Club Vista Del Rey

Part of the fitness plan is regular visits to the fitness club here.
We are members of Vista Del Rey, which is Spanish for View of the king.


(You should really click on the picture above to see it full sized!)


Which as you can see is a reasonable name.
Actually the view is even better, but the wide angle lens makes the lake and the island seem much further away. I will try to get another picture for you in the next couple of weeks.


Their are other fitness facilities in town, but they always seemed old world to me.
Not old world as in before columbus, but old world as in one of the movies about some boxer in the 40's. I could picture Robert De Niro doing a scene from Raging Bull in one.

They have everything I need.
I typically go in the mid afternoon, I almost have the place to myself, its much busier in the mornings and after work.


Cardio equipment, right in front of a patio full of windows for that view!
Treadmills, bikes and ellipticals.



A variety of free weights and machines.



There is even a semi-olympic size swimming pool
 No speedos please!


They also have a variety of class, but I haven't tried any yet.
Maybe I will go try a yoga class, hmmmm, where can I get a spandex unitard?

Today I am down almost 8 pounds. I seem to be bouncing around 7-10 pounds down, so I need to be hitting the club more consistently.

If you see me running around the track, try not to laugh!

Cactus in San Miguel De Allende.

Cactus (and succulents) are very much a symbol of Mexico.


From the Nopal cactus in the Mexican flag to the Agave that provides the tequila for that most ubiquitous of Mexican drinks.

Don't get me started on pulque, a fermented rather than distilled product of the agave sap, reputed to be rather slimly in texture. Perhaps one day I will be brave and try it!

Well last week we spent a couple of days in San Miguel De Allende.
Whilst getting our tiles last year at Dolores Hidalgo, we made a number of trips to San Miguel.
We had a bit of a routine, Harry's on Wednesday nights for 2 for 1 martini night. Tio Lucas down the street for some serious beef. Checking out various shops for things for the house.
Now that the house is basically done, we had more time for exploring.



One of the places we found was the botanical gardens.
I am a fan of cactus, and if you are too, you should check this place out!
It is called "El Charco del Ingenio"
If you click on the name you can visit their website and learn more.



The gardens are over 100 hectares , boasting over 1500 species, so plan ahead.
A little sun screen, a hat and some bottled water.
Some good hiking shoes would not be a bad idea.
But if you are like me, bring your camera, and make sure the batteries are fresh.
These picture just a small sampling of what I took!



They also have an extensive bird checklist for birders, so binoculars might not be a bad idea.

Once the weather warms up here in Patzcuaro, then it will be time for me to start my own cactus garden! Can't wait!

I think the next botanical garden we want to go and check out is in Toluca.
The Cosmovitral-Jardin Botanico (click the name for a website with more info)
In addition to the plants they also have over 30,000 square feet of stained glass.

I am planning to go to the monarch butterfly sanctuary this year, and Toluca is not too far past that, so we should have a report for you before the end of March! Or who knows, I might see you there!

Colour!

We are in the final stages of decorating our new home.
Once completed we will post a full house tour for friends and family up north to have a virtual tour.

When we sold our home up north to move to Mexico we wanted to do so as quickly and as efficiently as possible. To aid us in this we hired a home stager.

Dana, helped us to sell our house on the first weekend for more than our asking price.
One part of our staging involved lots of beige, making the home more neutral in order to facilitate potential buyers picturing themselves in our home.

If you want to check out Dana's site here is the link.
http://www.sunonmybackredesigns.com


Now I think we have over compensated from that experience and are having a great deal of fun with the new house as it's just for us.


So allow me to present our new living room.
It is RED, very RED.
I am not sure what Dana would think!

When people come in we get 2 reactions
"That's incredible, I love it!"

OR

"Oh my.........ummmmmm...... that's very red isn't it?"



I should tell you that the red has come out brighter in the picture.
In person you would find it darker, more of a burnt red.

Happy New Year!

Happy New Year All!

Okay, new years resolutions.

Mine?

Lose some pounds!
As I suffer for BBR (Beer and Burger Retention)
I will need to exercise more often and consistently and eat better
I have added a ticker on the right to count down 25 pounds of weightloss!

Spend at least 3 hours per week studying Spanish!

Post more often to the blog!
So expect another post tomorrow.

Wish me luck.

And before I go, I would like to share a picture of one of our first visitors of the new year.