San Miguel de Allende

2021 Thanksgiving

If you are ever in central Mexico, there are 3 cities to visit in a cluster: San Miguel de Allende, Guanajuato City, & Queretaro. Dolores Hidalgo is a small village near San Miguel that should also not be missed.

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I spent part of my holidays last year at one of the most beautiful cities in the world, San Miguel de Allende, in the state of Guanajuato, Mexico. Yes it was voted No. 1 on the Travel + Leisure World's Best Awards 2021 list of Top Cities Overall, thus my decision to explore. Traveling to somewhere international has become a Thanksgiving tradition for me, yes solo me, for the past decade. With a brief interruption in 2020, I was back! My pathway took me by land, across the border, into central Mexico. I trekked around in a high elevation of 6200 feet, walking on cobblestone streets with hills, finding myself out of breathe quite a lot. The gastronomy was fabulous, with rooftop venues with views of the church in the main square, the parochial. People congregated day and night in the park to socialize, eat in the numerous cafes, or to partake in Mexican street food. If you’ve never tried the whole corn on the cob, roasted and dipped in wonderful condiments, I would recommend this, as well as other delicacies offered by street vendors.

I was reminded of an observation I made. La Parada, a Peruvian restaurant was recommended to me by a local for ceviche. A lady, close to my age, was seated next to me with her toddler and we chatted it up. She was from Los Angeles, exploring the area with her partner for a move. We both agreed there was a Malibu vibe to the place in atmosphere and superior gastronomy. She had ordered a tall glass of freshly squeezed fruit infused lemonade for her 2 year old. Before I could blink, the kid had spilled the juice all over the table, her mom, and cushions. Mom proceeded to scold her daughter, calling her a bad girl, for spilling the drink. I thought and kept to myself,.... mmmmm......she is only 2...where is her sippy cup? Even grown ups now drink out of sippy cups at Starbucks (have you noticed the new lid)? Yes, I discreetly kept quiet, finishing my amazing cuisine.

This mother was mature in age, smart, articulate, and new to parenting. Looking at this in hindsight, I asked myself, ‘how are we supposed to know?’ We are not. I spent years working with families, and I have no children. Nope, and even though I am quite happy, I do love my nephew who is 17, and spent years of my life pouring psycho-education into parents, children and teens. Parenting doesn’t come with an instruction manual and neither does life.

We all need life skills development, and so in our own sphere; we are all leaders now. Wow is this evident since the pandemic of 2020. If we won’t speak up, then what will happen if no one else does? This takes grit and I find myself on a path of continual growth. If you have not checked out my Life Skills for Leadership newsletter, please do so today. It is full of videos, a podcast, articles and a lot of heart!