Fans, Fans, Everywhere

Seems to be el hot-o time here in San Miguel.  The days may start off cool, but it quickly warms up and ourhouses remain hot through the evening.

So it's fans in the dining room, fans in the bedrooms, and a fan in the office.  Just moved the bedroom fan so it stirs   up the air without blowing directly on us - and I slept until 4 am this morning.  Otherwise I would be up several times during the night for more water....

Walks downtown are early in the morning - before things heat up - with return trips to our little fraccionamiento by bus. And if we don't exit the bus at the Mega stop, the bus will let us off at our cross-street!


In somewhat-related news (related because I'm still spending a lot of time going over our cruise plans for the next three years - did you hear that Disney came out with Summer 2017 today?).  Also Disney has seen fit to assign us a cabin for our Fantasy voyage in October.  This seems to be earlier than usual - the paid-in-full date isn't until 7/24/16 - but it's on their website - Cabin 6690 - so it must be right.   It's one of the cabins across the stern on Deck 6 with an extra deep verandah.  About as far astern on the ship as we can go without getting our feet wet!  It's notated as a 06B in this picture, but it's really a 05E.  And this is the Disney Dream, but it's identical to the Disney Fantasy.

Farewell, Tannat

Well, there will be no more cooking classes in La Lejona.  Last Friday morning was the last serving at our little restaurant down the street in La Lejona.

After an altercation with someone on the 'Improvements to La Lejona' committee, the person who had issues with Pedro (the husband of the restaurant duo) made a complaint to the authorities.  This resulted in an inspection, and - as the home owner didn't want to go through the steps to commercialize the building - the restaurant needed to close.

So we were told after our little group (only 6 were present last Friday) met that they were closing that day.

We're all terribly sad about it.  It wasn't exactly Mexican (the wife/cook was from Columbia) but the food was sooo tasty!

We made arrangements to meet at another location nearby this coming Friday - Bove, located in a commercial strip mall nearby - which won't be as wonderful (and reasonably priced) as Tannat, but will suffice until we find another place to gather.  And it may turn out to be fine.  There's a new restaurant in the strip mall location - Carlos' Beans  - that may be open for breakfast once they finally finish work on the location.  The problem is that breakfast - in Mexico - is not at 9:00 or 9:30, but closer to eleven or twelve.  So choices are limited since we are all expats who still want breakfast earlier!

Unfortunately, this arrangement was made - tastelessly - in the presence of the owner and his wife - but, oh, well.  It couldn't be helped.  Farewell, Tannat, it was great while it lasted.  Best wishes in your future endeavors.

Pizza in a Pan

There's a little restaurant, serving breakfast and lunch in a house nearby.   The couple had opened a restaurant on the border of Centro, but like many newer restaurants in town it had not remained viable.  So they converted the ground floor of their home in our fraccionamento to a restaurant and live on the second floor.

Some friends of ours - also residents of our area - had decided that they liked the food and wanted to help the in-house restaurant prosper, so rounded up some more people and set a once-weekly time for us to gather (Friday mornings at 9:30).

And it seems to be doing well.  The food is Uraguayan/Mexican - quite tasty, imaginative pairings, and native dishes woven into a changing menu.  We all always find something that we really like on the menu.  One member of our group lives across the street from the restaurant [Tannat] and visits more often than once a week, as do some of the others.

So a 'How to Make Pizza in a Pan' (no oven required) was set up and five of us signed up for the cooking class.  Although only four showed up for the class, we had a great time and there was more pizza to taste for the four of us!

We learned the proportions, techniques, and timing for making the dough, types of accoutrements for topping the pizzas, and of course we got to sample each one.

One member of the group brought a bottle of wine and Michael and I brought a bottle of anejo tequila (Hornitas Black Barrel).  Since the husband of the couple had been a bartender at one time, he turned out margaritas for the group about five times - or was it six?  Both the margaritas and pizzas were tasty and promptly polished off!

One of the group members took notes and will be emailing the directions for the dough and some of the topping combinations soon - I hope!  After several margaritas it may be tricky to recall some of those combinations.

Now to think of another subject for a cooking class...maybe desserts, or tarts, or flans....

