we were greeted by a parade of mariaches, dancing giant puppets and a little donkey dispensing tequila.  This all ended up in the historic center of town with much revelry, dancing and well, a lot of very happy people.

The tequila dispensing donkey

After the throngs had left

On a quite Sunday morning, I set up my gear to do some plein air painting.  Little did I know the road I chose was also one of the main thoroughfares to the cathedral.  Soon the road was crowed with thousands of locals making their Sunday walk from the outskirts of town to Sunday mass.  Not only did they walk by on the way TO church, but again in about an hour on the way BACK.  Usually in plein air painting you are seeking solitude.  There was also evidently more than one mass.  That morning I became the most popular, photographed person in all of San Miguel!  The painting was not my best effort, but the locals really seemed to like it.  I was a little distracted.

My new friend and his donkey selling rides Sunday morning

Our view from the "La Vista Suite"

There are many wonderful options for accommodations in San Miguel.  One is the highly promoted Rosewood Inn.  I would recommend taking advantage of one of the many bed and breakfasts or boutique hotels.  We stayed at a bed and breakfast that was about a 5 min walk into the historic center, Casa de la Noche.  Originally one of San Miguel’s oldest houses of ill repute, Casa de la Noche had its beginning as a bordello run by an infamous Turkish madam. It’s now a pretty guesthouse and gallery owned by Barbara Poole, a California painter and now a resident of San Miguel de Allende.  I had discovered this place from reading about a workshop that Richard McKinley will be having in January.  While being reasonably priced, my husband and I were very pleased with our "La Vista" suite.  It was very comfortable, with a little kitchen and a scenic rooftop patio.  Barbara the owner was nice enough to show me around and offered to let me use her very large, well lit studio if I'd like to.  She also has offered the use of her Bordello Galaria to host a show of my own, which I would love to do one day.  We will definitely be back as there is much more for us to discover.  We are now attempting to learn more Spanish and planning our return!

A plein air still life from our patio
a few technical adjustments needed in the studio

Doorways of San Miguel de Allende

Getting There

From Phoenix, Mexico City is a short flight on US Airways.  My husband and I rented a car in Mexico City and drove, which I do NOT recommend.  While the 4 hour drive was very pleasant, driving in Mexico City is hideous, to say the least.  You must have nerves of steel and be happy to not be moving most of the time.  It took 45 min to get through a stop light at one point.  The bus from the airport was highly recommended as very clean and comfy showing movies, they probably don't go through that intersection!  There are also other airports closer to San Miguel, or you can hire a private transport, but I have not explored these options yet.