A lovely day and more observations

We were having a lovely day wandering up a street called The Ancha, short for Ancha de San Antonia, in San Miguel de Allende.  We walked from our house almost all the way into historic Centro passing through an area that could easily be called "Restaurant Row."  We took a chance on a place called Le Mexicain Bistro and had a terrific lunch by splitting a Caesar salad and a chicken mole.  It was delicious and the blended fruit drinks were lovely.  And inexpensive given the quality of the food.

After that we went to an art show, expecting paintings and such, but it turned out to be craft show with lots of jewelry, explored a strange shop that was like a maze filled with all kinds of unusual and presumably expensive home dec items, and then started exploring the other side of the street on our way home.  Sadly, the idyll was shattered by a call from the alarm service saying that our home alarm was going off.  They wanted to know if they should send the police.  We didn't know what to do but told them we could grab a cab, which took longer than we expected, and would call them back as soon as we got home.  Thankfully it turned out to be a false alarm, a motion detector triggered by our little Miniature Schnauzer, Molly.  The alarm tech had told us that all the detectors were set to allow for a dog, but this is the second one she has set off.  At least we hadn't left the grounds the first time it happened.  I've been bypassing that first sensor when we leave, but now we have to have someone come out and make some adjustments.

Observations:

Plumbing - Mexican plumbing stinks - literally.  For some strange reason Mexican plumbers refuse to install proper traps under tubs, showers and sinks.  They all drain into the same waste line and the result is that sewer gases back up through the drains.  The house we are renting was just built, so I was hoping we would be spared this problem, but no, after three or four days, a foul smell wafted up through the tub drain.  I poured bleach down it, but then the bathroom smelled like Clorox.  The smell comes and goes without any obvious reason.

Kitchens - Mexican kitchens are "unusual." We have a beautiful kitchen with

lots of cabinet space, but the counters are lower than what we are used to, which is hard on my 6'6" husband, and the upper cabinets are ridiculously high.  We have seen the same situation in several houses, so it isn't peculiar to ours.  I'm 5'3 and can reach only the bottom shelf of the upper cabinets, and the microwave, in its own dedicated space, is over my head.  Plus the upper cabinets are quite shallow which means our standard dinner plates are too wide to fit.  We had to put them in a lower cabinet, but I think we will survive somehow.

There are no natural gas lines in the city and everyone uses propane to operate stoves, ovens, water heaters and dryers.  We haven't use the oven much, but apparently propane doesn't heat quite as hot as natural gas.  It will be interesting to see if the oven will reach 450F for homemade pizza.

Fireworks - Why were fireworks exploding before 4am?  Who knows? This town is obsessed with them, and we hear them at all hours of the day and night, almost every day it seems.  It appears that every obscure saint receives a fireworks salute.  For Mexican Independence Day, there was a huge display right over the Parroquia, the beautiful cathedral in the city center.  We watched from our rooftop almost 2 kilometers away, and it was quite spectacular.  Next year when we know our way around a little better, we may brave the crowds in the central garden and get a closer view.  We've heard that can be problematic since they shoot the fireworks straight up and the remnants rain down on the crowd, sometimes causing burns.

Photo credit: Peter Shumpter

Photo Credit: Sam Perez

Sometimes nature provides its own fireworks for San Miguel de Allende

Photo Credit: The fabulous Sam Perez