Today, Scott rose early to go retrieve our van from the dealership in nearby Querétaro, an easy one hour bus ride from San Miguel.  Although we just bought it, we've already had some problem with the power steering system, which is of no consequence to the rest of our story (if you'd like to hear more about it, we can direct you to the dealership).  So after dropping the van off last Monday, we got the call telling us it was ready to be picked up.  At 9:30am, Scott walked the mile or so of poorly cobblestoned street up the hill to the outer ring road where he could wait for the bus heading to Q-town, as the locals call it (okay, they don't call it that).  Arriving just in time, he paid his 40 pesos (~$3.50USD) and sat back for the economical yet comfortable 2nd class bus ride.  Hopping off at the bus stop by the (very nice, American-style) mall, he hops into the front seat of a waiting cab that will take him the next mile or two to the dealership.  A little Spanish practice ensues for Scott, as he gets to discuss the massive influx of Mexicans coming to Querétaro to work.  Please note that the cab driver was a proud Querétano who has lived there his whole life.

The dealership was quick and efficient, and Scott was able to hop in the van and drive right off within minutes.  Unfortunately that sound it was making when he brought it in had not gone away - so back to the distribuidora he went.  After some false but nice-sounding face-saving explanations of what that sound was, he discovered he'd need to leave the van there for another three hours while they checked out a couple of things.  Scott had his book and no where in particular to go, so agreed that he could let them have it right that instant.  While he began his wait, one of the 20-year old employees at the dealership wanted to get a little English practice in with the rarely seen gringo in his midst.  He used up most of his English asking questions like, "Do you like Mexico? Do you like Mexican food? Do you like Queretana girls? Do you like to dance?" reminded him of his days in Señora Webster's Spanish I class.  When Scott explained to him that gringos can't dance, the young English student's eyes lit up in disagreement, as he explained that "the gringas can dance!", then proceeded to dance about and pretend to lift his shirt up while shouting, "Spring Break!".  Scott was glad to see that young Mexicans are knowledgeable (and appreciative) of American culture and customs.

Scott decided to head into the lovely historic center of Querétaro (a UNESCO world heritage site) about two miles north of the dealership while the van repairs were made (Ojalá - God-willing).  The site-seeing included strolling through the many well-kept plazas in town, getting his blood pressure checked by a woman studying to be a nurse, some coffee & reading time on the main square, some fresh squeezed orange juice - of course, and a walk through some huge markets selling shoes and clothes that he'd like to return to some time.  Upon his return to the dealership, the van was indeed fixed (gracias a Díos!), and Scott was ready to take care of his American-style shopping list for Querétaro, including a printer cartridge and binder at Office Depot, towel bars at Home Depot, and some swiffer sheets & light bulbs at Wal-Mart.  By 3:15pm, he drove the Golden Gancho (the new name for the van that we'll have to explain some other time) triumphantly back into San Miguel without a single leak.

He returned to find Caroline busily planning away our upcoming trip to Europe.  With about 80 days on the European agenda, it takes some work to make sure you'll get to see the things you want to see, stay in decent places, and not spend a mountain of Euros doing it.  But with the van back in action, we were able to head back out together to take care of some of the business we've been meaning to catch up on.  First stop, pick up our new custom cafe table and chairs from one of the iron-work shops in town.  They turned out beautifully, by the way, and fit perfectly on the terrace that they will now call home.  The next stop was the Michoacan-style artisan furniture shop on the outskirts of SMA to see if they had a chair available in the color we were looking for.  Seeing none, we decided we'll have to return to their other store in town next week for yet another custom-ordered piece of furniture (allow 3 weeks).

Next was our second iron shop of the day.  This one, however, was truly the 'shop' where the work is done.  An outdoor, dusty, gritty Mexican kind of place, where the workers smoke and drink 40's of Corona while welding away.  Part of the covered area of the shop also housed 5 or 6 concrete stables, one of which included a mama horse with its newborn.  We found Juan, the owner, by the stables to explain to him the specs of the barstools we're looking to have made for when the kitchen remodel is done (Ojalá).  Just like the ones in his 'showroom' downtown, where we met his mama loca who gave us directions to his place, only shorter.

Our workday complete, we spent an hour trying out our new terrace furniture.  We consider spending some time out there every night, as the evening weather has been perfect.  The past few days we've taken to heading out for a walk around 7pm or so when the sun is setting and the warm breeze starts blowing.  Our terrace-sitting and re-hydration complete (never ending task that you must consciously take care to perform), we headed out for dinner.  We'd heard recommendations for an Italian restaurant located just east of town in an old hacienda, and we decided to give it a try.  We've been back in Mexico for almost two weeks now, and have hardly eaten out since our return, so we were looking forward to a nice Friday night dinner out. 

It took us a minute to find the restaurant, even after parking in their lot.  You had to walk around one hacienda, through a garden, by an ancient looking chapel where there was some sort of all men's Friday night service going on, and over to the building that appeared to be the restaurant - judging from the two people sitting on the patio drinking wine.  We also took a seat on the patio, since it was a perfect evening (yet again) for dining outside.  It's definitely the slow season in San Miguel, and we were the only customers there for some time.  This must be why there was no menu... after the owner came over and introduced himself, the waiter simply recited a few of the items they could make for us tonight.  After starting with the zucchini ravioli, which was served to us right out of the pan, Caroline went with the veal, and Scott with the beef fillet in mushroom sauce.  Both were quite good, and we left very full and vowing to return.