Many of the houses here in San Miguel have a roof-top gardens because all the roofs are flat. We have a very beautiful roof-top garden. We just go out our condo door and climb up a flight of stairs and there we are. The space is very large with potted plants, all well maintained, with lots of tables and chairs. The 360 view of the city and mountains is quite spectacular. The temps are perfect too so far and I love the constant gentle ringing of the church bells.

On our second day we met an interesting couple sitting up top in the gardens having cocktails, Christine and Roger. They are on holiday as well and were very chatty, or at least Christine was. She found Harry "adorable" in her words, quite the flirt she is! They are originally from California and Nebraska but now live in a house they built on a mountain side 100 miles north of Puerta Vallarta. They are in a tropical jungle region replete with boa constrictors, monkeys, the sound of the ocean surf and a palm tree forest which surrounds their open paplapa style living room. They invited us to come and visit but that was after their third round of cocktails. Christine insisted that she make us cocktails after we explained we had not been able to find the liguor store yet. Along with the cocktails she whipped up a mean plate of hors d'ouvres for all of us to share. She is of Italian descent and has that great cook and good hospitality flair about her. (Now if she would just keep her hands off my husband I could really like her!) Christine and I are scheduled to go shopping Monday so I have a pal now who seems to know all the cool places to shop. I explained to her I really could not buy anything because my suitcases had much trouble getting into the taxi and up the stairs to our condo. She and Roger drove here and they have a truck so she has room (and I think the money) to buy pretty much whatever she wants. The shopping here is exquisite, above even the higher-end shops in San Jose, but the prices are better. The silver barons of long ago here in this part of Mexico built a beautiful city and the tradition of appreciation for beauty in all forms continues. The city produces wonderful arts and crafts and it is itself a work of art.

I have been giving some thought to what it would be like to live in this lovely place and have realized it would be hard work just to get around everyday. I would never think of driving, I'd leave that to the taxi drivers. Harry says his calf muscles are firming up nicely. I took a bad fall our first day out because I was not watching close enough. Christine says she bought a special pair of cobblestone walking shoes on line for her visit. I am finding that the pair of water shoes I bought at Lands End in Minneapolis are the best for walking these streets; tread with flex. Thank god I now have a good excuse for buying yet another pair of shoes! The hills add great interest and charm to the city but they are challenging when you are tired. Yesterday we needed to buy groceries again and we went to three different stores, the butcher shop for meat, another for fruit and vegetables and another for dairy, rice, soap, etc. We hailed a cab to take us home because the thought of walking home with two bags of groceries was too much after of a day of sightseeing. It cost about two dollars including the tip. Even Harry thought it was a bargain.

The pictures are of our roof-top garden plus view and an up close of the cobblestone (emphasis on the stone) streets. If I stop falling down I may leave here with firmer thighs as well.