A bit of rain

After a long wedding weekend in hot, humid Puerto Vallarta - lounging on the beach between appearances - we returned home to decent weather for March.  Cooler, non-humid weather.

Cold, wet, windy weather.  Winter weather.  Even rain with hail mixed into it last night.

Weather that the dogs dislike.  Weather (especially when there's thunder and lightning) that makes the dogs a bit crazed, huddling up on the bed and (for Fiyero) trying to lick the skin off of our face/neck/whatever he can reach  Miyake is satisfied shaking. No amount of comforting helps until the rain/thunder/ and especially hail lets up.

Reminds me of our first January in San Miguel when it rained for days, flooding parts of the lower town.  We were happy to be up on a hill at that point.  A pain to walk back up the hill every day upon returning home from downtown, but comforting when the creek overran its banks!

We remember walking through that part of town, looking for a new place to live when our agreement expired that wasn't up on top of a hill and comparing the potential houses' locations with the water level marks that were left on buildings.

Now to find some insulating strips to quiet the metal-framed doors and windows when the winds are blowing....

LATER -  It's raining again, but at least there's no wind this time.  Bedroom drapes are closed, perhaps we'll all get to sleep a bit earlier.

EVEN LATER - At 3 AM Miyake decided that she needed to go out  And it's stopped raining altogether!

Thursday -  Okay, this is weird.  It seems to be snowing.  A sort of slushy snow that puddles, but it's snow!  Third time in recent memory that it's happened here: 1978, 2009, and now this year  Out in the campo they received more snow/snow; we put up with the melty stuff.  And presently (1 PM) the skies are clear, the wind is gone, and the sun is out - but it's still chilly!

Puerto Vallarte Wedding

We seldom need an excuse to go to Puerto Vallarta.  This last weekend was no different. 

Well, we were invited to a wedding...as if we needed an excuse!

The long weekend was reason enough to drag our butts to the sandy beaches of PV.  Aside from the first day we managed to find our way to the beach each day.  There were the usual restaurants facing the beach and we tried out Mi Pueblito ( 3 times) and La Palapa and another (don't remember it's name) on the other days.  We also met up with the happy couple and friends at Apache (or The Blind Donkey) for dinner the last night in town.

The new beach spot was Sapphire Ocean Club.  Two hundred pesos each got us a lounger, umbrella, iced water, and fruity water for the day.  They also had a terrific restaurant which we used on two days.  There was a small suite hotel attached to it - which we'll probably not be able to afford on future trips, either.  Located between the old Green Chairs location (being re-done when La Palapa took over the locatoin) and the Blue Chairs of Blue Chairs fame.

The highlight, of course, was teh wedding, held in a wonderful smallish restaurant perched on a hillside that served wonderful food as well of three types of margaritas (watermelon, 'Green', and regular) as well as straight tequilla (almond flavored as well as a Reposado).  Lovely wedding service, great food and drink service, and wonderful food as well as friendly folks as fellow guests.

Beginning at 7:00 pm, we (and many guests) called it a night before the second part of the party started.

The menu was dated 2017 and it took a while for the guests around us to determine whether it was 2016 or 2017.  Guess we'd had too many margaritas by the time someone noticed the misprint.

Eventually we made our way to the airport and caught our return flight to Queretero on TAR airlines, where we had the same cabin attendant who recognized us from our earlier flight to PV. 

While we may upgrade ourselves a step or two on our next trip to PV, (not to the level of the Sapphire Ocean Club - it was several steps higher) our hotel was basic but well maintained with friendly staff and squeaky clean.

And the shuttle home used the cuota, not the libramentos that our tip to the airport used.  Guess there was a development in roads that were available as the result of a horrific accident on the day we returned from  Cabo that required some time to correct. 

CABO Report - and the usual travel news

We're happy to report that Cabo is still there - and improved.  As a result of the hurricane, the resort is being restored and some extra touches are happening, too!

Unfortunately, the huge french-door refrigerator is not popular with my brother and wife - they both can't look in the fridge at the same time.  Nor is the extended palapa roof over the terrace, nor the reworked pool and hot tub up there on the third floor.  We thought they were all super (especially the fridge which replaced a standard unit which was a bit on the small size).   But there you go!  Different strokes for different folks.

