Until Next Time

Our SunTransfers brought us to the airport where they only require you arrive about 1 hour before departure. Despite the long lines at security, the airport itself is not expansive and we were at our respective gates quickly.

The AeroMexico flight was fine as I had the first seat in Premium Economy, so I had plenty of room. But my entertainment only had Spanish audio despite a reset and troubleshooting by the attendant - she says this happens often. I tried to watch the Gilded Age, but switched to Oppenheimer which has slower speaking actors and therefore Spanish.

I landed back in NYC and was home from JFK in about an hour and fell back to my typical return trip routine - laundry and take out.

I’m grateful that Anne joined us and I can’t believe it was our first international trip together! It was great to spend time and see her enjoy seafood as we shared so many meals. For fun, some flashbacks down memory lane…

Sophomore year in our apartment circa 2000 - 2001:



Senior year in 2003 with our moms for Senior Parent’s Weekend:



And 2013 in Charleston for a girls’ trip of lots of eating…The famous 7-layered coconut cake at Peninsula Grill and probably some of the best sandwiches I’ve ever had at the Tattooed Moose. At this dive, we ordered the famous Duck Club and Lucky #1 which had kimchi:





We been friends over 20 years and hope the CDMX trip mates travel together many times in the next 20! So until next time… I look forward to more eating and adventures with everyone!

Domingo Divertido

We were sad that our travel mates had left, but we’re glad they got safely home and we made use of our extra day in Mexico City. It was our very own Sunday Funday and it was just us as old roomies again.

After breakfast, we Uber-ed to Chapultepec Park and walked up to Chapultepec Castle. Chapultepec means “on the hill of the grasshopper”. The castle has served as a military academy, imperial and presidential residence, and now it’s the National Museum of History. It was also used a lot for filming Romeo + Juliet with Leonardo DiCaprio and Claire Danes - I was obsessed with that movie’s soundtrack.

Here are some photos of our visit:







The ceiling at the entrance:



Of course some murals…Juan O’Gormans’ “Retablo de la Independencia”:



Orozco’s “La Reforma y la caída del Imperio”:



O’Gorman’s “Sufragio efectivo - No reelección”:



Some views from the hilltop:





You can see the Coat of Arms all over which is on the Mexican flag, the carriage, stained glass, and statue. The eagle represents the Aztec Sun God and the snake symbolizes wisdom perched on a prickly pear cactus signifying the island of Tenochtitlan. The European Catholics later adopted this symbol as the triumph of good over evil and for their missionary purposes.







There are statues and a separate monument to 6 military cadets who died during the Battle of Chapultepec, one of the last Mexico-American War battles in 1847. It’s called Niño Héroes and it’s also a holiday on September 13th. Behind the Monument version, you can see the Ritz-Carlton which we almost stayed in:





We then meandered down the hill and through the Sunday park crowds to the Museum of Modern Art which was free on Sundays - for the win!

Here, our main goal was to see “The Two Fridas”. It was the first large-scale painting by Kahlo as she often painted smaller canvasses while lying on her bed. It’s notable as a double self-portrait depicting both European and traditional Mexican dress and sensibilities.

We were surprised that we saw it right away and near the temporary exhibits, but in walking around it appeared they were renovating the permanent collection rooms. But of course they had to have the Two Fridas easily accessible.





Also here was a large painting by Rufino Tamayo and the local contemporary art museum is named after him. He too was a muralist but his artwork was not as political as the Three Greats (Rivera, Orozco, & Siqueiros).



And then this sculpture out front depicting the grasshopper on the hill, and possibly the grasshoppers we ate last night:



We then Uber-ed across town to Los Cocuyos - a taco place that came up on several blogs and was packed. We washed down tacos with some Mexican coke, noticeably more delicious here due to the local sugar:



We then walked over to the Original El Moro, a popular churrería chain. We didn’t realize it was the original, but was just looking for the closest:





With churros in hand, we walked to the Templo Mayor just north of Zócalo. Translated as the “Main Temple”, it was the capital of Tenochtitlan which is now Mexico City.

