We've spent the last 2 days refamiliarizing ourself with this beautiful Colonial City that is the sight of many universities and world class colleges. The strolls in our neighborhood make us feel like we are home in Victoria in the summer, if Victoria had a street scene. The nearby parks and colleges are like walking through our university campus near our home. Energy and youth are everywhere. Art and Culture are important here and the street side cafes feature readings, work by local artists and political discussions. This vibrancy is set against a stage of some of the finest 16th and 17th century construction left by the Spaniards and religious orders who came to settle this area of Mexico.
It is a beautiful place. The Centro Historico is an easy walking route to tour the various churches, plazas, casas and jardins that each city in Mexico is known for. Gene and I know our way round, but then we look at each other confused as to whether we are thinking of Oaxaca, Cuernevaca, or???
Cori our faithful friend is part of every walking tour and unlike Gene and I, never once complained of sore feet or thirst in the sunny days and chilly evenings. There aren't many dogs here, so people all look and call out "borrego" as he is decidedly lamblike with is white curls and long legs...a show stopper for sure.
But getting here from Patzcuaro is a study in contrasts. We chose to drive through a couple of our favorite pueblos enroute to Morelia...leaving Casa Encantada in time to see why the interior highlands of Mexico are so little changed for centuries.
Arriving in Tsintsuntsan (named for the sound that hummingbirds make) we saw the first of many childrens parades. In each parade, the boys took turns carrying small colorful paper mache/crepe paper "toritos", and the girls and other boys wore traditional costumes made more colorful by the pastel painted eggshells crushed overhead...it didn't take long before Gene and I were part of the parade. On to Capula, where my heart melts to see the quality of the artesans work. The entire town is dedicated to clay art and the fine painting of the pieces. I am on the search for new dishes to replace some of the originals which have broken over the past 5 years...I came close, but I will save this purchase for the Uruapan Fair...my annual pilgrimmage to see all things beautiful each spring. 
So tonight on the evening before Dia de San Valentin/Dia del Amistad, a very popular and celebratory day in Mexico...we strolled down the Callejon Romancero and dined alone in a charming cafe. I so wanted to find something to purchase here for Valentine's Day...something that would be a remembrance, But I have come to realize that for me, at this stage in life, purchases are only made for something so unique and intriguing that I must have it..or they are for others. I want to engrain my mind with memories and my heart with feelings and my blog and my photos are the means to that end.... Although our travels are to places not far from our winter home, the richness and diversity of life here could easily be mistaken for the finest of European cities. We are indeed lucky to call Mexico our winter home
Tomorrow we leave for new territory, to places that I can hardly pronounce....but I realized today, I left my Spanish dictionary at home and I'm doing OK...I'm not entirely bilingual, but we are managing in places with no English speaking tourists. That makes me feel like although old, I'm new again in some ways too. Que nos vaya bien!
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