Stay with us on Feb 18 for a Chance for Free Accommodations!

• Jan 3 update: Good news!! Your chances of winning have dramatically improved. Two of our eight rooms have been reserved to non-participants the night of Feb 18. This means you now have a 1 in 6 chance of winning free accommodations!

In honor of the San Miguel de Allende 2011 writer’s conference, we will have a writing competition exclusively for guests that stay at Antigua Capilla Bed and Breakfast on Feb 18.

We have 8 rooms, with two already reserved, and all guests will have the opportunity to participate. Therefore, the odds of winning are one-in-eight, assuming we receive an entry from every room.

In order for the competition to occur, all eight rooms need to be reserved on Feb 18. Otherwise, the competition will be canceled.

Here's how to play:

1. Register for the Writers' Conference. You must be registered to participate.
   
2. Reserve your room at Antigua Capilla Bed and Breakfast. Be sure your stay includes February 18, 2011.
   
3. Wait for further instructions.
4. Once all rooms are reserved, and the competition is confirmed, submit a short story of no more than 1,000 words on any topic of your choice by no later than February 11, 2011.
   
5. On February 18, vote anonymously for your favorite story (excluding your own.)
   

The winner will be announced on February 19. The participant with the most votes will have his or her accommodations reimbursed (up to four nights). If the winner has reserved a longer stay, he or she will only be obligated to pay for the additional nights. If the winner stays four or less nights, his or her accommodations will be 100% complementary.

Good luck!

Wine Tasting Event Features Locally made Cheese

Our friend Cristina Gerez has been invited to participate in El Tomato's monthly wine tasting with a cheese plate. Cristina makes wonderful goat cheeses from milk she collects from her "girls," as she affectionately likes to call them, right here in San Miguel de Allende. Don't miss this opportunity to try her Special Reserve 1 year old El Capricho cheddar.

Malbec wines from the Finca Flichman winery in Mendoza, Argentina will be pared with Cristina's cheeses as well as a meal of typical Argentine dishes prepared by the owner.

Space is limited. Advanced reservations are reuired
$300
(415) 154-6390
Friday, 3 December 7:00pm
Mesones 62

New Directory for Classes, Courses, Small Schools and Workshops in San Miguel de Allende Goes Live on the Web

Check out this brand new directory featuring classes and workshops in San Miguel de Allende. If you’re planning a trip to San Miguel de Allende and are interested in classes, courses, small schools and workshops, be sure to visit www.littleschoolssma.com. New listings are being added every day.

Don't want to pay $15 to see a movie? Watch it in San Miguel de Allende!

Remember when the price of a movie was $6? When was that? In San Francisco, we paid six bucks for a movie in 1988.

Guess what? We just spent $6USD to see Alice in Wonderland in 3-D at the MM Cinemas, a state-of-the-art movie complex with stadium seating located in the new-ish Luciernaga mall. The movie was in English with Spanish subtitles that seemed to float in front of the screen.

The price of food is also a fraction of what you would pay in the States. A combo, which includes 2 hot dogs, two large drinks and a large box of popcorn costs around $9USD.

The price of a regular 2-D movie is right around $3.25USD.

An Opportunity to Taste Some Local Artisan Beer in San Miguel de Allende

On Sunday March 21, 2010 our friend and craft brewer Mark Taylor will be serving a few of his ales at the Burrito Bistro on Correo #45 at the 2nd annual Artisan Ale and Food Paring event. Mark will introduce three very distinctive beers, an Imperial IPA, a Honey Red Ale made with honey form the Tuesday market and a Weizenbock, a strong German style wheat beer.

Is there a better way to spend the first day of spring?

The event is limited to 60 people. Seating times are 2:00, 4:30 and 7:00 pm. The cost is $250 pesos per person. There is only enough beer for 60, so you must reserve your spot. You can reserve at 415-154-8956 or email at elburritobistro@yahoo.com.mx

Hiking Peña De Bernal and Wine Tasting, a Perfect Day-trip From San Miguel de Allende

Located about an hour-and-a-half from our bed and breakfast in San Miguel de Allende, La Pena de Bernal is one of the world’s tallest monoliths. It is 1,150 feet tall, and its peak reaches an elevation of 8,230 ft. That's about 2,000 feet higher than San Miguel. The hike from the base takes about an hour, and good shoes are a must, although on our recent trip we saw many ladies doing the hike in heels!