The temple was dedicated to the god of war and the god of rain and agriculture, built sometime after 1325 and rebuilt 6 times. Ultimately, it was destroyed by the Spanish and the Cathedral was built. What was also interesting was it was only discovered in 1978, accidentally by some energy company workers. Here’s a model:



And the ruins with the Cathedral behind us:









A sacred tree:



Next to the ruins is a very impressive museum which we walked through:





Then we strolled down the shopping arcades west of Zócalo and through Alameda Central park where we enjoyed people-watching clowns, ballroom dancers, and skaters to name a few:





It was fitting we walked through this park as we were headed to the Museo Mural Diego Rivera which houses “Sueño de una tarde dominical en la Alameda Central” or “Dream of a Sunday Afternoon at Alameda Central Park”. Coincidentally, we were here on a Sunday afternoon and the museum was free - for the win!

This mural is over 50 feet wide depicting the various socioeconomic divisions, painted between 1946 and 1947. Commissioned for the Versailles Restaurant of the Hotel Del Prado which was across the street, it was moved after the 1985 earthquake destroyed the hotel.



Here’s Frida Kahlo holding a yin-yang symbol behind a young Rivera holding hands with La Catrina, a skeleton image first created by José Guadalupe Pousada. This is a national symbol and associated with the Day of the Dead. Pousada himself is holding arms with the skeleton and he was admired greatly by Rivera.



Here’s Cortés with blood on his hands:



Above the angel is dictatorial president Porfirio Diaz:



A young Rivera eating a torta surrounded by his daughters Ruth and Guadalupe Rivera Marin and their mother Guadalupe Marin, the second of his four wives (Frida was his third):



Some panoramas - one starting left to right and one right to left. The Apple panorama feature can only handle just under 50 feet as I learned:





The painting very much reminds me of George Seurat’s “A Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte”. The small museum also had a colorful Sacred Sugars exhibit.

Leaving the museum, it was clear that others were having a Sunday Funday with folks drinking, eating, and playing chess. While waiting for our Uber to dinner, I took this photo of the Republic Fountain and a memorial arch known as the Monument to the Revolution:



I had made reservations at Contramar which came highly recommended and Anne had watched a show where Eva Longoria had eaten here. There were lots of Americans and large groups, but our tuna tostados, aguachiles, and fish with herbs and adobo rubs were just outstanding. We finished with a banana tart:



Our friends would be proud, because after dinner we took a dip in the heated pool and enjoyed the sauna and steam rooms. Look at the Mexican moon!





What a Sunday Funday, or Domingo Divertido while soaking in history, archaeology, and art - a classic CDMX day!

Xochimilco

We didn’t have anything planned for the morning so while folks rested or worked, I Uber-ed to the National Museum of Anthropology. Apparently it’s the largest and most visited museum in Mexico and within nearby Chapultepec Park. It contains anthropological and archaeological artifacts - some replicas and some authentic.

But the most famous is the Aztec Stone of the Sun which is below. Since I arrived near opening, I was able to take a photo without any crowds. It apparently weighs over 54,000 lbs:



And so you believe that I was there and didn’t download from Wikipedia, here’s a selfie:



It was drizzling today, so it was cloudy but here’s the front of the museum:



When you enter, there’s what they call an umbrella that is the center of the courtyard, surrounded by the many rooms representing different indigenous cultures and eras. It was fun to see the water drip through this “umbrella”:



The second room I went to was about Teotihuacan and it was a real nice connection to see more artifacts or read more about what we saw a few days before. Here’s a reproduction of the Temple of the Feathered Serpent that we climbed in Teotihuacan:



Also the Statue of Chalchiuhtlicue, Aztec goddess of water and represents fertility that we saw near the complex entrance:



Here’s the Disk of Mictlāntēcutli who is the Aztec god of death and the underworld. They found it in the Pyramid of the Sun at Teotihuacan:



We learned about ball games and how they are played on hips from Lalo and when seeing the Rivera murals at the National Palace. Here are some ball game goals from Chichen Itza which I would love to visit. Lalo mentioned though roads to Chichen Itza have been problematic as it’s controlled by the mafia:



Here’s the Aztec goddess who gave birth to the moon and stars and the god of sun:



