Da Vinci, the Rosewood and Another Great Hot Chocolate: A day of exploration.

We started today by staying in bed, in spite of a flurry of M-80 firecrackers, closer to us than ever before, (firecrackers are not an unusual event here) at 6:30am. They are loud and woke us out of sound sleep. Okay, we already had enough sleep but with no obligations on our calendar we chose to snooze for a while.

We do not go out for coffee often. When we do Sheila has a black Americano and I have a Hot Chocolate. Still, we like going out just to soak up some ambience, usually in a new place to us. Today we went to Cafe Umaran. It is small and beautifully decorated. It is just off the main square, the Parroquia, so we had passed it many times and I had heard about it often. The calm unhurried atmosphere suited us well, the coffee was not special, but the hot chocolate was a very dark rich cup of cocoa that seemed to have no sugar. It was delicious.

Unlike many days we had objectives today. We are not typical tourists. We have no need to be busy and seek out entertainment consistently. Today though we went to a Leonardo Da Vinci exhibition at one of the ancient churches in the center of town. We paid $6 American for the privilege. From my experience, in any major U.S. city the cost for admission would have been much more expensive  and deservedly so. The exhibit covered a lot of ground. It included nearly two dozen full size replicas of inventions and ideas Da Vinci had. These were accompanied by many drawings showing the processes of his brilliant mind. Everything that was displayed is a precursor to technological innovations of today. Explanations conveyed how his mechanical inventions enabled everything from washing machines, to cars, to scuba gear and more. All of these 15th and 16th century innovations were made primarily of wood, and they functioned at high levels.  And, that part of the exhibit was not all. His art work was also prominently displayed. the immensity of his creative output is mind boggling to me.

In the U.S. an exhibit of this magnitude would be closely guarded and observed by security, roped off distancing, laser lines, signs demanding distancing and emphasizing no touch protocols. Here in San Miguel there were a few no touch signs. When we entered there was one young lady of about 15 years of age selling the tickets, and another of a similar age taking the tickets.  Later the ticket taker and another young lady were cleaning. When we got to the end there was a grownup selling tickets. That was the extent of security at the exhibit. Just another example of cultural expectations. Respect is their version of security much of the time. Most people would not think of taking advantage of a situation just because they could. This is an eyeopener coming from a country where countless businesses are closing because they can’t absorb the cost of petty (and larger) theft.

We had been told numerous times, both twenty months ago, and in the last 2 weeks, “You have to go to the Rosewood Hotel.” After the Da Vinci exhibit that is exactly what we did. When in Spokane think the Davenport Hotel. Well, the Rosewood is the San Miguel version. It is not often I think something is awe inspiring, but I could have taken 100 pictures and still not adequately express the grandeur of the Rosewood. I have been in the best hotels in major cities, even in Europe, but for me nothing can touch the grand vision of elegant simplicity of the Rosewood Hotel. Below you can see the approach to the main entrance.

It is huge, numerous restaurant and bar areas, hotel rooms, condos, gardens and art, art and more art. None of it is ostentatious. It is all tastefully coherent in a way that captures new and old world elegance. Here is where it gets weird. Rosewood is a chain. Rather than build up from an existing colonial edifice(s) it was built from the ground up starting in 2009. It is reportedly the only construction of this sort ever permitted in the old town centro district of San Miguel de Allende due to its Unesco heritage designation. It fits in seamlessly, as far as we could tell, with the architecture of the city.

Some of the extensive grounds at the Rosewood

Here are two pictures of the view of the city from the fourth floor terrace at the Rosewood. It certainly helped us realize the city is bigger than we imagined. If you want to see the extensive art collection you need to come to San Miguel.

There is a prevalent attitude among gringos in San Miguel. It is an odd attitude to me. Many feel that some places in the city are too “gringo”, that too many foreigners congregate in areas and businesses that aren’t the “real Mexico”. After giving this a chance to sink in, I arrived at this conclusion. San Miguel has been an ex-pat haven for decades. It is true that it is becoming more so. If a person is bothered that gringos want to hang out in places that are a mix of heritages, I have news for them. Mexico is a big country, and a lot of it is rustic and inhabited almost solely by natives. I know because I have been to places like this, go if that is what you are looking to see. San Miguel is unique in many ways and I believe everyone has the right to experience it in any way they want.

Well, that is my cultural rant of the day! One last picture. This is a statue that the natives often take a picture with, though I seldom see tourists do the same.