Random Photo: Coolest Cab That Ever Existed

Yesterday, during lunchtime, we were walking to an AWESOME vegetarian buffet in our neighborhood when we feasted our eyes upon the coolest taxi (stage left) that ever was. The sight of it made me giggle with glee. Unfortunately, the light turned green as soon as I noticed, and the taxi was off, to be stopped at the next set of lights. "I need a picture of that!" I yelled and took off running down the sidewalk.

In the process, unbeknownst to me, I dropped my camera holder. After I snapped the desired photo, Matt grabbed the camera and crossed the street to try to snap some more photos. Then, behind me, I heard, "Señorita! Señorita!" I turned around and saw my camera case being held up by a teenage boy, as he glimpsed unfazed in the direction of the cab. The reality of what happened caught up with me; I looked like the tourist of all tourists. Sheepishly, I thanked the young man, and he smiled shyly back at me. Contrary to some popular beliefs about the people of Mexico City, I have enjoyed nothing but very nice encounters with very, very kind people here.

Turns out this wasn't just some awesome party taxi. It was a balloon seller (you see them selling their mylar products all the time in the parques) catching a ride to their next destination, holding the string of balloons out the window (because, I mean, look; they wouldn't obviously fit inside). Nonetheless, it was one of those unique, totally enjoyable D.F. experiences.

Keep out, culture!

If you would’ve blindfolded me, made me walk the 9km to Polanco (which would’ve probably felt like an eternity of walking, had I been blindfolded), then subsequently removed the blindfold and asked, “Christine, where are we?”

I would’ve answered, “Um, I don’t know? A rich part of Dallas?”

Your first instinct might be to laugh at my answer, considering the fact we’re in a developing country, but then you would’ve thought about it for a split second and said, “Huh, that’s really not too far off.”

Polanco is the bougie neighborhood of Mexico City, and I hope I’ll never be back. Our travel guide, Lonely Planet, contains several self-directed walking tours of Mexico City’s neighborhoods, and we plan to do all of them. Before embarking on this particular walking tour, I got the subtle impression that Polanco would not be my cup of water, so to speak. The guide states, “Exit left, through the trattoria, where Polanco’s smart set sip Perrier and gaze lovingly at their cell phones.” Yep, that pretty much sums up Polanco’s crowd. Livin’ the American Dream in their $850-peso Abercrombie sweatshirts and big SUVs.

As you see in the above photo, there were big, sharp fences, gates, and sometimes even barbed wire(!), before the façade of nearly every big, whitewashed home in Polanco. To me, this was a metaphor; “keep out, D.F. culture, keep out!” I’ve read that the current mayor of D.F., Marcelo Ebard, is proud of the fact that in parts of Mexico City, street vendors have been banned and eliminated. Uh, I can only guess which neighborhood yelled, “Me first! Meeeee first!” to this idea. Although it’s sometimes disconcerting to see unused chicken heads on top of closed vendor carts or flanks of unrefrigerated raw beef, baking in the sun, waiting to be used, it’s all part of the D.F. experience. The myriad vendors makes it fun, sometimes amusing, and unique. Oh, and not to mention, those vendors’ carts are many peoples’ livelihoods.

I’m sure some will argue that the exorbitant restaurants in Polanco are home to some of the most innovative gastronomy, and the galleries are “to die for.” Oh, and if you like shopping for the latest designer duds and baubles, well, this is your place. That’s all well and good, but when you’ve got the most beautiful and exciting (and sometimes challenging) eye-candy, smells, culture, and tastes, by simply walking out your front door and into your more “humble” neighborhood, what’s the point?

I’d like to sign off in two ways. First, as stated in a previous entry, Mexico City is suffering MAJOR water shortages. I’ll go into much more detail in a later post about the water being turned off, in our neighborhood, for big chunks of nearly every day. Well, this recent article explains that the rich neighborhoods (ahem, Polanco) and their well-manicured (but boring) lawns and gaudy lifestyles account for a lot more water usage than most other neighborhoods. It’s scary to think that a toilet in my neighborhood can’t flush all day long, but the sprinkler’s probably doing its “ch-ch-chhhhh” all afternoon at the lovely house above. Now that’s a scary (and dirty AND dangerous) inequality.

