Tag: mexico

Castle of Chapultepec and Ballet Folklórico – Mexico City Day 4

Saturday was a big walking day for us. According to my watch we walked more than ten miles!

We started out by walking through Chapultepec park to Chapultepec Castle. Along the way we saw an area of the park that is reserved for people over 60. They had a senior center with lots of activities (everything from yoga to pickle ball, to English classes to dominos) and nice wide walking paths. Of course we got to go in!

Area of the park reserved for people over 60
In the senior garden

Castillo de Chapultepec and Historical Museum overlook Chapultepec Park. The castle was built for Spanish royalty and has been used as a military college and a presidential residence.

Walking up the hill to the castle
On the terrace
Chapultepec Castle
Interior garden

After we were done with our visit to the castle we walked back to the area of our hotel for lunch. But first, we stopped at the Audiorama. It is built around a small cave at the base of the Castle hill. It was a peaceful garden with books to read and music playing.

Resting in the Audiorama

Also on the way to lunch we walked through the botanical garden.

Botanical garden
At Karisma where we ate dinner Friday night. It was so good that we came back for lunch.
Duke’s lunch tacos

After napping at the hotel we walked back to Chapultepec Castle to see the Ballet Folklórico. They had set up chairs around a stage on the terrace. It was a beautiful night and it was a great show.

We had great seats in the second row.
Ballet Folklórico

Museo de Arte Moderno and National Auditorium – Mexico City day 3

This morning we started out by walking to the Museum of Modern Art.

Modern Art Museum
Inside the museum
Diego Rivera – Velorio o Dia de muertes
The table and its contents are all wood

Next we walked to the Audiorama in Parque d’Espagne. Along the way we went by the Monumento a los Niños Heroes. It honors the young men in the castle of Chapultepec who were killed when the American Army invaded Mexico City.

Monumento a Los Niños Héroes

When we got to the Audiorama it was closed so we took an Uber back to near our hotel and had lunch at a taqueria, El Turix, that only serves Yucatán style pulled pork. At 2:00 there was still a line. Apparently it has been in that location forever. The tacos were good.

El Turix
Eating our tacos

Tonight we went to see the movie Whiplash with a live band at the National Auditorium.

The National Auditorium
The auditorium holds almost 10,000 people
The music was fantastic.

After the concert we went to dinner at a nearby restaurant,

Dinner at Karisma

Mexico City day 2 – the Anthropology Museum

Today we walked to the Anthropology museum and spent several hours exploring the ground floor exhibits about all the different cultures that inhabited Mexico up until the arrival of the Spanish. The museum is a bit overwhelming. There is so much to see, and so many cultures that I know nothing about. But it is a wonderful place to visit, one of the top museums in the world and I truly enjoyed it.

Xochipilli – Lord of the flowers from the Chaldea culture
The sun stone
Teothuacan’s Feathered Serpent pyramid
Mixta Codex Columbine
Description of the Codices

When he was planning this trip Duke made reservations at some top rated restaurants. Tonight we went to RosaNegra. It was fabulous. The service was attentive. The food was exceptional. And the vibe felt very Mexican. It was fun, energetic and happy!

Duke,s octopus
My sea bass fish of the day
Celebration at a nearby table

Our first full day in Mexico City – the Soumaya Museum

We are planning to spend eleven nights in Mexico City on this trip. For the first six nights we will be in the Polanco district.

We walked to the Soumaya Museum. It was built by one of the world’s richest men, Carlos Slim. It contains his enormous art collection. We visited the museum the last time we visited Mexico City. I love this art museum. It has works by almost every well known artist and a lot more. It has five floors and is organized roughly by the art eras. And entrance is free!

Museo Soumaya
Duke at the entrance thinking
The entrance has some replicas of statues like Michelangelo’s David, but the work on the far wall is the Doors of Hell by Rodin.
The Doors of Hell
In the sculpture gallery on the top floor.
Who would have thought that phone books would be in a museum
Works by Renoir
I’ve never seen funny art done in the 1600s. The top painting is the Barbershop with Monkeys and Cats and the bottom painting is Monkey’s Tavern. They are both by Teniers.

On the walk back to the hotel we stopped for lunch at Maque Cafe.

Lunch at Maque Cafe
Yummy Mole

After our late lunch we went back to the hotel and napped. Duke had bought tickets for a show at a jazz club called Parker and Lennox. We took an Uber to get there. Even though the club was only about three miles away the traffic was so bad that it took an hour for the Uber to get to us and for us to get to the club. We had dinner there and then enjoyed a great show.

Parker and Lennox
Part of our dinner at the bar
The show in the back room.

Reno, Nevada to Mexico City, Mexico

Duke and I are at the start of an almost 3 week Mexican adventure. We are starting out in the Polanco area of Mexico City.

We got up at 4:00 this morning to catch a 6:00 flight. We changed planes in Salt Lake City, had an uneventful flight and landed in Mexico City about 6 hours after leaving Reno.

Parking at the airport.

In Mexico City our taxi ride to our hotel from the airport took about an hour. After checking in and getting settled we went for a walk.

Checking in to our hotel the UTOPIC Polanco
Out for a walk

We had a fabulous dinner at Agua & Sal, a nearby seafood restaurant.

Agua & Sal
Our ceviche

I suspect I’ll sleep well tonight! It’s been a long day.