San Miguel de Allende, Mexico (December 2023)

San Miguel de Allende is a city that belongs to the State of Guanajuato. Its original name was San Miguel El Grande. But, General Allende, who was born in this city, fought against the Spanish colonists as the second commander in charge after Priest Hidalgo. After he was executed by the Spaniards, the city's name was changed to San Miguel de Allende to honor him. 

This city attracted many American soldiers after World War II and has since appealed to many American retirees. Also, the city has been attracting many artists, thus developing into an art town. There were so many art galleries and attractive restaurants, cafes, and gift shops. As more Americans came to this city, the housing prices have gone up to be quite expensive.  The city was quite pretty, however.

The parish church is the focal point of San Miguel de Allende. This iconic building is featured in many paintings, photos, and product designs. Its plaza is the gathering place for the residents and tourists alike.

In our journey, we found a lot of Volkswagen bugs in various forms and shapes, but mostly in bad shapes.

The streets and the shops were decorated well everywhere we went. But, unfortunately, the day we visited was raining and cloudy.

All over the city were the Start decoration. Reportedly, the star represented the 7 capital sins described in the Bible. This developed into the pinata that kids try to break for candies contained inside the pinata. Once it is broken, they believe that such capital sins have also been broken. 

Throughout the city were doors and gates painted colorful and decorated with tree branches. 

 

The hotel we stayed was a hacienda style and had a beautiful garden with a well-groomed garden. 

We had a free dinner time and Kristin found a charcoal-grilled chicken restaurant. It was huge and packed with people even at a not-so-busy time. We thoroughly enjoyed the meal as well as the price tag.

The City of San Miguel de Allende is a beautiful place. There is no question about it.

Both Kristin and I appreciated the beauty of the city, but not the cobblestone streets and the hilly slopes. It is a town that is good to visit but not for living. - Jeffrey