Our wonderful driver; Aaron made getting to San Miguel de Allende a snap. Our accommodation, the very comfortable and well appointed Casa Lani Luxury B&B was just at the edge of the somewhat busy, touristy Centro area.
We were the only customers staying at the B&B during the two evenings which made for a relaxing and peaceful stay.
The first order of business after quickly getting settled was to take a stroll around the downtown area and get our bearings.
Most cities and towns in Mexico have a main square (the "Zócalo"). Here in San Miguel, it's the Jardín Allende.
A wonderful green space, which is fairly peaceful in the morning, but gets more lively as the days passes and is really buzzing at night.
Right across the street is the Parroquia de San Miguel Arcángel. Made of pink sandstone it is quite striking. The church was closed at the time of this visit; we'd return later. We headed next door to the Iglesia de San Rafael.
Which was quite striking in its own right.
Notice the statue of Saint Anthony Abad to the right. Notice anything? The pig perhaps? Well, in case you didn't know, Saint Anthony the Abbott is the Patron Saint of pigs! Yes indeed, you can read more about it here if you're interested. And if you desire; the next time you're in Paris you can get a dish from Au Pied de Cochon, named La Tentation de Saint-Antoine ("The Temptation of Saint Anthony") which consists of deep fried pig trotters!
San Miguel is known for being quite artsy and is indeed very colorful. We loved checking out the courtyards and various nooks and crannies……
We decided to stop for a little caffeine boost on the way back to our room and dropped into a quiet and quaint little cafe; Oso Azul.
And enjoyed being the only customers in the place…..
Cafe Oso Azul
Zacateros 17, Zona Centro,
San Miguel de Allende, Mexico
I wanted our dinners in San Miguel to be fun and special. I had been told about and had read about Luna Rooftop Tapas Bar in the Rosewood Hotel. The view at dusk is said to be wonderful. So, I made reservations. We walked on over and were showed our way to the rooftop and yes, the view was amazing.
The staff were friendly and accommodating. And the residents with wings made sure we knew who "really" ran the place.
They basically had very little fear of hooo-mans…..
It was a great place to have cocktails….
And watch the sunset….along with our new fine-feathered-friends…..
Things in San Miguel were more expensive than CDMX….for instance, the Guacamole; which was pretty good cost 250 $MX, about $12.25/US! For a bowl of Guacamole…
Which came with Tlayudas, Tortillas Chips, and Chicharron.
In what would become the running joke of the evening….the Missus loved the chicharron. So, we asked if we could have more….the guys working were surprised. I'm guessing most folks aren't into the pork rinds here? They also found this amusing and quickly brought the Missus a serving of just chicharron.
For the rest of the evening, whenever the Servers would come by they would ask the Missus; "more chicharron?? More chicharron??" And when She did say "Si…muy chicharron…" They would all crack up! They were really a fun bunch!
As for the food. Well, let me just say that the presentations were nice, but the flavors were quite mild, and dare I say somewhat mutes for our tastes.
The shrimp in both the Shrimp Ceviche (275$ MX – $13.50/US) and Aguachile (280 $MX – $13.50/US) were cooked! And thus quite tough. Both dishes really needed more citrus and were on the bland side.
The Duck Confit "Carnitas" (295 $MX – $14.50/US) were dry, but at least had some gamey duck flavor.
The Manzano Peppers on the duck was really good though….sweet, fruity, with a slight kick.
And of course the Missus had more chicharron!
But of course, the main reason we came here was for this.
As we finished up and the wonderful staff bade us farewell, we could really see why San Miguel de Allende was a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
Luna Rooftop Tapas Bar (In the Hotel Rosewood)
Nemesio Diez 11, Zona Centro
San Miguel de Allende, Mexico
San Miguel de Allende was indeed colorful; the people friendly, and we were hoping that our upcoming meals would be as delicious as San Miguel was beautiful.
Awesome view! That’s great the missus had enough chicharron.
amazing view!
She did enjoy the chicharron Soo!
That was quite a view Kat!