We did find a new (to us) restaurant - La Dolce: an Italian place that serves - among other things - a pizza topped with Gorganzola cheese, walnuts, porcini, and Parmesan cheese.  Yummy!  It was packed with people who give Americans a bad name, but the food was really good!

Next year we'll be back for weeks 2 and 3 with my brother and sister-in-law.  Hope Paula and Tim can make it, too.  They had returned to Northern California when the scheduling plans were settled.  Now we'll see if it gets switched around before then...there's a whole year for changes to take place.

A bit earlier than usual, but we'll need some time at home before we go off  on our February cruise to Ocho Rios and the southern Caribbean on a Carnival ship - gasp!  Yes, we're trying out other cruise lines besides Disney, but we're finding (from the photos on their websites) that Disney wins cabins hands down!  The most basic Disney cabin is equal to those on other lines that are at the top of each range.  But when other lines go places that Disney doesn't go, what choice have you?  And after 20 Disney cruises, there's not a lot left except the eastern Mediterranean!  One day...maybe!

In the meanwhile, we're planning the Carnival cruise to Ocho Rios in 2017 [who are we kidding; it's already planned, excursions chosen, and paid-in-full in another month, et cetera]; Disney cruises #19 & 20 (the Eastbound Panama Canal + Universal City (yeah!  Harry Potter-land at last) and then the Eastern Caribbean with Facebook friends +  Disney's Food and Wine festival in EPCOT.  Both are in 2016; okay, we went a little crazy there for a while.  Then it's Hawai'i in 2017on Carnival again from British Columbia to the islands where we disembark after visiting them on the ship and hope to spend some time at Disney's resort, Aulani (if we're lucky; otherwise a nearby resort).  Then there's a Princess land-and-sea cruise to Alaska in 2019 - a bit more expensive than usual, so we need the additional time to save up our pennies....

Do we do nothing but travel and cruise - only if we're lucky!

In other news, we returned home to find that the van's right front tire was flatter than a poorly made biscuit.  Figuring that we'd better replace at least 2 tires, it became all 4 tires when we looked more closely at the back set.  After six years of use, including our move to Mexico, a round trip to Kentucky, and 6 years of travel on cobblestones, they were a bit worse for wear.  And tire prices were quite reasonable, we thought; having some funds left over after Cabo was a good thing!  So we now have a new set of Bridgestones.  And if we can keep Fiyero from peeing on the tires, perhaps another 6 years?  The van is 10 years old this year; we hope to keep it going longer (we don't drive a lot)!

And we got our twice-yearly emission test done, too. The testing place was right next to the tire store so it seemed a natural. to simply drive out of one spot and into the next.

Off to Puerto Vallarta this weekend for our friend's Victor's wedding.  Just an extended weekend, but there's the wedding, some beach time and then back to the drudgery of living in San Miguel!

Cabo, Cabo San Lucas, Where all we do is sit on our....

Yes, we're off to Cabo San Lucas for two weeks where we will be sitting on our tukases a lot!  [Did you figure out the rhyme?]  Mostly on the beach under a palapa, being plied with drinks.  My brother, Chuck, and his wife, Jane, will be leaving for a week-long trip home (an international flight) tomorrow at 1:30 pm in Terminal Two;  we arrive (on a domestic flight) at 4:30 pm in Terminal One, so we miss each other.  Then after the weekend my sister and her husband arrive.  Then Chuck and Jane return the next Thursday.  Then Paula and Tim leave. And lastly, Michael and I leave on the next Thursday.  Where's that chart I prepared?

So eventually we'll all be together - for a few days at least - for our 'Boyer kids' reunion.  The best part is that we still like each other.

The reason for all this is that during the time that Chuck and Jane are at Club Cascadas, my birthday happens.  We're usually there over the birthday event and celebrate with a dinner out.  There was still a dinner out on my actual birthday this year - and at our favorite restaurant - but we were here in San Miguel de Allende, eating at La Sirena Gorda (The Fat Mermaid, home of really great ginger margaritas).  I hear those present in Cabo had a great time! [We did too!]

Next year we've got a cruise in the middle of February that goes to Firefly (Noel Coward's home in Jamaica), so we'll be back on schedule for the last week in January.  Better get my dibs in for our room now!