Also famous here is the statue of Xōchipilli, known as the “flower prince” who is the god of art, games, dance, and…flowers:



In front of the room with the Aztec Sun Stone, is a jaguar-shaped cuauhxicalli meaning "eagle gourd bowl". This is a stone vessel used for sacrifices and holding human hearts:



Per Wikipedia, the Olmec colossal heads are stone representations of human heads sculpted from large basalt boulders. Here are our “big” heads:



There were several tomb reconstructions, but apparently this is the most famous - here’s the mausoleum of the Palenque ruler, K’inich Janaab Pakal:



And like the Saturday Night Live funny video said, there were “bowls, bowls, and more bowls”:



The big activity of the day was to go Xochimilco which is in the southern part of the city known for their canals and artificial islands called chinampas. Mexico City was actually developed over several lakes and hence why some buildings are sinking. Trajineras are gondola-style boats used to navigate and are party boats not only for tourists, but locals. It’s funny to think that this World Heritage site has karaoke singers and tequila shots!





Our boat is owned by Pako Tours which we booked through Viator, but many folks negotiate at the dock for better prices. However, I wanted to minimize carrying cash and the haggling as it’s not in the best neighborhood:



Here, Kris is showing his rowing skills - we already knew he was a good runner from yesterday:



Immediately, Gustavo and Brandee, our guides poured us a local tequila called Azul and Corona and La Victoria beers. Azul went down smooth and can only be purchased in Xochimilco. We also snacked on taquitos with chicken and hibiscus:







Floating food and vendors abounded selling corn or elote, candied apples, micheladas, and beers:







You can also hire various musicians, but we wanted a mariachi band. I enjoyed the vocals and it harkens back to when my grandparents were serenaded by mariachi singers in Los Angeles when I was 5. They sang us Guantanamera, Bésame Mucho, and Cielito Lindo, the Mexican folk song that famously goes “ Ay, ay, ay, ay, Canta y no llores…”:



What’s also famous here is the axolotl, which is a local amphibian. It can regenerate its limbs and was used for medicine, food, and ceremonies in the Aztec empire. They are threatened by their limited habitat and the introduction of non-native tilapia, but we got to see them when we stopped into this “riverboat zoo”:



There were more animals such as a bearded dragon:



And a chameleon… so essentially all of Rachel’s former pets:



And several snakes:



This owl was watching us the whole time as we exclaimed at the tanks full of snakes and animals:



Before we left, our boat guide Julio (or sometimes called Julia by Brandee) insisted I hold this python and after asking me several times, I obliged:





I had also brought a wireless speaker, so we bopped to Britney, BTS, and Bon Jovi to name a few… and the girls definitely had a lot of fun on the boat:





One of the islands is called the Isla de las Muñecas, or the Island of the Dolls. According to legend, a doll was found and hung after a young girl had died from drowning. The doll was presumed to be hers and both were found by a loner named Santana Barrera. After he died, visitors also hung dolls:







Some final group shots from our fun experience - we even got to meet Pako on the bridge:







Then we returned to our respective JW’s and rendezvous-ed at Quintonil for a supremely unique tasting menu. Here’s the front of the restaurant:



Although we hadn’t really started the meal, an alarm went off and we all presumed it was a smoke or fire alarm. But it was an earthquake alarm! Some photos below of other establishments emptied on to the road as well as our kitchen staff waiting outside. Our Californian travel mates were way more comfortable with this as we waited for an earthquake tremor that never came to pass:





The centerpiece of the meal was this unique taco experience - sea bass with grasshoppers, ants, and ant larvae…there’s a reason why they don’t give you the menu upfront for this very local and elevated Pre-Hispanic cuisine:



Some of the insects that sacrificed themselves for our meal:



And our tasting menu obligatory collage:



The menu…



We then had a night cap at SoHo House where we returned and enjoyed our last night all together. No photos are permitted, but we had fun at the Photo Booth before we said our goodbyes.

Thank you all for contributing to an amazing trip and I really enjoyed the time together, the food, and all the good vibes. Hasta La Proxíma or until next time! I’d be delighted to plan another trip and will make sure the hotels are synced!