Second, the picture below sums up the neighborhood perfectly:

Bomba de Color

Yesterday, I fell in love with Coyoacan. It's a neighborhood on the southern end of the D.F. A little lesson: D.F. stands for Distrito Federal. Mexico City is just like Washington, D.C., its own separate district. Day-Efay is how it's pronounced in Spanish, and that's what the locals call Mexico City. Therefore, when I refer to Mexico City as D.F., you will know what I'm talking about (if you didn't already know).

Anyway, back to my beloved Coyoacan--wow! This place made me happy. If you looked up frenetic in the dictionary, you'd probably see Mexico City's face. Coyoacan doesn't fit that, though. Coyoacan is the right brain (artistic, creative, relaxed) to most of Mexico City's left brain. Don't get me wrong, I love the craziness of the city, but Coyoacan is a nice refuge. The skull above, by the way, is made of sugar, fondant, and icing!

Behold, some pictures of this neighborhood, Frida Kahlo's home from birth until death, sans commentary. The colors and beauty speak for themselves. From what I've heard, there are even more subdued and beautiful neighborhoods even farther from Coyoacan. We will definitely explore those areas, but this was an easy Metro ride for a spontaneous trip.

This photo was taking in a beautiful plaza. Around these fruits and vegetables, there was a big celebration. Matt and I were lucky to arrive at the perfect time to watch what we surmised was an old, indigeneous peoples' harvest ritual. I am trying to research it to find out more. It was awesome. I have video if you're interested. P.S. this picture's much cooler if you click on it to enlarge.

The pictures below are dedicated to my bestie, Tina, a true lover of ice cream. Ice cream, or helado, is a national pasttime here. Tons of flavors. Below, Matt's flavor was horchata, which is a rice milk drink with sugar and cinnamon. We've had the drink in Austin, Tex many times (and it's scrumptious). My flavor was elote, or roasted corn. Next time, we're trying tequila and queso (cheese).

Zócalo

Our first week in Mexico City, we did some self-guided walking tours. One of them was around the Zocalo, or city center. The Zocalo is essentially a huge plaza surrounded by historic, important buildings. The day we toured this area, they were getting ready for September 15/16, Mexico's independence day. Thus, I was not able to view the grandeur of the huge pedestrian-friendly square (and huge Mexican flag) in the center, but rather "feasted" my eyes upon huge, ugly scaffolding and tarps. Matt went to the Zocalo ten years ago, when he studied in Cuernavaca, and he insists that we go back on a normal, non-holiday day to see it. The square will be where we (and countless mexicanos) celebrate Dia de los Muertos in early November. The buildings of the Zocalo are beautiful and very old, but there are a lot of people begging and people hawking so-called goods (anything from Sharpies to chintzy earrings to posters of Hannah Montana). Unfortunately, my dorky bleeding heart wants to give money to everyone that begs, but I'm working on consciously ignoring most pleas for pesos.

These are the government buildings. They're all gussied-up for the big celebration.

(pardon the pathetic attempt at panorama)

Here's the Catedral Metropolitana de la Asuncion de Maria. The groundbreaking for the cathedral was 1573, and it was completed a wee 250 years later in 1813:



















Here are some pictures of the interior of the beautiful cathedral.

In this last photo, the cathedral appears crooked. Well, that's because it is; the city is sinking. The acquifers, the main water supply for residents of Mexico City, located under the city are depleting faster than they can be replenished (due to droughts and over-consumption). Unfortunately, that means that the soft land upon which the city is built cannot entirely withstand the weight of itself. You see lots of sinking buildings throughout the city.

Rest Peacefully

I want to pay a brief homage to Matty's grandma, who passed away September 11, 2009. As stated in the previous post, we got the news one never ever wants to hear when far from home; a loved one has passed. Grandma Gerry's death caught us completely off guard. She died peacefully in her sleep (a good way to go). And yes, she lived 83 good years (not a small feat). Why, then, is it still difficult to comprehend and accept her passing?? Well, for one, you don't see many 83-years-old people sitting on their knees on the floor, blowing bubbles to their great grandchild, then effortlessly getting up to run and get a pan out of the oven like we witnessed in August. Come to think of it, you don't see many people over 40 doing that so effortlessly. I guess it's hard to comprehend, because she was truly her lively self (in mind and body) up until the end.

