For a beautiful fall break in October, we explored the Mexico cities of Guanajuato and San Miguel De Allende, a world apart from Texas, yet a short, direct flight from Houston. If I had one word to describe the historic center of these places, it would be “colorful.” We fell in love with the brightly painted houses of all hues and the cobblestone streets that we climbed every day, and the music and costumes of the festivities. The Cervantes Festival had just begun in Guanajuato when we arrived. On the first night from our little restaurant table on a foot bridge, we watched all the people passing by, tourists and locals alike, during our dinner. It was the most delicious Mexican meal of our stay, and the most ridiculously inexpensive. Local musicians sang and played instruments in the streets, most memorably a little boy playing a flute and the costumed band of musicians (called callejoneadas) who led a group of lively tourists through the town. A highlight in Guanajuato was the Casa del Rector Boutique Hotel, the former residence of the dean of the University of Guanajuato. The 19th century villa combines the elegance of its architecture with beautiful modern touches, and the friendly staff went out of their way to personally attend to us. The view from the rooftop bar has to be one of the best in town. I really enjoyed the Don Quixote Iconographic Museum housing dozens of art pieces from around the world (paintings, sculpture, print) depicting the Cervantes hero. It reinforced for me in a big way what an important influence the novel has been for so many, especially when it was linked in the final room to recent immigration crises. The home of Diego Rivera was interesting, too, especially taking in works that I had never seen before, as they followed the timeline of his life. For both of us, though, what was most fun was walking the streets and sitting in the outdoor cafes as the music played and the parade of people went by. In San Miguel as well—i post photos on the following page—we were impressed by all the families enjoying the nighttime festivities. It was nice to see locals so appreciating their beautiful surroundings. We found that San Miguel has more than its share of charming cafes and shops and rooftop restaurants, but it is the grand Parroquia in the main square that dominates by sheer beauty. We loved catching the changing hues at different times of the day, especially at night when it is spectacular. One last note: every one of the four groups of Americans we met in San Miguel happened to be from Houston, even the owner of Noisy Records where we stopped in on Matthew’s behalf. We see now why it is no accident. With such a short flight and slightly longer drive to this colorful city, it is no wonder that San Miguel de Allende is a favorite getaway to a world away from home.