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

Pyramids, Shrines and Art - Mexico City Day 2

                                     

Today we ventured to several places so that I could share with Brian what I feel are some of the coolest things about the Mexico City area.  First, however, we needed to fuel up for our long day.  Our B&B once again amazed us with a fresh and delicious breakfast.  Today, it was eggs with fresh salsa, beans and chips.  It was spicy!  Good thing I had some freshly squeezed orange juice and papaya to cool off my tongue!  Fortunately for us, the weather cooperated. It was an absolutely beautiful day here.  Many people think that Mexico City is tropical because it is south of the US, but it is not.  It is quite springlike here most of the year.  Our temperatures have ranged from 55-75.  I haven't been too hot even once in my time here.  I could definitely get used to this!

For our main adventure today, we headed toward the UNESCO World Heritage site known as Teotihuacan.  Most people simply know of this sight as "those huge pyramids outside of Mexico City."  This was an ancient meso-american city that at one point was home to more than 125,000 people.  The most distinguishing landmarks are the pyramid of the sun and the pyramid of the moon.  We climbed them both, plus a half a dozen other smaller pyramid-like structures.  Talk about high intensity training!  Between the altitude, the sun and the steps, we got an incredible workout today!  Here are some pictures that capture our time at Teotihuacan.  One of my favorites is of me taking part in a sun prayer at the top of the pyramid of the sun with a group of international travelers.  It was a precious moment with sun beating down on us as we asked God to heal us, warm us and strengthen us.  

We wanted to be efficient today so instead of taking public transportation, we hired a private driver named Ricardo to transport us from place to place.  For $85USD, we had door to door service all day long.  It was the best money we've spent here! After we had had enough at the pyramids, we went to the Basilica of Our Lady of Guadalupe which is located just outside the main downtown area.  Guadalupe is the patron saint of Mexico.  During the time of the Spanish conquest (1500s), there was a push to convert native people to Christianity.  It wasn't until the Virgin of Guadalupe appeared to a peasant farmer named Juan Diego that the indigenous people of Mexico began to convert.  She is a BIG DEAL here in Mexico and around the world.  Millions of visitors travel to the Basilica each year, most specifically on her feast day which is December 12th.  There are several churches on the property, but the current worship sight is the modern building with the blue circus-like roof.  The entire sight was impressive and the grounds were immaculate.  We especially enjoyed seeing the original basilica which is now sinking into the ground.  The picture doesn't do it justice.  The highlight of the Basilica is the tilma (cloth) that was worn by Juan Diego that contains the image of Guadalupe on it. It hangs over the alter, but visitors can actually go beneath the altar and ride on people movers to take photos of it while masses are going on above.  It's a strange, but intriguing way of making sure that thousands of visitors per day are able to see the miraculous tilma without disrupting the business of the church.  I am really glad we spent time here as it was a place I had not visited in previous trips.

We asked our driver to drop us off at the Museo Soumaya in the trendy Polanco neighborhood.  This is the newest museum in Mexico City and is the gift of Carlos Slim to the city.  Carlos Slim is the wealthiest man in Mexico (think Donald Trump).  He opened this art museum about three years ago and it is not only open on Mondays (when all other museums are closed), but it is free to everyone.  We enjoyed walking through this modern museum and especially enjoyed  his Rodin sculpture exhibit on the top floor.  

We walked to a Starbucks after leaving the museum so that we could get a cold drink and recharge our phones.  The Starbucks that we found was in a very, high fashion mall that was guarded by men with machine guns.  We were severely underdressed for being in this mall. Apparently, the Polanco neighborhood is where the rich and famous eat, play and stay when they are in Mexico City.  

We grabbed a taxi to go back to the hotel for a rest.  I took the first nap of my trip and it felt awesome!  We didn't want to sleep through happy hour so we got up and, changed clothes and headed to the guest house for a cocktail.  The tilma at the Basilica wasn't the only miracle I witnessed today.  Note the jeans on Brian.  A true miracle indeed!

We perused tour books, talked to the hotel staff and read TripAdvisor reviews before deciding on La Capital for dinner.  It is a swanky restaurant that serves Mexican cuisine in an artistic way. Usually, reservations are needed, but on a Monday night, the place was not crowded at all.  I started with a mezcal mojito.  Whew! I had to sip slowly on this all night.  It was delicious, but very potent.  We then shared a cochinita pibil appetizer.  Pretty much spicy pulled pork with picked onions.  Note the fancy presentation.  Brian had a steak with potatoes and i enjoyed a delicious ceviche with shrimp, jicama (my new favorite) and mango.  We also shared a spicy pork torta (sandwich) that had avocado on it.  Brian actually ate it! We also shared the saratoga-style chips on the side.  Finally, even though we were pretty full, we decided that we couldn't pass up the chocolate chile dessert. This was basically a chocolate lava cake with sorbet, raspberry sauce and an edible hibiscus flower.  Yummy!  With tip, our total was $74USD which we thought was very reasonable compared to what we would have paid for this type of dinner at a major US city.  We are only eating one meal out a day, so we didn't mind splurging!  The memories we are creating are priceless!

We head to Chapultepec Park tomorrow to explore the natural side of Mexico City.