There were many things to love about this lady: she gave good hugs, she was generous and thoughtful, she LOVED her family, she had a casual conversational style (always called my husband Matty, a pet name I've long since adopted), she was lively and funny, and she was strong (in every sense of the word). One of my favorite things about her was her personal style. I know that may sound superficial, but I can't help it; I loved the way she dressed and carried herself. I believe personal style says a lot (i.e. about one's confidence, creativity, and attitude) and she wore bright, colorful, in-style clothes(!) for an 83-year-old. Just because you're a great grandmother who's over 80, doesn't mean you can't look cute! Live life! Have fun! In fact, one of my last conversations with her was regarding what she would wear to her class reunion. A class reunion, sadly, she never attended.

Thus, we went home to Minnesota last week to honor her life with Matt's family. We are so grateful we were able to do that. We needed comfort, and we needed to comfort.

The above picture is from her 83rd birthday party in late August. It was the last time we saw wonderful Gerry, and we will cherish memories from that day.

Phase 1.1 : Ciudad de Mexico (Redux)

*

Last night, we landed in Mexico City. Huh? What? Yeah, it's true. We can hardly believe it ourselves. We were in the U.S. this past week. Our biggest "living abroad fear" came true, and it sent us home. I'll expound later today.

Flying into Mexico City at night is incredible and comes highly recommended; if you find yourself flying into Mexico City, try to schedule your landing post nightfall. Thanks, American Airlines for the delay, I guess.

*I realize the above picture is, um, out of focus and sort of vertiginous; however, our experience this past week and throughout our adventure has not proven otherwise.

Nuestra Casa

As I type this, our neighbor is playing some beautiful guitar. Yes, that's correct--I said NEIGHBOR! We are officially moved into our Mexico City casa. Our apartment is in a lovely neighborhood called Colonia Roma. Roma has the reputation of being the artist and musician enclave of Mexico City (hence, perchance, the neighbor playing guitar below us). We like this neigborhood because it's safe and pretty (but still a little gritty) and not snooty. Oh, and I guess we kind of like it for another reason; it's in our price range. Yeah, that's important.

This is our sweet door knocker (if you visit us, you can try it out!):

This picture is dedicated to our moms. See! We're safe!

Living Room/Study, Bedroom:

Our bathroom with the awesome pink motif, and an example of the bathroom tile to match flawlessly said motif:

Our tiny (cute!) stove in our tiny kitchen (which is not so cute):


















Peering out of our tiny kitchen across the "courtyard" to our bedroom window:

We have rooftop access, and this is the view to the lovely botanicals of our neighbor (not the guitar-playing one, a different one):

There's some of it, at least. This weekend, we're exploring the city, which should equate to a plethora of good snapshots come Sunday.

Phase I. Ciudad de Mexico

My first thought after deplaning and entering the airport: Whoa, this place is so amazingly, dizzyingly busy (and, um, I kind of like it). The past 24 hours following that first impression have not proven otherwise. This is the most hectic place I’ve ever seen, heard, smelled, and dodged my way through. A population of 20+ million will do that, I guess. On our flight from Miami to Mexico, we sat next to an Argentinean who’s lived in Mexico City the past couple years. He gave us some very helpful advice about good day trips and the like. We told him that we were moving to Santiago de Chile after our time in Mexico. He told us that he thinks Santiago’s nice and all, but that it’s a little too small for him. I almost choked on my lukewarm, weak coffee, and in my head retorted, “Dude, what happens when Mexico City feels too small? You’ve got only Jakarta and Tokyo left!!” Imagine that; a city of more than six million, Santiago, feels a little too quaint.


Our hostel is cute, and the manager is a sweetheart. It’s very small (only four rooms) and no frills. We are staying for $30 USD per night, including breakfast. "Not spendy at all," the Minnesotan in me would say. However, it is quite amusing that our private room has two stiff TWIN beds. I guess we’ll make like Carol and Mike Brady for the next couple nights. In fact, I think the twin beds just give us more incentive to start apartment searching like tomorrow.


Today’s forecast was not “rainy.” “cloudy,” nor “sunny.” Oh, no. It was “SMOKY.” Um, okay. Pray tell, how do you dress for smoky? Last night, it rained like crazy while we walked home from dinner and, thus, left us stranded for some time under a shoddy, leaky business awning. The thunder was amazing, though. Because Mexico City’s surrounded by mountains and inundated with tall, concrete buildings, the thunder just reverberated off everything, to a thrilling degree.


In sum, so far, muy bueno.


Expect cool pictures of sights in the next entry!