San Miguel de Allende is not about all the sights you can see or the amount of museums you can visit. Technically there is very few of these in the compact Centro Historico. San Miguel, the city itself, as a whole, IS the principle sight! This town surprises on every street you turn down with its hidden character and quirky Mexican beauty. Rosie can’t wait to share it with you.
San Miguel de Allende is home to 70,000, with a large ex pat American community, some say numbering up to 12,000. This town is attractive not just because of its picture postcard good looks but it has the most sublime temperate climate all year round because of its altitude, sitting on a plateau in the middle of Mexico. The days warm up to a max of 27c and cool off at night to 13c, all day every day….in the summer the only difference is we sometimes get a thunder and lightning storm in the late afternoon followed by a ten minute downpour…and that’s as bad as it gets. It’s a tough life here alright.
This is a city full of beautiful colonial architecture, authentic, charming (and sometimes treacherous) cobbled streets and the most amazing light. Its got that soft autumn, nostalgic, golden glow to it all the time and we were there in the middle of summer. The whole Centro Historico was designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2008, you will see why as I show you around.
The city centre is where all the visitors gravitate. The Plaza Principle, El Jardine and the Parroquia, the giant pastel pink church is what pulls the people here, this central point of the city is its beating heart.
Lets start by getting there, Rosie certainly doesn’t mind walking downhill from the Mirador Lookout she lives on. It’s an eight minute walk to the center of town and there are plenty of different roads and alleyways to take to get there and explore.
The steepness is treacherous in some of the routes Rosie and The Operator take, Rosie has to keep her eye on the ground and where she puts her feet on the cobbles instead of looking around….I don’t want to miss anything, so the going is slow, but hey we are on holiday. I keep to the narrow steps on the left of the picture above, then I can avoid any cars….yes, this is a one way street! But it leads to this beautiful street below….
Doorways open onto the streets and each door is different, each house is a different colour. This house has a tree growing out of it, it’s a big branch! Why cut it down when you can build the house around it. Rosie is dying to know what is on the other side of the wall.
Down on the flat and from in between the colorful narrow houses Rosie and The Operator get their first close up daylight view of the Parroquia peeking over the top of the buildings. Seeing the church get bigger and bigger as we got closer framed between the buildings with the cobble stones in the front was magical.
We burst out into the square for the first time and it is amazing. It is such a beautiful sight, there is no exaggerating it. It is THE focal point that everyone’s eyes are drawn towards. Rosie stands and rotates on the spot, in such a small area there is so much beauty, it’s going to take ages to take it all in.
Looming overhead, so you have to actually bend you neck right back to see the tall spires, which make it appear taller than it is wide, is the beautiful Parroquia (Cathedral). It is a kind of ombre pink where you can actually see all the different shades where bits have been added on over time. It is magnificent framed by the blue sky.
The pinnacles of the church are totally ‘un mexican’ but they were however designed and added to the church in the late 19th century by a Mexican stonemason who, as the story goes, based the design on a Belgian postcard picture he saw and instructed his builders on their construction by scratching the plans in the sand with a stick.
The rest of the church dates from the 17th century and inside is the much revered image of Christo de la Conquista (Christ of the Conquest). Amazingly made from corn stalks and orchid bulbs in the 16th Century. Do you think Rosie could find this Holy Relic anywhere….she wandered round and round the church and even asked someone in the the church….probably not the best thing to do, interrupt someone praying that is. Rosie conceded defeat…..even resorted to cheating and googling it….me, don’t think it actually exists. Probably rotted away a hundred years ago and no one is admitting it.
In front of the church is a large paved area that during the day is home to balloon and Otomi doll sellers and picture snapping tourists. Where as in the late evening, mariachi bands gather and perform into the night, (Rosie can hear them from her terrace) for the entertainment of the locals who gather in El Jardine to dance or catch up with each other.
On this street corner Rosie takes a photo of the towns most famous…..the men whose names grace this town. One of them is the founder of the town, the Franciscan Friar Juan de San Miguel. His green statue stands in front of the Parroquia. The other statue in the niche is Ignacio Allende, San Miguels favourite son and one of the leaders of the Mexican Independence movement. Rosie will give you a history lesson another day.
Take a few steps back from the front of the Parroquia and you are in the shadow of the well-trimmed arbor of El Jardine that has conveniently placed park benches at regular intervals so you sit in cool comfort and still take in the lofty site before you.
El Jardine in front of the church is a magnificent mass of lush green topiary styled, perfectly trimmed fiscus. Trimmed into wide-spreading large boxes that act as shade inducing balconies, they are perfect to stop and rest under and watch the world pass by.
This is a most beautiful and relaxing public space and perfect for sitting and people watching or viewing the majesty of the church. El Jardine itself is rather small and compact, it too has a small rotunda in the middle and beautiful box hedges line the symmetrical pathways in it.
El Jardine is slightly raised from the Plaza Principle it sits in, but, even right at the back, if you chose to sit in this most romantic window and have breakfast watching the world go by you still get a peep at the top of the Parroquia.
Bordering the Plaza Principle are shady colonial porticoes full of restaurants and shops. The colour of the buildings are deeply hued ochre and reds, they stand out and look so beautiful in the clean, beautiful natural light.
Girls sell flower coronas from their market stalls under the porticoes. They are made from dried flowers, and the stall holders create new ones while waiting for a sale, or will do you a custom colour while you wait…..so many people wear them here, young and old. They are for celebrations and events….but so many wear them around just fun, its beautiful to see.
Down the shadowy porticos the views out into the street where the colour and action bursts forth is amazing.
Street carts line one side of the plaza selling water, lollies and newspapers. And, in this small square there is always something else to see if you just pause and look around. Look up and you will see eyes watching you from balconies.
Walking down the street you see the funniest couples out for a stroll or the craziest things drive past. Everyday in Mexico you see and experience something different which just puts a smile on your face because it is always colorful and fun.
Tomorrow let me introduce you to my favourite suburb of San Miguel de Allende, Guadalupe. Plus there is also the Markets and beautiful park. Rosie also has a million candid photo shots of her travels down the lane ways and narrow streets as we get there.
