The day started with a fun breakfast with the Oregon group who are all now feeling better. Then I was off to what turned out to be an expensive lesson.
Those of you who have been following along recall that I left some open room in my suitcases for things that I purchase. The two big wood masks exceeded available space, so I had to ship them home. The bill for packing and shipping via UPS of the five masks and the largest rug came to about $200 USD. Ouch. I don't know if that was a competitive amount or not. I didn't do the research. But the shipping alone was $160 USD. Next time I won't buy anything that I can't take on the plane. Still, it will all look good once I put it up on the walls at home.
Today was meant to be an easy day after yesterday's hike up the hill. It's enough of an uphill walk on Calle Canal just to get to the jardin. So I mostly sat on a bench in the jardin and read the paper. After awhile I needed to get up and move around a bit.
Up Calle Coreo a couple blocks then to the right I saw the Calvario Sanctuary chapel that was built starting in the 1730s. The sign said it served a small community of about one hundred people. The door on the left is a veteranerian clinic.
I saw a couple more interesting doors. The doors are (mostly) amazing here, old and new. The spikes at the top of the second one are actually rain spouts. It must be fun to walk on the sidewalk when it rains, even with an umbrella.
Then there's this old gas pump on Juarez. Just kind of sitting there on the edge of the street. I don't know if it's still working. I hope not. It doesn't look too safe. Could the woman standing next to it be the pump jockey?
Late in the afternoon I went over to the San Antonio neighborhood to meet and visit with a blogger I've been reading since my last trip. Billie Mercer writes the Billieblog at www.billiemercer.blogspot.com She writes about living in San Miguel de Allende, photography, cooking, and many other subjects. Of course, I'm interested in the photography part, but I also really like her posts on life in San Miguel. Real stuff, not what the travel sites tell you about being a tourist. We had a very nice chat about all sorts of things. Anyone interested in San Miguel (and photography) should check out Billie's blog.
I should also add that I had a nice visit with Billie's husband Ned, a.k.a. Nurse Ned as Billie is recovering from a broken ankle. Seems her foot found a hole in the street while she was looking up.
Here's a couple shots from the San Antonio neighborhood. It looked to be a nice working class area. And no, I don't think they call it the Flatiron Building.
And here's the view from Billie & Ned's third level patio. They said at night when all the churches are lit up it is a pretty impressive sight.
My neighbors and good friends Diane & Gayla arrived from Minneapolis at Casa de la O tired and hungry a little after seven. We headed over to Tio Lucas Restaurant with Maria Teresa. I had the Filete a la Tampiqueña with....meat and lots of stuff. Good but not fab. A similar meal at Pueblo Viejo a few days ago was better.
We then took the new kids in town over to the jardin for a quick look. I think they are pretty happy to be here.
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