Wine Festival and Last Day in Mexico

The weather here went from 30c to 8c overnight with a really strong cold wind so the Hot Ar Balloon Festival had to be cancelled and it was toooo cold to go see the Irish Dancers :( Instead we stayed home and tested out the new cocktail glasses with some very good Pina Coladas. Yesterday we at last visited Tequisquiapan, which was as pretty as everyone had told me. Then went to the Wine Festival at the La Redonda Vineyards. That was excellent: food stalls, wine tastings, vineyard tour, music, fireworks. We started off with the nearby Freixenet's Petillant Rose, followed that with a local Chardonnay and platter of local cheeses and dried meats and then - it got a bit hazy :)) All you needed was your glass and a wander around the big marquees - tastings galore. Bought a wonderful little invention - a sort of strap holder for your glass on a lanyard - have never seen those before. It'll come in handy at parties - I'm for ever setting down my glass and not being able to find it again! There were so many people there, the live music was wonderful and everyone was just having a great time. They were setting up for fireworks in the vines when it got dark but, as we had a hour's journey back to Queretaro we left before then. So, here we are, Sunday 3rd March, my last day, this time around, in Mexico. My flight leaves from Mexico City at 21.50 tonight to Amsterdam and from there to Dublin. It's been an amazing trip, my best yet. Thank you for sharing it with me. Here's to the next one x

ISS, Toro Supernovo and apple pie.

The tasting last night was great BUT before we went to it I had a last chance to see the International Space Station in the sky here in Mexico. A friend sent me a link to the website, which is fascinating as you would expect, and you can opt to receive emails when the ISS is appearing in a sky near you!! I missed it at the Temezcal because we didn't know what time it was, missed it on Wednesday night because I didn't know what I was looking for, but last night, at 7.36pm, it appeared in the NNW (had worked out from the sunset where that was) at 54 degrees (had also worked out that was about half way to vertical). I had just come up onto the roof and there it was straight ahead of me: a planet like object, very bright (due to the light reflecting off its solar panels I'm reliably informed) the size of an American football pitch in reality, travelling fast across the sky from North to East for 5 minutes when it disappeared. Magic :) The tasting event at Arco 46 Gourmet was excellent. We started off with a fresh Goats cheese, from San Miguel, rolled in finely milled black pepper along with a Lager which turned out to be Stella Artois. Second was a slightly smoked dryish cheese with a Gouda like rind served with an Ale called Hercules brewed in Queretaro by the man sitting at the next table to us! It was too bitter for me but the men seemed to like it. Third was a Salchica Siciliana made also in San Miguel - a semi dried sausage full to the brim with flavours: cumin, garlic, pepper, herbs - served with a Mexican Ale: Minerva Pale. Last was a slice of gorgeous Apple Pie in short crust pastry flavoured with raisins, nuts and cinnamon. It was served with a Mexican Stout called Toro Supernovo - Guinness has nothing to worry about competition wise but it was worth having another bottle of it after the tasting had finished :)