En Temporada

We so wanted this to be a good meal - on an organic farm - beautiful veggie bed, lots and lots of chickens, a farm store.  Trip advisor reviewers loved it.  Alas

Rustic charm

I think we should have ordered the pork belly...which looked good

The sandwiches whizzing by looked good, too

A funky place  - with new age and jazz music

Beautiful beet salad... but hard to eat, as the lardons were mostly large - so like eating carrot sticks and there was very little dressing to flavor it.

 Looks good, right?  Gnocchi with veg - very disappointing - they had been cooked to a pasty mush - with flavorless, unseasoned cream and rawish bit of veg.  If only there had been salt and pepper on the table

But the desserts were wonderful - Jm had a maple/ginger ice cream

Panna Cotta with fresh strawberry puree

We've seen several of these flamboyant birds

The Loo

Guest Blogger - Susan

Betty Sees All

Goings On

The Pocket Theater - 24 seats - for the screening of La Grande Bellezza - the guys in the back row didn't last long

On rooftop bar of a fancy hotel - rooms $500 a night - there for the view, and some of us discussed the movie

You don't see too many cats - this one finding some sun for a snooze

Our Lady

This area has many ranches and cowboys

On the highway, near new building construction, are the brick-sellers - many of them

Nopales - favorite gordito and taco filling .  It grows everywhere - but there is labor involved to prepare it.  

Universal graffiti

Queretaro

A pleasant colonial city - larger than expected at 1.5 million in population.  Seemed to be a business center but the  pretty historic center still intact.  It was here that the Spanish established their first FIDE institution to convert the natives

A Guadalupe shrine at the entrance to the gates

A Luxury Class bus - with Comfy wide and reclining seats with footrest - drink holders and snack.  The trip was about 50 minutes (km ?)  and cost under $10

Mott scrolled thru the terror selections - wifi available as well 

Bus snack - I hadn't had breakfast and found this lowly ham and cheese sandwich on mushy wheat bread comforting

Bus station amenity

The main plaza - with the typical trimmed laurel trees - the trunks painted white to discourage disease 

I don't think I've ever seen dogs as fountain statuary.  A guide told us that dogs were very important to the native populations - also the Spanish - and often were buried with owners to provide companionship in the afterlife....as in ancient Egypt.

We happened upon a gordita lady sitting in a doorway - lots of people standing in line.  We were gauging the sanitation standards, when a young guy came along and heard us speaking English - "best in town" he said - from Detroit - I  think he was probably Mexican and returns here often.  He translated everything for us then told us  about his recent trip to a resort on the Golf - and showed us all his photos - 7-hour bus ride - stay in hotel booked locally. ... all-inclusive and very cheap it seemed.  He said everyone was from Minnesota and Canada.

There are a lot  fillings - tripe - other innards among them

These are deep-fried and different from the grilled San Miguel variety -
still of masa and filled

Chorizo and potato - nopales, cheese and tomato

At a university art student show

Icicles of painted glass in a 3-D frame

This one is 3-dimensional and of cut paper

Another mural depicting the history of Mexico.  There is a strong tradition of murals here - Diego Rivera being one of the lauded artists

I really wanted to get one of these for someone -  couldn't decide who - nor could I decide if it was cheesy or resourceful - I decided it was kitsch.... not a derogative term. You see a lot of crocheted items in shops - vests, scarfs.

Someone has a business going -  a branded bag

In a simple local shop - not geared for foreigners

A touch of  Mexican gentility - a stand to hang your purse and hat on

Spaghetti Bolognese - interesting

Huevos Rancheros - a  complex red chili sauce - similar to the best of New Mexico

Chili Relleno Mexican style - a reconstituted dried red chile  - mild chili sauce

Misogyny?

Ceretero Visit

Univ. exhibition off main square

Appeal to Republican party on immigration policy

Mano a mano at street corners

women recognizing supremacy of men even in indigenous people

whatever

whatever 2

whatever 3

nice old doorway

glass

weekend activities

i want a bird in albuquerque to sing to me when i sit in backyard

corn must used in cooking by Mark Bitman

mural of revolution in governors palace