July 11, 2016 Brunch Huitlacoche and Squash Blossom enchiladas and fruit salad with Peach yogurt. Lunch Hamburger. Dinner Gruet Blanc de Blanc G25

The qJuly 11, 2016 Brunch  Huitlacoche and Squash Blossom enchiladas and fruit salad with Peach yogurt. Lunch  Hamburger. Dinner Gruet Blanc de Blanc G25

We started the day with a lovely breakfast at the Posada.  We had ordered Huitlacoche and squash blossom enchiladas with refried beans and an over easy egg.  We also were served fruit salad, including apple, mango, and banana slices served with peach yogurt plus the usual toasted bolillo, strawberry preserves and orange juice.  The melted cheese garnish is a strong indicator that these enchiladas were baked in the oven; my favorite preparation.

    My dish with red chili

     Suzette's with a Salsa verde

After breakfast we decided to drive to Escondido Hot Springs.  We made a wrong turn and ended up at Antotonilco, which was the place Father Hidalgo marched to in 1810 to start the Revolution of 1810 against Spanish rule. 

We then back tracked to the highway and turned into twh2 r he Escondido entrance 100 yards up the road.  We soon arrived at the parking lot and paid our 120 peso ($6.66) admission and entered. We tried all three pools, two of which had covered grottos.  We enjoyed and felt benefit from the warm thermal water.  After bathing we went to the restaurant and I ordered a Penefiel mineral water and Suzette drank a margarita and we split a hamburgesa paraiso, which had two beef patties with a slice of ham in between seved on a hamburger bun with a slice of tomato, lettuce, a slice of mozzarella cheese and several dill pickles'with a pile of French Fried Potatoes ($95 pesos)

We enjoyed lunch and then we changed out of our swimming suits in the locker room.  Escondido is well maintained and even a bit luxurious with beautiful and extensive park areas.

   The dressing rooms

We then headed to Dolores Hidalgo.  We followed our GPS and it took us to Erre, instead of Dolores Hidalgo, which was a wonderful mistake, because we had wanted to visit the spot where Father Hidalgo started the Mexican Revolution in 1810 that led to Mexicn Independence from Spain and the end of the enslavement of the indigenous people of Mexico under Spain's economedia (feudal) system. 

We visited the Hacienda Erre"é where Father Hidalgo made his famous speech on September 16, 1810 and the church next to it.   Here are pictures of the Church and Hacienda at Erre.

   The Ruins of Hacienda Erre

We decided to stop following the GPS guide when it tried to send us along the rutted dirt road from Erre to Antotonilco that Hidalgo and his followers marched in 1810, through thick bushlands probably little changed from that fateful day in 1810, but which we found impassible in a car.  So we turned around and drove into Dolores Hidalgo.  GPS has a tendency to show you the shortest route from point to point without regard to the condition of the road.

In Dolores Gonzales we tried to find the ceramics area near the center of town without any success.  Finally we parked near the large Parroquia church with its beautifully tiled basilica filled with yellow roses. 

    

The side door of the church

After viewing the inside and outside off the church, we walked to the zocalo and asked the attendant in the Bicentennial Museum, where to find ceramics shops.  She told us to go five blocks away from the center.  We went back to our car and drove to the area she indicated and discovered a road filled with miles of ceramic shops lining both sides of the road; literally hundreds of shops.  We walked about ½ mile and found one shop where we liked the ceramics.  We bought a tile with a glazed image of a skeleton bicyclist and a bathroom sink glazed with frogs for 320 pesos ($17.77).

  1 of 100's of ceramic stores

  

We then filled the gas tank, bought potato chips from a vendor in the Pemex station and a Dr. Pepper in the Pemex convenience store and  drove back to San Miguel.  We were caught in a major rainstorm with intermittent soft hail in the last ten miles that slowed traffic to a crawl.  We followed a large truck into town and made our way through the flooding streets to our posada.  We decided to not go back out into the rain to eat dinner.  Instead we took warm showers, dried off, put on out night clothes, climbed into bed, drank our Gruet Blanc de Blanc G25 bottle of champagne, and watched TV.  We soon found PBS and watched the News Hour and nibbled on cookies, fruit trail mix, and sugar coated peanuts listening to the nearly continuous falling rain.

I can not recommend the Gruet Blanc de Blanc G25 enough.  I think it is the best champagne Gruet has ever made.  It has a very full bodied favor with lots of character and lots of small bubbles.   

Here are the winemaker's notes.

Tasting Notes

Medium lemon in color, our Non Vintage Blanc de Blancs presents aromas of brioche and greem apples that follow through on the palate. Flavors of lemon zest, honeysuckle, and tropical fruit lead to a crisp, fresh finish.

Winemaking Notes

Varietal Blend: 100% Chardonnay

pH: 3.08

RS: 0.6% g/l

Alcohol: 12%

Vineyards: American

Oak: Bottle Aged

Fining: Sterile Pads

Aging: Aged en Tirage for a minimum of 24 months

I believe Laurant Gruet, the winemaker mentioned that the G25 was kept in tirage for three or three and one-half years, which I believe enhances its profusion of lovely small bubbles.  The G25 designation means the wine was nade especially to celebrate Gruet's 25 years in business.

Not a very exciting evening, but very satisfying after a long harrowing road trip and we were happy to relax and celebrate our making it back in one piece.

Bon Appetit