My name is Marion Vermazen. I am a traveler, hiker, reader, Sun alumnus, computer geek, YouTuber, Spanish and French language student, knitter, weaver and genealogist.
We had another perfect relaxing day today. We dropped off our laundry at a Lavanderia and then had breakfast at the same place as yesterday morning, Cafecita. They were as busy as yesterday. We had another long wait but it was worth it!
We spent the morning on our deck.
Later in the afternoon we went down to the beach. We had beers and I waded a bit.
We went back to the hotel and swam a bit.
For dinner we went to a restaurant called Nene and had a great fish dinner.
We had a very relaxing and wonderful day today. For breakfast we went to a restaurant we remembered as being excellent on our last trip to Puert Escondido, back in 2014, El Cafecito. We had to wait 30 minutes for a table but it as worth it. Our breakfast was excellent.
After breakfast we went up to our room’s rooftop deck. I worked on editing our next video and Duke read. It was a wonderful relaxing afternoon. The temperature was about 80 and there was a slight breeze.
Later we went swimming and enjoyed before dinner drinks.
Our flight from Mexico City to the coastal town of Puerto Escondido is tonight at 8:30. So we had the whole day to do a bit more exploring. Check out time was noon so we spent the morning at the hotel before we checked out and stored our bags.
This morning the Mexico City fire department had a parade. We had a great view of the parade from the window of our room.
First we went to a Diego Rivera Museum built especially to house the Rivera mural – Dream of a Sunday afternoon at Alameda Central. The mural was originally commissioned for and housed in a luxurious Mexico City Hotel. The 8.1 earthquake in September 1985 destroyed the building but the mural was not destroyed. It was relocated to its current building. There was a good English description of the mural and a key to who all the people in the mural were.
Just outside the museum there were several hundred people selling and exchanging trading cards. I saw lots of Pokémon albums.
We walked back to our hotel and walked through a few museums on the way. I think my favorite was the old post office building across from Bellas Artes.
Around 4:00 we had an early dinner at the same restaurant we had dinner at a few days ago, Cafe Tacuba. It was just as good today as it was the first time.
Then we went back to the hotel, retrieved our bags, and took an Uber to the airport.
At the airport the woman at security decided that my circular knitting needles and small tube of lotion (123 gms) were a threat! So we had to go back out and check my bag for a $50 fee. I was not happy.
We have had a wonderful time in Mexico City but I am ready for a rest! And it will be nice to have clean air again. We only had a couple of days of our time in Mexico City that didn’t have bad air quality. It will be in the 80s in Puerto Escondido which will be nice too.
We started out today by visiting the Museo de la Ciudad de Mexico. They had a photographic exhibition called Patrimonio through the lense of Santiago Arau. Santiago Arau is a Mexican photographer who works primarily with drones. His photographs and accompanying prose gave me a totally new and fascinating perspective on Mexico City. It was perhaps the best photography exhibition I have ever seen.
Did you know “the city is surrounded by — and built on top of — some seventy volcanoes”.
And did you realize that Mexico City had a population of 350,000 in 1900 and now the population is about 23 million!
Our hotel room in the Zócalo Central Hotel looks out over the Zócalo and the Palacio Nacional. The Palacio Nacional was our second stop. We spent about an hour looking at their art displays and rooms highlighting other countries.
Across the street from the Palacio Nacional we went through the Antiguo Palacio del Arzobispado. (The palace of Mexicos first Archbishop, built in the1530s) in one of the stairwells is a mural of Mexican heroes
For dinner we had a wonderful meal at the rooftop restaurant in our hotel.
Later we went to a 10:00 Jazz show at Zinco Jazz Club in a bank basement venue nearby. The show was a Billie Holiday tribute and it was great!
When the Spanish conquered Mexico they demolished the Templo Mayor, a massive temple pyramid. The enormous complex was first built around 1325 and was about 200 feet tall. The Templo Mayor site was buried under the cathedral and the Spanish city. In 1978 buildings were demolished and escavations started.
The Templo Mayor Museum displays the amazing things found at the site and what has been learned about the culture.
Next we went to the Ministry of Education building. in the early twentieth century. The former secretary of public education, José Vasconcelos commissioned artists to cover the walls of the building. There are many many Diego Rivera murals covering the walls.
For dinner we went to a highly rated Basque Seafood restaurant, El Danubio. It was excellent.
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