photos courtesy of Dianne Muyskens and Carol and Jack Kelly

from left to right: Dianne, Patsy*, Carol, Rossie, Sue, and me

We were a congenial group of travelling ladies on this trip put together by Carol Kelly, a longtime friend of mine, She invited Dianne Muyskens, Sue Feeney, Rossie Whitehead, and myself to rent the Casa Carole together.

Our arrival was taken over with our delight and amazment of the house itself. (See previous March 13 blog). We ventured out into the city after a delicious dinner in a local restaurant. The shops stay open late, and we peered into a number of shops and all saw things we liked and wanted to come back later for-- ornate chandliers, ironwork, tin folk art objects (lots of "stars" in various forms by the way), tiled works, textiles, clothing, and these really cute shoes.

The next day Carol had arranged a guided tour of the city with Angelica, a beautiful young English speaking native of San Miguel. Angelica grew up helping her grandmother wash clothes in the local public cisterns, but she was a 2009 lady now owning her own tour company with her husband, wearing Nike sportwear, and using her I-phone most proficiently. She had our driver take us out to the outskirts of the city to see what she called the "foundation" of the area and the first church built there in the 1500's with the arrival of the Spaniards. The Spaniards came to the area looking for gold and silver, and over the many years converted the Mexican natives to their Catholic ways. We drove to the highest point of the city and parked under a lavendar Jacaranda tree to view the scene below and the beautiful churches. We saw old churches, beautiful old neighborhoods, and had many photo ops. Way too much to write about, but after the tour, we felt well informed

We ate in on Friday evening, a truly Mexican meal. We hired Terri, a Mexican cook, and she made us an authentic dinner. Our routine seemed to be coming home in the late afternoons, gathering outside in the walled patio, each of us taking up a chaise lounge, and leafing through the piles of interior decorating magazines left in the house. In the evenings, before dinner, we visited and shared stories over guacamole and wine as the stars and moon came out.

Photo below--Carol setting our table

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After two days, we decided we all had to settle our finances as each of us had paid for one thing or another and we wanted to start with a clean slate. After two hours of trying to figure this out, I really thought we could have been a reality show--trying to work with a conversion chart Jack Kelly had made for each of us. Some of us had paid in American dollars, some in pesos, and Rossie and Sue were Canadian. I'm still not sure we got it exactly right, but it was close.

On Sunday (on Carole Meyer's recommendation), we took a long taxi ride out into the country to have lunch at Patsy's Place (* Patsy [pictured in photo at top with the five of us). Patsy is an American and serves lunch on Sundays only. The price is $20. The minute we arrived at the vine covered veranda, we were offered drinks of our choice--from iced tea to margueritas, wine or whatever--all included in the price. The bountiful lunch is served buffet style in Patsy's up-to-date and well-equipped sky lit kitchen. Dessert was lemon pie and oh my....

On Tuesday, Carol and Dianne chose to attend a class offered by Sazon',a cooking school (which also has a wonderful retail shop). They were taken by Chef Paco to the open market, getting pointers for selecting the best of the crop...then back to the kitchen to learn how to use the ingredients in making local dishes. Carol and Dianne are both passionate and accomplished cooks so doing this was heaven for them.

below--the marketplace

Sue, Rossie and I declined the cooking school and chose to take a tour to the church at Atotonilco with a guide. This religious fortress built in 1740, was inspired by the vision of Father Alfars and is today the treasure of this small town and the Mexican homeland. The baroque church is famous for the murals which cover its walls and cathedral ceilings painted by Martinez and other Creole artists. Words cannot even begin to capture the scope and artistry of the sections and chapels and rooms all embellished by the paintings. From there our guide drove us to ceramic and woodworking factories where we were able to buy pottery, tin and woodworkings done by local artists. To top off our afternoon, our guide drove us to a town square and an ice cream cart and a large selection of flavors--from tequila, to plain vanilla bean--they had guava, I had caramel. We decided we had made a good choice also....

I could tell you all so much more, but time and space permit... I came away from this week inspired by the beauty and attention to detail of the Casa Carole house. The third day I was there, I noticed that the bed curtain over my canopy bed had tiny milagros (or "miracles"-- the charms the Mexicans use as symbols in prayer) stitched to hang all along the hem--they depict hearts, suns, animals, arms, legs, hands--whatever one wants to cure.

The colors of the village, the profusion of blossoms, flowering vines, and jungle-like exotic vegetation, the warmth of the people, will stay in my mind for a long time....

And maybe the best of all, the companionship of interesting, dynamic ladies to share stories, coffee, good meals and laughter with.....

good for the soul......and by the way, we each bought three pairs of the cute shoes the town is known for (at really good prices)

signing off....Gayle@starsantique.com