A Birthday Party in San Miguel de Allende, Mexico

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The day after the wedding banquet, I checked out of my Airbnb early in the morning, drove back to YVR, and returned the rental car. Flew to Queretaro (QRO), Mexico. This was a long travel day with a layover in Houston. Arrived QRO around 7:20 pm, got my luggage and found a driver holding a sign with my name. We waited for another lady who was also going to San Miguel de Allende. Found out that she was from Arizona but lives in SMA months at a time. She had traveled all over the world, and we spent the 1.5 hour drive exchanging travel stories. My three friends, Rosa, Paulette and Susie, were already at Rosa’s house near downtown. This is the group of ladies that I cruise with for the past 5 years. Rosa’s house was amazing, a colonial villa, beautifully restored and furnished. I had a taco as a quick bite, before settling in for the night.
We were in SMA to celebrate Susie’s 70th birthday. The next morning, we had brunch on the downstairs patio. Rosa had a local chef come in to make us pancakes, eggs, and bacon, served with salsa, cut fruit, and of course, mimosa.
It was a hot and sunny day: we walked downtown, a few blocks away. The roads were paved with uneven cobblestones; we had to be careful when walking, to avoid twisting our ankles. Definitely not a place to wear heels. We visited the paper mache dolls store, looked into signing up for a class to make and paint our own dolls but could not fit it into our short stay. Walked around the town square, visited the Church, and had cold drinks at a Starbucks, of all places.
The highlight of the day was the birthday dinner at Quince, a roof top restaurant. Our table had a nice view of the Church in the evening. There was live entertainment featuring a DJ playing 70’s music, a tightrope walker, and a roving violinist. The food was amazing, especially the cerviche. We were too full to order desserts but they brought out a large cupcake with sparklers for Suzie in honor of her birthday. Then we walked to the town square, which was rather quiet since it was a week night, and listened to a mariachi band.

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