GRINGO BINGO, CHURROS Y CHOCOLATE

Enjoyed our early morning yoga again on Monday, even though we had to do it all standing up. We'd had a serious downpour during the night and the roof, and all our mats, were soaking wet! Our breakfast special that morning was oatmeal that had been cooked with cinnamon and apples, then topped with bananas and pecans. Not bad! Yogi Helen crept down early and decorated all the boiled eggs with little pictures and cheery messages. What a hoot. Then we got the bad news. One of our group members, who was just a few months out from hip replacement surgery, was being taken to the hospital. All that walking up and down hills on cobbled streets had done a number on her her new hip!

First Electric Gas Pump (even has its own historical marker!)

We left our casa at 9:30 to meet up with our Historical Walking Tour guide -- another interesting character who was a teacher and a charter pilot in past lives.

Now she volunteers her time conducting these tours to raise money for children's dental and medical care. We learned about everything from architecture...

How beautifully the various colors of canterra stone blend in La Parroquia!

Here you can see the original part of the church. The canterra facade was added much later.

to revolutions, to the reason why El Jardin is pigeon-poop-free. (It's all in how you trim the trees!)

This former nunnery is now a place to learn about art.

Once the tour was complete, Hubby and I headed off to try a little place called Don Lupe's Mexican Grill, which I had read about on Trip Advisor.

You'll never guess what we found hanging on the wall right next to the table where they seated us. This!

Apparently they decorate their walls with the names of favorite customers. When we told her that our names were John and Becky too, she promised to hang another pot for us if we ever come back.

We just might hold her to that promise, as their Grilled Shrimp Diablo and shrimp tacos were pret-ty darned delicious!

Again, I had great plans to work in my art journal that afternoon. What did I do? Take a siesta! I think part of it was the heat. Normally the highs in San Miguel this time of year are in the 70s, with afternoon rains almost daily. Instead it was getting up to 85 every day, with no clouds at all, and most places, including our hotel, had no AC. Hence the siestas.

That evening we decided to try the other restaurant tour guide Mort had recommended -- a place called Milagros. As soon as we entered the door the bartender asked "You here for Gringo Bingo? It's that way." What the heck, why not?

We decided not to have dinner there since the menu leaned heavily towards "gringo", and settled down with a bowl of popcorn, a dauber, and 10 cards each. Guess who won the very first game? No, not me for a change. Hubby! He ended up giving his prize away to our tablemate, the mother of the two girls calling the games (the nun was in charge of spinning the cage). All that mattered was that he won for once, not me, and he was feeling mighty smug!

From there we headed over to another place with a rooftop view, called Pegaso. Unfortunately, the food was pretty disappointing. Guess we should have settled for gringo fare at Milagros! From there we headed back to the Jardin, also known as San Miguel's "living room", which was becoming our nightly entertainment. It offers an endless parade of families, lovers and performers -- the best show in town! To make up for our less than stellar dinner, we ended the evening by joining the line of people waiting to get into San Agustín Cafe, an elegant little place just off the square...

whose specialty is...

Churros y Chocolate!

Finally collapsed into bed at midnight. When in Rome, do as the Romans do, right?