The Contrast
San Miguel de Allende & Patzcuaro
This trip combines two colonial UNESCO World Heritage site cities: San Miguel de Allende in the state of Guanajuato, and Patzcuaro, in the state of Michoacan. It will highlight the contrast between the ancient and the new.
It's no surprise San Miguel de Allende has been named for several years one of the most beautiful towns in the world. In the case of Patzcuaro, it is strikingly authentic, you feel as if you've stepped several hundred years into the past. You will see very few foreigners here and you will find the people of Michoacan among the kindest and most courteous.
Highlights of our expedition
We'll start out in San Miguel de Allende, with a walking tour and a market to table cooking class. We'll visit the nearby town of Dolores Hidalgo, hear about the events of the battle for independence from our guide and then stroll over to the plaza to taste the local exotic ice cream Dolores is known for.
We will meet Chef Israel Loyola of Jacinto1930, where we will dine on a modern recreation of Mexican cuisine, leaving you with unforgettable memories of tastes and textures on your palate..
A visit to Cuna de Tierra vineyard will familiarize us with the art and history of wine-making in Mexico. Our chef will help us gather ingredients grown there for our dinner, which will be paired with different Cuna de Tierra labels.

Eduardo Villiers, owner of Mente Cacao will talk to us about the history of chocolate and its role in prehispanic America and then give us a hands on chocolate making class.
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On our fourth day we'll travel to Patzcuaro where we will stay at Casa Encantada.
In Patzcuaro we will visit many of the ancient small towns known in Mexico as 'Pueblos Mágicos' that surround Lake Patzcuaro...towns like Tzintzuntzan where you will find clay pottery with prehispanic motifs, or to Santa Clara del Cobre, where you find the most beautiful copperwork, also to Capula, where we'll meet the famous painter and sculptor, Juan Torres and to Erongaricuaro for furniture and weavings.
Our cooking class will take place in Morelia at the San Miguelito Cooking School, which is 1 hour away. Besides the owner, Cynthia Martinez and her assistant, Miry Hernandez Morales, we will feature a community cook from one of the nearby towns, Benedicta Vargas Alejo, whose expertise in prehispanic cooking techniques is so recognized that she was invited to the Vatican in 2012.
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