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<\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\tEach Sunday there is a House and Garden Tour, organized as a fundraiser for the Library. \u00a0We have found these fascinating as they provide such an insight into the range of accommodation available here. \u00a0Our first house two weekends \u00a0ago was in a huge, gated subdivision right at the edge of town. \u00a0The Americans who owned it seemed to have indulged their fantasies. \u00a0There were umpteen bathrooms and a man cave, featuring a bar, a huge flat screen TV and a magnificent sound system. \u00a0The wife, a dancer, had greatly admired the hippo in Fantasia. \u00a0Consequently there were hippos everywhere in all shapes and sizes. \u00a0Chacun a son gout! \u00a0The second house was such a contrast, owned by a collector of artefacts from around the world. \u00a0This eclectic selection had been curated and beautifully displayed with such attention to detail. \u00a0He had even floated Gerbera flowers on the surface of his pool.<\/p>\n
The tour we went on last weekend was of two town houses side \u00a0by side on one of the most historic streets called Canal. \u00a0They certainly did not have kerb appeal as there were huge stone walls with access by massive wooden doors. \u00a0Inside was like another world with Casa Abejas, definitely the nicer of the two, divided in two parts round a magnificent swimming pool. \u00a0Although it certainly had all mod cons and was very luxurious, \u00a0the interior could not have been described as cosy. \u00a0What both properties had was magnificent upper terraces with spectacular views of the city with the churches on the skyline.
\nWe also had the opportunity to visit Beatriz and Dan, whose casita Liz and Ken rented. \u00a0 They retired here from LA six years ago and built a home right downtown on a derelict pecan orchard. \u00a0We were impressed by how right it seemed for the setting.<\/p>\n
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<\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\tAnother fundraiser for the Library is the two hour historic walking tour, given by a retired American, possibly drama, teacher. \u00a0She was an excellent guide, obviously passionate about her subject but very entertaining too. \u00a0We took the tour on a national holiday with a parade featuring school groups, marching brass bands and gauchos on horseback. \u00a0That meant street closures and lots of noise. \u00a0Our guide was able to adapt the tour and provided a wealth of historical information. \u00a0She informed us that the courtyard settings of the fancy restaurants that I thought resembled the ones in Marrakesh were, in fact, the stables and the planters were horse troughs!<\/p>\n
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<\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\tThe library also organizes tours to areas of interest outside town so we decided to visit Guanajuato, the state capital, an hour\u2019s drive away. \u00a0It took us much longer as our driver routed \u00a0us through the mountains so that we could visit a ceramics workshop and a women\u2019s cooperative, providing funds for families whose breadwinner had gone to find work in the States and never returned. \u00a0Guanajuato is also a very wealthy place due to the silver mines close by. \u00a0Although this was a huge source of revenue \u00a0in Spanish colonial times, the deposits are so rich that now the silver is being mined for the electronics industry. \u00a0It is a fascinating city with a totally pedestrianized core – the traffic being diverted through underground tunnels which originally were built to divert the river. \u00a0It is also a university town with the best law school in Mexico. \u00a0Our first stop was the Mummy Museum, a macabre place featuring corpses that had died during a cholera epidemic. \u00a0There were too many to bury individually, but the minerals in the soil naturally desiccated \u00a0the bodies and clothing and body hair were still evident almost 200 years later. \u00a0A visit to the Opera House was an example of town\u2019s wealth as was the tour of the many churches . \u00a0Our last stop was Diego Rivera\u2019s house, now an art gallery, featuring the evolution of his painting style throughout his lifetime starting at the age of 11. \u00a0Our guide recommended lunch in a very swanky restaurant on the main square. \u00a0Their specialty was tweaking traditional Mexican fare and we had tacos, the filling contained \u00a0within\u00a0shaved jicama – delicious!<\/span><\/p>\n![\"\"](\"http:\/\/robinmcneil.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/FC8299B8-1B62-400E-A45F-E7EF100C894D-113x150.jpeg\")
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