San Miguel de Allende, Mexico

I returned to the movie set Mexico likes to call San Miguel de Allende. Last summer I lived for a week in this colonial town learning and practicing Spanish. Clean and vibrant, San Miguel is still the place that I am most certain I will return many times into my future. The actual filiming location for "Once Upon a Time in Mexico" really looks as it does on the big screen. Because of its appeal, the emphasis of this blog is on location and not so much on us.

We stayed at my hotel - the place I called home for a week in the summer passed. After a brief contemplation the owner of the hotel remembered who I was and quickly moved to replace her current reservation in order to accomodate us. The family bond that had existed from the previous year was still intact. It is a warming feeling to make true lasting friends in a foreign country.

Most of our days in San Miguel were spent filling the empty suitcases Tex brought with gifts for loved ones back home. The artesanias, jewelery, and pottery handcrafted in the town are the best in the area. Shopping is exhausting but we managed to survive the arduous task. We filled our bags with blue-rimmed glasses, beaded masks, decorative silver, and ornamented crosses. As all of us Garcias had recently moved to Austin, we found plenty of Mexican pieces to fill our new apartments.

San Miguel was the first of our final 3 quick stops. Leaving the town was not sad or difficult because I will be returning frequently.