We traveled to San Miguel de Allende, Mexico, on March 6. As our month in Key West had neared its end, we debated locations in Ecuador (must go there someday), Chile, Oaxaca, a couple of cities in the U.S. and then finalized on San Miguel after finding a beautiful home to rent in el Centro.

The Jacaranda trees are in bloom, splashing color around the city ©2012

In the last two weeks we have found our way around town, had several great meals, met scores of people, many with great stories and all with a love for San Miguel, found our favorite woman (Dominga) to purchase fruits and vegetables from at the nearby market, enjoyed two plays, watched a movie at the local theater, started yoga three times a week with Alejandro (great teacher) and Spanish lessons two or three times a week with Lilia. All that, new explorations and our work find us trying to squeeze our day for more time. While we get a range of U.S. channels, we go days at a time without turning on the television. We have become more skilled at settling into a new location quickly, and here it is proving more valuable because there is so much to do.

Colorful and busy streets ©2012

This past Wednesday night we were scheduled to meet a local expat and his girlfriend for Happy Hour at Harry’s, a local bar/restaurant. We arrived around six, settling in at the crowded bar for 2-for-1 martini night. As has become a reoccurring event, we introduced ourselves to an expat on our left at the bar who is a professional photographer; it would be an enjoyable conversation. He described his efforts to keep his photographer’s edge in a world where millions own high-quality digital cameras, know Photoshop and take thousands of photos, one of which will inevitably be a gem. His niche is HDR photography. Have a look at his beautiful work.

Two Four martinis later (always want to learn more about photography), our friends we were loosely scheduled to meet became a no-show, and it was time for dinner. Note to self: Rule #1, warm climate = tall drinks. Rule #2, if you break the first rule = two martini limit.

It was a short but measured walk to Ole’ Ole’, a restaurant that has become for us a sure thing for a great meal.

We sat down next to four Mexican gentlemen and ordered. I noticed a bottle of Patrón tequila (empty) and a new bottle arriving. I was not used to the freedom of ordering a bottle of liquor for the table, which on reflection is very civilized. It seems we had crashed a birthday party. Introductions were made and a shot of tequila shared with a hearty Feliz Cumpleaños! We ate, we drank, we talked, we laughed — with some of the latter being directed at our Spanish. We drank some more. During the conversation we learned that one of the men was a bullfighter of some stature, another, the owner of the restaurant, and the other two an engineer and an architect.

Later in the evening: Alejandro, Victor, Betsy, Mauro and José ©2012

Our new friend holds his bullfighter photo from the wall in the restaurant ©2012

Meanwhile, I am learning that an empty glass is an invitation because as my shot glass was being filled, I heard, “otra mi amigo” (another my friend).  There is no pause between the two events and the first happens before the latter and that is not a question.  This went on for some time as the bottle emptied. Luckily we live only a couple of blocks from the restaurant.

The next day started slowly. By four we were ready for our Spanish lesson. Betsy had volunteered to teach English to the children in our teacher’s pilot program, and I spent that time before our lesson talking with the teacher.

Leaving class hungry, we searched for the Venus, a Thai restaurant we had heard so much about, found it and walked in around seven as a guitar player was setting up.

Andrei Krylov ©2012

We could not have planned it better. His name is Andrei Krylov from St. Petersburg, Russia. In the 1980s and 90s he worked as a guitarist for the Russian State Concert Company Lenconcert and the Old Petersburg music theater. Since then he has traveled the world playing guitar and has created 50+ albums. He plays Classical, Russian romance, Gypsy, Flamenco, Folk, and Jazz. We watched and listened, sometimes with chills, as this masterful musician willed every ounce of music from his guitar. From Bach to 400-year-old Russian gypsy songs, to jazz, he guided us through his work. We were lucky; on Friday night he gave a concert at the Biblioteca, which we attended and were again captivated by his music.

It’s not unusual for this caliber of artists and musicians to appear in San Miguel. The post-Second World War history of San Miguel laid the foundation for this dynamic artistic and cultural city.  Here is a sample of Andrei’s music…

These 48 hours are outstanding experiences in our remarkable first two weeks in San Miguel. Many people have told us that their hearts belong to Mexico, and we are beginning to understand why.