Volume I Episode V

Hello everyone from your guest blogger, Meredith.

My missions with this guest blog are threefold:

1. demonstrate that formatting can be fun, so that the witty but long-winded regular author of the words you see here, may be persuaded to throw the rest of us a paragraph break every now and then

2. try to keep up with the Jones´, or Jerems` in this case, as I understand that his guest appearance among Blake`s missives home from Spain was a major hit

AND

3. add my humble impressions of San Miguel and the nascent restaurant venture.

So, I´m off.

See, indenting feels good :)

My own arrival to San Miguel was stymied a bit by weather. I arrived in Houston, but ended up with a canceled flight to Leon (apparently the state of Guanajuato has a curfew, no planes landing past midnight- or else they are grounded?). So I spent a night in the Hampton Inn in Humble, Texas. It was humble, but I enjoyed all 4 hrs of sleep Igot. Arrived safely in Mexico the next day, but naturally, without my checked bag. (Bag arrived the following day, another Mexican adventure not worth wasting my precious blog space).

BUT, Blake WAS there at the airport, and we had a very happy reunion.We drove the 1.5 hrs back to San Miguel de Allende (SMA) in his boss´car, and then spent the afternoon hiking around the hills of SMA, enjoying the views and the crazy shaped cactus collection of the botanical garden. The following day was my first venture to the hot springs, I think Blake has talked about these already. They were more swimming pool-esque than I expected, but fed by all natural hot springs, and very relaxing. Blake orchestrated home cooked deliciousness for lunch and dinner that day. Oh, I miss home-cooked deliciousness.

AND THEN, the following night, I got to be one of the first people served in the new restaurant (called The Restaurant, in case you weren´t clear). Five courses served expertly to myself and the owner of the property the restaurant is on, and some of her friends and co-workers. Ceviche & dayboat scallops, portabello ravioli in a slow cooked onion broth, salmon on a bed of lentils, beef filet and mac & cheese (Ma Belle, it tastes even better in mexico!), and then a panna cotta with fresh berries and edible pansies (Reba, wish you were therefor the p.c.). Are y'all jealous? As far as I'm concerned, this is taking the cuisine in this town to a whole new level. You may not think I can be an expert on SMA cuisine, having been here less than aweek, but you´d be wrong. The Restaurant is still in its very early stages, doing private parties only, but hoping to ramp up to full (or full-er menu) soon. Stay tuned...

In my non-restaurant hours, I have kept myself busy wandering around on the cobbled streets, poking around in tons of chachki stores, attending a pilates class, visiting open air markets, and getting a fabulous massage, of course. I've been enjoying meeting the cast of characters in Blake's life these days -- as you all know, he has a wonderful knack for befriending the good ones. I leave tomorrow, but I'm looking forward to coming back soon.

Thanks for reading. Send a few comments my way, kay?