Hello. It's me (us). In San Miguel de Allende with Adele.

Well, now we're in San Miguel. Adele has been with us the entire time we've been in Mexico. She's everywhere. Markets. Cafes. The OXXO stores. Adele's inimitable voice and lyrics have followed us for the past two and a half months - our touchstone to home. How huge is a star when they are piped into a gas station in a mountain town in Mexico...and the attendant is humming along? Good thing we love her music.

But, we started talking about all the places in Mexico we hadn't visited yet, (we will never get to them all), and changed our minds. We decided to drive down one more time, tour around the interior, and make San Miguel one of our longer stays - our holiday-within-a-holiday. By the time we arrived here three days ago, we were very ready to get out of our car and stay put for a while - we'll be here for 23 days. We've rented a spacious one-bedroom apartment with a terrace in a mainly-Mexican neighbourhood about 10 minutes from the central square. Our neighbourhood is pretty and amazingly quiet - with the exception of the barking dogs who all appear to have sundowners until about 9:00 pm, and then pass out for the night. We even have an on-premises parking spot for our car. This is a street close to us - quite typical of the twisty, narrow cobblestoned streets in SMA.

Speaking of our car - we took it to a local bodyshop, and after they examined the car's accident damage on the rear left wheel and bumper, and took note of the many other scrapes and dents we've accumulated over the years, they gave us a quote of 6000 pesos - at 12 pesos to the dollar, we will have all our body work done for $500 - in Canada it would have been at least double, if not triple that cost. We had $500 U.S. deductible on our Mexican insurance policy, so this will be a cash transaction - making all parties happy!

Other housekeeping notes - we've discovered a dental clinic close by - we will both have our teeth cleaned ( about $50 each), and I am on the hunt for a hairdresser. Stephen is scoping out nearby gyms. I've dragged out my Spanish notebooks to work on again. I even cut back dead foliage on the plants on our terrace - my fingers are itching for some real gardening. The gardens here are luscious - either full-blown courtyard gardens, or more commonly, colourful pots lined along the edges of rooftops.

So, with a few nesting details out of the way, we're ready to enjoy San Miguel to the fullest. San Miguel has a large and very active gringo population that has had a profound effect on the development of the city. Not for nothing has it been christened "Gringolandia." While the Mexicans out-number the ex-pats 10 to 1, the central core caters largely to the gringo population and the tourists. We've spoken to a large number of gringos, and almost all of them live here full-time, or for several months a year. Many own homes, and there are no end of luxury shops to provide the essentials. This store, which I mistook for a gallery, carries a sparse, but tasteful selection of objets - a swath of silk drapery fabric, a designer chair, some small bowls.

We have spent a fair bit of time in the cities of Oaxaca and San Miguel, and we have tried to understand what the key differences are between them. They both have substantial gringo populations, accessible, walkable and beautiful centre cores, fantastic food scenes, and rich artistic and cultural backgrounds.

With our limited time in both cities, (three visits over a five-year period), our impressions are thus:

Oaxaca feels more Mexican, and having a bit of Spanish is both helpful and even necessary. The gringos appear to be more involved in wanting to learn Spanish, in giving back, and integrating into the Mexican culture. At the same time, the ex-pat life is well-defined and well-connected - you see many of the same faces at the English-language events.

San Miguel has been accused of being a Disneyland - a sanitized version of Mexico, filled with the amenities and niceties that can buffer a grittier Mexican experience. Is that true, or even fair? We don't think so. San Miguel is a hugely appealing place to visit and/or escape winter. There are interesting things going on every minute of every day. You can take workshops in dozens of creative endeavours, attend plays, concerts, movies and lectures. There is yoga, Pilates, zumba, golf, tennis, riding, swimming, hiking and soaking in hot springs.But, the essence of Mexico remains.

If you don't feel like doing any of that, you can just head for the zocalo, where there is bound to be free entertainment. We had no end of fun watching this young man balance this tiny young woman on his hand.

As we were wandering the streets today, we came upon this salon, offering "fish" pedicures. Had I been so inclined, I might have sprung up onto one of the seats and submerged my feet in a tank of tiny fish, who would then nibble the unsightly dead skin off my heels.

While we are on the topic of water, we also saw this extraordinary sight. This tiny park was across the street from the Sierra Nevada Hotel (whose standard rooms go for $500 US). A trough of water and stone washboards was provided for residents to wash their clothes and a number of women had their clothes sorted and ready to be scrubbed. I loved the fact that the two worlds were not separated from one another, but the juxtaposition of wealth and poverty was striking.

Further on up the hill we came upon this tree filled with egrets. Not much to say about them except they were a fairly unusual sight for us - I'm sure the Mexicans who walked by us wondered what all our excitement was about.

We've been to a number of great restaurants so far - usually characterized by the decor, the food, the company, or all three. As we waited for our table, we had a grand chat with three spirited older ladies from the U.S. who live in mortal fear of Trump being their next president. They had voted the day before, so the subject was fresh in their minds. Interestingly, they all knew about our new PM! They promised to move to Gabriola if the dice don't roll properly in November.

Our corner table, patiently waiting for our 4-course lunch.

A sign on our table that I personally appreciate very much. We've seen these signs before in restaurants in Mexico (not that they are particularly heeded - addiction to cellphones seems to be universal)

Talking - it doesn't matter the language - it is the glue that binds us. Two women deep in conversation (gossiping?)