In February, 2003, we took a 15-day vacation in Mexico, making San Miguel de Allende our home base. San Miguel sits at about 6700 feet in elevation and is some 150 miles north of Mexico City. The city was founded by a Franciscan monk in 1552. Because it was an important stopover in the silver route from Zacatecas, it was a wealthy town that boasted many lavish colonial mansions. The Mexico government declared the city a national monument in 1926, and much of its colonial architecture still stands.

At left, La Parroquia, San Miguel de Allende, Guanajuato, Mexico