Meeting New Friends

One of the bonuses of going on one of my guided tours of San Miguel de Allende and the surrounding areas is to meet new friends of similar tastes and interests.

Two years ago this summer, my husband and I went on a Crystal Cruise starting in Venice with stops in parts of Greece and Turkey. We met some great people from all over the United States and Latin America. One such couple was Charlotte and Jim from Naples, Florida. Standing: Len (my husband), Jim and Howard. Seated: Charlotte, ME, Arne (chief officer) and Leslie.
We immediately hit it off with Jim and Charlotte and often joined each other for cocktails and some of our meals. Since the cruise, we have stayed in touch via emails. I wrote Charlotte about my tours to San Miguel and she said they might be interested in joining me on my next one. I sent them the itinerary and within days I received a note that they wanted to sign up! They sent me their deposit checks and all we had to do was wait until January rolled around to get together.

We are on one of the side trips with my group to Guanajuato which is a full day of sight seeing. Above are Charlotte and Jim with the center of town in the back ground.

Charlotte poising with this lavishly adorned mannequin at one of the wild homes I take my group to. But that's another story!

Jim is taking a break from all the chopping and cooking out at Rancho Casa Luna where I take my group for their cooking extravaganza. It was great reconnecting with them and having them on my tour!

Charlotte and Jim were in Denver this last week and my husband and I had a wonderful dinner with them at Luca d'italia along with their two daughters who live in Colorado. It was just like the four of us were back on the cruise ship and no time had elapsed. I am sure that before too much time has passed, we'll plan to get together in the near future. Charlotte told me that she enjoys reading my posts and checks my blog daily!

Yesterday I talked to a friend of mine, Ann, who was on my April tour. She was about to meet another gal, Linda, that she had met on the tour for a round of golf. Reunion dinners are being planned. Promises of margaritas on each other's patios are on the agenda, if it ever warms up. I often hear from people in Denver and out of town that have been on my tours. Acquaintances have become friends. These tours have enriched my life tremendously from all the new friends I have made.

You can't teach an old dog new tricks but you're never too old to make new friends.

Viva los amigos!

If you are interested in joining me on one of my tours for a great week and meeting new people, please contact me at robindsg@aol.com .

My Kitchen has a NEW look !

As I promised a few, below are some photos showing off the design changes I made in my kitchen in Denver. I've also added a few photos of my "cocina" (kitchen) in San Miguel de Allende. I do love to cook!

My house in an International style home that was designed and built by architect Edwin Francis in 1938. The cabinets are original to the home. I have since given them a fresh coat of white paint, piano hinges and new hardware. The Carrera marble counter tops replaced darker Granatech counters. The kitchen has really become so much brighter, more open and a real treat to cook and entertain in.

I put in an under counter, 16 gauge, deep, double bowl, stainless steel sink that came with two sinks grids. The brushed, stainless goose neck faucet and spray are also new to the kithen.
The back splash was changed to a brushed stainless and low voltage lighting was added. The lighting gives the kitchen such a "glamorous" look. My husband thinks it looks like a kitchen one would find on a Deco cruise ship in a Thin Man movie. I agree. The only thing missing is Asta, the Jack Russel Terrier, and a few martinis.

The left wall of the kitchen is curved. The cabinets have three interior shelves and are deeper than the standard wall cabinet. Can you imagine getting curved cabinet door fronts made today! $$$$!!!

I've just rolled out my dough for empanadas and the filling is a Mediterranean approach, lamb, onions, mint, cilantro, seasoning and cheese. I like the flour on my sweater. I better put on an apron.

Let's head south, back to San Miguel de Allende. My "cocina" has two glass, french doors at the end of the kitchen that open up right to the courtyard. Nothing like having the patio and the outdoors right at you fingertips! Like my Denver kitchen, I adore working in such a light and airy space. My brother and I hosted a 60th anniversary party for my parents. I did all the food (of course) and the trio above is the wait staff that I hired to serve.

