Final Days Abroad - Mexico City Days 4&5

The Stone of the Sun at the National Museum of Anthropology

Today will be a double post because I didn't want to take time away from Brian to write during our last two days in Mexico City.  We were busy, busy, busy and by the time we returned to our B&B each night, we were too exhausted to do anything but sleep.

A recap of Tuesday...the day started again with a glorious breakfast provided by the Red Tree House.  Did I say how much we love this place!  Today it was chicken and cheese enchiladas with salsa verde on top.  Of course, I started with hot coffee and fruit topped with plain yogurt.  Brian took advantage of the churros! You can see that he enjoyed them very much!

I was very excited for today's sightseeing because I was going to see some new places.  Most of the places I have been seeing with Brian, I had seen on previous trips to Mexico City.  Today, we ventured deep into Chapultepec Park, the largest urban park in Latin America.  Inside this park are an entire roster of museums, a full blown zoo, a castle, several lakes and a host of restaurants and other sights.  We narrowed our list down to the Chapultepec Castle, the Chapultepec Zoo, a kayak ride on the lake and a tour of the National Museum of Anthropology.  It was a full day! In addition, to make sure we got enough exercise, we walked both to and from the museum from our B&B which was about 45 minutes each way.  By the time we got home, we had either been on our feet or rowing in a boat for over 5 hours straight.  Ok, ok, we did stop to recharge our phones for 15 minutes at Starbucks, but you get the idea.  It was an exhausting, but wonderful day.  

I could have stayed here for days looking out at the mega metropolis!

Rowing at Chapultepec Lake

This was a lot harder than it looked

Beautiful weather and a beautiful view from Chapultepec Castle

The view from Chapultepec Castle

Entrance to Chapultepec Castle

Mexico flag over Chapultepec Castle

Inside the castle

View from the castle

A view down the Paseo de la Reforma, the longest, widest street in CDMX

King of the Castle

Butterflies were everywhere at the top of the Castle

Chapultepec Castle

Chapultepec Castle

National Anthropology Museum - One of the finest in the world!

Rufino Tamayo Mural at the anthropology musem

Gorgeous architecture at the anthropology museum

To give an idea of perspective

Selfie at the musem

Wolf siesta at Chapultepec Zoo

Deer are unusual here so there's an exhibit for them!

A deer exhibit!

We had a bit of a interesting dinner on Tuesday evening.  We chose a small restaurant called El Estanquillo. We liked it because it was supposed to be known for it's cured meats and unusual appetizers using local, fresh ingredients.  When we arrived, we were the only people in the place.  Red flag number one!  Although we got there around 7pm which is not the typical dinner time in Mexico so we didn't worry too much at first. We decided to order some chile peppers with chorizo and cheese for an appetizer.  This was actually pretty good.  It was topped with a guayaba paste known as ate.  It was quite an interesting combination of flavors.  So far, so good.  Brian decided to go with a burger and I chose a shrimp burger.  We were told that they didn't have any burgers that night, but that Brian could get a spicy pulled pork sandwich instead.  He was disappointed, but agreed to go forward with the pork.  They brought Brian's sandwich and told me there was a problem with mine.  ???  I encouraged Brian to go ahead and eat while I waited, and waited and waited.  When my sandwich arrived, it was tasty.  They forgot to bring Brian his potato wedges so we had to wait again.  We were told that we could have a lime-mezcal torte on the house for the inconvenience.  We took them up on this offer and I have to say that the dessert was pretty good!  When the bill came, we were charged for the torte!  Ugh!  We settled up our bill without complaining, because we just wanted to get out of there! It wasn't an expensive dinner, but it was definitely not a relaxing, romantic last night in CDMX.  You win some, you lose some.  Watch out Yelp, here I come!

On Wednesday morning, we got up early to pack out bags.  Breakfast was unusual today.  We (I) tried huitlacoche which is basically a fungus that grows on corn.  It is considered a delicacy and many famous US chefs will pay handsomely to obtain it and put it on their menus in the states.  We got it for free!  It was sauteed and wrapped into an omelet with cheese and salsa roja.  I thought it was delicious! Brian wouldn't try it and opted for plain scrambled eggs instead.  Apparently, scientists have discovered that huitlacoche has a lot of nutrients and is actually healthier than corn or oats in terms of a breakfast food.  It has lysine and is also thought to reduce cholesterol similar to the effects of eating oats.  I might have to try and find some at Jungle Jims!

We only had a few hours before we had to leave for the airport, so we grabbed a metro bus and headed to the Monument of the Revolution. From 1910-1921, Mexico had a civil war.  This monument and the museum inside it are a tribute to the history and legacy of this war.  We found it to be very interesting.  What was even more interesting was the shantytown of peasants who have taken up residence at the base of the tower.  The police presence in this part of CDMX was heavy.  

Shantytown in front of the monument

                     

It was a beautiful day!  We walked all the way back to the hotel via Paseo de la Reforma. We bid goodbye to our gracious hosts at The Red Treehouse.  By 1pm, we were on our way to the airport.

Brian in front of the Red Tree House

Saying goodbye to our friendly concierge at the Red Tree House