When friends start talking about their most recent trip to Mexico, popular destinations like Cabo San Lucas, Mexico City, Guadalajara, Cancun, Puerto Vallarta, Cozumel, Tulum came to mind as Mexico's 'most popular destinations.

One evening, while having dinner with friends that travel extensively, they excitedly told us about a trip they had just taken to San Miguel de Allende, Mexico. They raved about the culture, the architecture, the arts, the joyous atmosphere, and the food.

My wife surprised me when she said that this city has been on her ''Bucket List'' for many years. I was surprised since this was the first time I heard this wish, nor did I even know where San Miguel was.

A few days later, I was talking with a my sister, who lives in NY City, I recounted the events of the dinner with our friends, and was surprised again when she said that San Miguel was on her ''Bucket List'' too.

This inspired me to find out more about San Miguel. We got excited about this destination and scheduled a trip to this city. The four of us, my wife, my sister and her husband. were in for a fantastic vacation in central Mexico, in a city at about 6000 ft elevation and known as an artist colony with historic buildings dating back to the 15th century, and before.

Now, I can tell you a lot about San Miguel, however, there is so much written and available on the web, I thought I could just share a few of my photos, and observations. After all, some say that a photo is worth a 1000 words or is it 10,000 words. So that we could enjoy the most of this trip, we recruited a local guide. Bernardo was a fantastic help showing us around and getting us into several of the main attractions in this city. Bernardo, an artist at heart, started creating papier mâché figures, working at la Aurora, with a fellow artist. Being fluent in several languages, he gained a reputation assisting ex-pats assimilate into the culture of this town. We found Bernardo to be a valuable asset.