J o u r n e y s: Mexico City

On the road again!

You know how you have an image in your head of a city based on tv, history class, etc? I always pictured Mexico City as a sort of Southwestern Metropolis, with lots of sandstone and adobe on the buildings. With carts on the corners of food for sale and people driving old cars. Boy was I wrong.

Mexico City is as modern as any city I've visited. It's glass and steel and concrete, with lots of green space mixed in. Cars were new and clean, and I was able to zip around with Uber as easily as in the US. I was completely impressed. There was still a lot of food on the corners though, delicious food.

I arrived after dark, and the first thing that happened was an ATM ate my card. OY. I was able to turn it off with the app, so I wasn't too worried about being robbed, but it was hard not to see it as an omen of bad things to come. I was able to get some cash with my credit card (and had a spare packed in my luggage to use for the rest of the trip) and took a cab to the hotel. I was staying in the Roma district, which meant driving by all of the tacos al pastor stands. I was in love from first sight.

The first day, all I wanted was to be outside in the gloriously warm weather. I think I walked 10 miles. I started at a few small parks by the hotel, seeing the statues and fountains in each. I worked my way over to Chapultepec park, which was incredibly lively. It was still school holiday here so everyone was out and about. I spent a long time just people watching, checking out the carts selling chicharones, toys, popcorn, and drinks. Eventually I made my way over to the Anthropology Museum. I LOVED this museum. It highlighted human activity from evolution through migration and through the many tribes that inhabited what is today Mexico up until the Spanish conquest. I loved the mix of indoor and outdoor space, and the combination of recreation with artifacts. Seriously, this was a great museum. I felt my archeology classes from college coming back to me. Olmec! Toltec! So many great artifacts here.

After the museum, I took the long way back to the hotel. I saw a bakery selling the famous cakes for 3 kings days. Some of them were HUGE.

On the second day, I headed for the historic center. WOW was it busy! There was a huge carnival set up on the Zocalo for the holidays, and so many people were there. I skirted the edges and headed for the Tenochtitlan ruins at the back of the square. I was not expecting to see such a crowd. The ruins were phenomenal. I paid to walk through them and the attached museum. The museum was phenomenal, a good compliment to the Anthropology museum. It was surreal to walk around the ancient temples right in the middle of the modern city. It felt a bit like Rome or Athens in that regard.

From there, I visited the Cathedral, quickly because a mass was occurring. I walked down the pedestrian street to the Museo de Bellas Artes, with its beautiful glass domes. I got to talk to some children practicing their English in the nearby Dali sculpture park, and watched many more playing in fountains nearby. I saw a massive Diego Rivera mural in a tiny museum, and watched a political protest on the way to the Revolution Plaza. From there, I wandered home, stopping for delicious churros back by the hotel. It was a long day out and about, but the weather was beautiful and I got to see a lot of the city. The next day was a holiday, Dia de Los Tres Reyes, so I celebrated like a Mexican, with cake in the park, coffee, and sunshine.

Day Four was all about Frida. I used Uber to get to the Coyoacan neighborhood, south of where I was staying. It didn't take long to get there. The line was crazy long to get into her house, so I booked online tickets for later in the day and set off for lunch. A blog had recommended going to Mercado de Antojitos Mexicanos Juanita for fried quesadillas, so I braved the crowds, got a seat at the counter, and ordered two amazingly delicious quesadillas. I watched as they pressed the tortillas before filling them with cheese and chicken. They were then folded and fried in a shallow wok-like pan, and served super hot right out of the oil. YUM. After lunch I explored the parks and cathedral there, then made my way through the markets back up to Frida's house.

Friday Kahlo always makes me think of Ms. Pelaggi's high school Spanish class. I'm so glad that my language classes involved so much art instruction. Her home was fascinating. There wasn't a lot of art there, but it highlighted the challenges of her life and gave a lot of insight into Mexico during the early 20th century. The gardens inside the blue walls were beautiful.

The rest of my time in Mexico City was spent wandering around, visiting the many parks and taco stands, just soaking up the sunshine. I loved this city, despite the air pollution that left my throat scratchy, and I'm so happy I had this time to explore. It gave me a much better understanding of modern Mexico, broke down some stereotypes, and definitely broadened my horizons.