And here I am, plating a dinner for some of my friends that had come over for dinner. Being an interior designer, I had the cabinets painted with a blue wash to give the kitchen more of a "Mexican" feeling. The original beige wash was too "gringo" looking for me and besides, I love blue.To add the crowning touch to the kitchen, I painted this wonderful saying on one of the walls.

"The secret to a long life is to eat garlic, but the difficult part is to hide the secret.."

Cooking at Rancho Casa Luna in San Miguel de Allende

Towards the end of the week of my guided tour, I take my group out to Rancho Casa Luna, just outside of San Miguel de Allende, for a cooking class. You could not ask for a more beautiful setting. Before the cooking starts, we tour the property, its gardens and even a visit to see the chickens, goats and rabbits. What Ranch would not be complete without dogs. There is Puppies, Bravo, Vera and Brindy, just to mention a few. They are all so friendly and just begging you to throw a rock for them to retrieve.

After our walk around the grounds, we settle in for a cooking class, "Chilies y Salsas."" Audreen, who studied at the CIA in New York, is our instructor with the help of Isabella in the background. I also lend a helping hand for I am no stranger to the kitchen either. Later, we break into teams and cook our appointed dish in one of the three kitchens. Once our dishes are completed, we sit down to a sumptuous lunch.

Isabella making the most important part of our meal, Margaritas!

San Miguel de Allende - Cooking Class at the Rancho 2 Click on the purple to the left to view a video that I shot of Helene and some of the others in the kitchen with Isabella's help. A great time by all.

Some of the gorgeous produce from the market (mercado), limes, jalapenos, cilantro, poblano, tomatillas........

Wayne is julienning the jicama for the salad. What technique!

I bet you did not know that jicama is native to Mexico and Central Mexico and has been cultivated since pre-Colombian times. It is a bulbous root and the interior flesh is white and extremely crisp. It is 90% water!

Jicama is also great as a refreshing little snack. Cut into 1/2" x 3" sticks. Squeeze fresh lime juice over them and sprinkle a little paprika on them for color.

Buen Provecho !

Different perspectives in San Miguel de Allende

There are many fine artists in San Miguel de Allende and I think Tom Dickson is one of the best. The way he captures the light in his paintings is spectacular. When I have one of my groups in town, we visit his gallery on my guided walking tour of town. He and his artist wife, Donna, have Galeria Los Laureles on Zacateros 81-B. I shot some photos of his work in the gallery the other day and when I got home, I came up with a fun idea.

I'd never suggest my camera could compare with the artistry of Tom's brushes, but being a photographer, I thought it would be interesting to show you how the images of San Miguel are many, whatever medium you use to capture them. Join us on our next adventure... and bring your camera!

This is the view of the jardin (central plaza) and the Parroquia (parish church).

"In the Shade of the Jardin" - Interesting on how I shot this and Tom painted this at the same time of day. That is one of many the treats of San Miguel, its early morning and late afternoon lighting is an artist's dream come true. Truly magical.

This scene has been shot by many photographers. This is an older photo of mine for the fountain (pila) is longer painted blue which I miss dearly.

"Day's End" - The man seated probable is trying to muster up the energy to head back home out in the countryside. He has been in town all day with his burros. The burros had been loaded down with burlap bags full of dirt that he had been selling door to door. We usually buy our dirt for our gardens and potted plants this way. And in the winter months, he would be selling firewood. It is long and tiring day for him. He had to prepare the dirt with a mixture of compost (or find and chop the wood), load his burros up, make the three to four hour journey into town, walk around town knocking on doors to sell his dirt and then make the exhausting trip back home.

Again, that late afternoon lighting certainly is worth capturing on canvas or on film.

This is one of my favorite places to sit and watch the people go by, Plaza Civica and the La Salud Church. On the weekends, you will see families from the countryside pass through the plaza on their way to the market. The families will be hand and hand, sparkling clean and in their best Sunday clothes.

"Morning in the Plaza" - Since my photo was taken, there has been some new landscaping. Tom's colors, lighting and perspective are just beautiful.

Join me for one of my tours and I will introduce you to Tom and Donna Dickson. You might even take home one of their paintings. If you are interested, email me at robindsg@aol.com.

