San Miguel Allende – a different perspective

As the bride and groom walked out of the church and into church courtyard, they were met by another wedding couple; this set 12’ tall effigies dancing to the music of a mariachi band.

After a few minutes, the effigies led the newlyweds, the wedding guests, and the mariachi band out of the church courtyard, across the street and into the main plaza. Here, the newlyweds danced the traditional first dance and everyone in the plaza cheered and shared in their happiness.

While these festivities were occurring, one set of wedding caterers rushed the flowers out of the church, and another set of caterers rushed in the flowers for the next wedding. On this holiday weekend, multiple weddings were occurring in every church in San Miguel Allende.

The town of San Miguel has beautiful churches and lovely plazas.

It is well known as a haven for American ex-patriots. Because of the large number of Americans living here, the streets are lined with stores full of up-scale home decorations and attractive clothes. Each block, it seems, also includes at least one restaurant that caters to the Americans, including one named Harry’s -- with both atmosphere and menu remarkably like the Harry’s Restaurant in Ocala, FL.

All of these make San Miguel Allende a lovely place to visit. But the memory that will linger long for Barbara and me is the three-hour lunch we enjoyed at Los Senderos. A 15-minute taxi ride from the main plaza, Los Senderos is a 250-acre property that is trying to get started as a sustainable community. After entering the grounds, one winds through a forest of prickly pears that have grown into 10’ tall trees. At the end of the drive is open-air restaurant set on terraces that step down the hill. One side of the terraces is a wall of cactus.

The view is magnificent, evoking my image (correct or not) of southern California. Dotted with beautiful oak trees, the golden hills roll away to the horizon.

One of the oaks shelters a table to which waiters ferry food to a couple enjoying a romantic meal. As we eat, other diners ride up on horseback.

The atmosphere is almost Italian in its sensuality and elegance. The organic vegetables that are served come from rows that end at the edge of the terrace. A white-coated cook makes tortillas by hand for fresh quesadillas.

At the end of the day, we caught the bus back to Guanajuato, aglow in the warmth from both the wedding festivities and the remarkable experience at Los Senderos.