Earlier this winter we spent a fun-filled day hiking the monolith, eating lunch at the nearby town of San Sebastian Bernal (known simply as “Bernal” to the locals) and wine tasting at Freixenet winery.

Here’s how we spent our day (the times are approximate, as we didn’t really keep track of time.)

• 9 A.M. – We hop into our friends van and head out of town on the road to Queretaro.

• 10:30 A.M. – We reach our destination, a visitors’ parking lot at the base of the monolith, and after a quick potty pit stop, we begin our hike.

• 11:30 A.M. – After many stops along the trail to enjoy the views, we reach the highest accessible point, which is about two-thirds of the way up. The rest of the way is left to the expert mountain climbers.
  

• Noon – We begin the trek back down to the base.

• 1:00 – 1:30 P.M. – Back at the base we visit the market and buy some beer (post-hike carbo-load ;)) apple wine and candy for later.

• 1:30 to 3:00 P.M. – After a short drive to the center of town, we have lunch at a nice Italian restaurant followed by a stroll around town.

• 3:00 to 3:30 P.M. – Back in the car, we head to the Freixenet Winery.

• 4:00 to 4:50 P.M – At the winery, we join a free guided tour of the facilities. The tour is given in Spanish only.

• 5:00 P.M. to 6:00 P.M.– Wine tasting for 20 pesos a glass. The sparkling wines were pretty good.

• 6:00 to 7:30 P.M. – Drive back to San Miguel de Allende.

View San Miguel de Allende to Bernal in a larger map

Looking for a Place for Drinks in San Miguel de Allende? Go to Drinks!

Drinks is a new boutique bar located on Correo 17, up the street from the Jardin in San Miguel de Allende. The bar has an excellent selection of international beer, wine and bubbly.

We especially like the beer selection, as good quality beer is hard to find in San Miguel de Allende. Apart from the beer at El Gozo on Zacateros 85, you'll find nothing but the usual Mexican national brands, the ones that require a squeeze of lime or spicy tomato to mask their skunkiness. You know the ones.

The interior decor at Drinks is modern, which seems to be very popular these days with some of the newer establishments. Everything is painted white, and the back wall becomes the focal point with its colorful selection of alcoholic beverages.

Recently, we attended the Drinks Grand Opening Celebration hosted by the owners Katharine and Jose Antonio. They did an excellent job at transforming their cozy modern bar into a grand space for the event, complete with trapeze artists hanging from the ceiling!

Katharine and Jose Antonio, Owners of Drinks in San Miguel de Allende

From Antigua Capilla Bed and Breakfast, walk down to the Jardin, and look for Correo Street. You can’t miss it. Then, when you’ve had your fill, take a taxi back to the inn. Navigating the cobblestone streets after consuming a few drinks can be tricky!

Grand Opening Celebration at Drinks in San Miguel de Allende

By the way, Jose Antonio also owns San Miguel Rent a Car on Codo 9, Local 2. If you need a car, he’s your man. Just remember to drop off your car first before heading to Drinks!

San Miguel de Allende Mexico Bed and Breakfast Guests Enjoy a Special Treat in August

This summer of 2009, the hotels and bed and breakfasts of San Miguel de Allende, Guanajuato, Mexico will once again fill up with fans of classical music.

From August 5th through the 16th, the 31st season of San Miguel de Allende’s International Chamber Music festival will take place at various venues throughout the city.

For three decades, world-renowned chamber musicians from all over the world have performed in historic settings like the Angela Peralta Theater and the San Francisco Temple. This year we’ll see groups such the Jupiter String Quartet from Boston, Massachusetts and the Carlos Chavez String Quartet from Mexico City at the festival.

For tickets and information visit, www.festivalsanmiguel.com.

Expresion en Corto 2009 - International Film Festival 2009

We at Antigua Capilla Bed and Breakfast are honored to be a part of Adopt a Filmmaker, a program that provides accommodations for up-and-coming filmmakers that will be showcasing their work at the 12th annual International Short Film Festival, Expresion en Corto. These artists travel all over the world in hopes of being discovered, and paying for hotels and accommodations can get quite costly.

This year’s short film festival will take place from July 24th to July 28th in San Miguel de Allende, and July 29th to August 2nd in Guanajuato, and will host filmmakers from all over the world. If you stay at our San Miguel de Allende B&B this July, you might just meet the next Guillermo del Toro!