Check out Tom's blog and see more of his great paintings at ALOTaboutLIGHT and believe me, it is a lot about light!

The Library in Patzcuaro, Mexico

A few weeks ago, I was in Patzcuaro and the surrounding area traveling around and visiting many of the local artisans. It's a place that is very special to me along with San Miguel de Allende! In addition to the guided tours that I lead in and around San Miguel, I am planning a special tour to Patzcuaro and the area in 2011 (I have not selected the exact dates yet). Patzcuaro is a little over a three hour drive south of San Miguel de Allende. I always enjoy going to the Plaza Chica in Patzcuaro and going into the Gertudis Bocanega Library. I shot this from the patio of my hotel room one morning with the clouds hanging low over the lake. This will be one of my stops on my "Special 2011 Patzcuaro" tour.

Originally, this building was the San Augustin Convent founded in 1570. The library is named after the town's local heroine from Mexico's struggle for Independence in which she was later executed for her participation.

Not only is interior spectacular with it's beautiful vaulted, wood ceiling, but the library's mural painted by Juan O'Gorman is very interesting. O'Gorman was born in 1905 to a mining engineer/artist father of Irish origin and a Mexican mother. He became a well known architect and one of the first architects to break away from the traditional Mexican style. He was largely influenced by Le Corbusier. He built the home-with-studio for Diego Rivera and Frida Kahlo. He was also a distinguished painter and muralist.

He began this mural in February of 1941 and finished it exactly a year later. Like most murals, this tells of the history of the state of Michoacan.

At the top of the mural is an erupting volcano. I find this particularly interesting because it was one year later that the nearby volcano, Paricutin, erupted. Aspects of the indigenous life and customs are depicted such as agriculture, hunting, mining along with ritual bathing.

Further down in the mural, O'Gorman depicts the evils of the Spanish conquest but also the good things that came of it, such as several priests who brought education and a variety of crafts. It was the first Bishop of Michoacan, Vasco de Quiroga, who introduced the Tarascan Indians of the region to the many skills in which have been passed down to their descendants. Such skills include pottery, copper products and woven wool goods. On my "Special 2011 Patzcuaro Tour," I will be taking a group to some of the remote villages in the area where weaving, ceramics and copper are still the main source of income.

Also interesting in the mural, if you carefully study the faces of the invading Spaniards, you will see the faces of Mussolini and Hitler. The Conquistadors, Fascists and Nazis were all considered the same.

It is an interesting piece of work and one that I know my group will love to see.

Speaking of Clowns, some were on my Tour in San Miguel de Allende

There is never a dull moment when I lead my guided tours in San Miguel de Allende. Talk about laughs and all the clowns I had on my last tour. They just loved to ham it up!

Helene doing her Hollywood poise right after lunch. I think she was just gearing up for the rest of the week!

Ann with her paper mache "jester" from the cooking class.

Gail with her belly dancer scarf on. Do not know the guy she is snuggling up to. But he better stay out of the sun.

Gail with her Rastafarian hat on.

Linda with some dude and what's the deer head all about?

We were touring Guanajuato for the day and the wind had blown one of the lady's hat off. Carlos, one of my great chauffeurs, was kind enough to chase it down. We then got him to model it for us. What a good sport.

Diane is playing and singing along with one of the Cervantes singers in Guanajuato.

Gail again! We are in the church is Atotonilco and next thing I know, Gail is standing in this niche with such a mischievous look on her face. I could not resist another photo. Such fun and so many laughs!

Clowning around in San Miguel de Allende

You never know what's happening in the jardin in San Miguel de Allende. You could be sitting at home and hear music wafting through the air and it's coming from the jardin. One day I was heading home from comida (lunch in Mexico) and I turned the corner, and there was a big, big crowd of all ages watching a bunch of clowns perform in the jardin. Mexicans love their clowns.

The children were all lined up to get their special prize. Of course, they had to pry some pesos out of the parents to acquire it.

Not the best shoe to be walking around in on all the cobblestone streets in San Miguel.

Talk about people!

And my favorite clown, my funny brother, Carter!