vampyresheep

After another breakfast at Don Toribio restaurant (we discovered this wonderful restaurant near our hotel the morning before), we got an Uber to the start of Reforma to make the most of car-free Sunday mornings and see the alibrijes on display along the street.  This time we had a far nicer Uber driver, who first complimented me on my Spanish and then chatted with me for the entire journey, dropping us off at the best spot to start our walk.

We didn’t realise just how many alibrijes there were on display!  So colourful and cute, lining both sides of the street.  In addition, for the first part of our walk there were giant Catrina models, followed by Mexicraneos (giant brightly painted skulls).   I took so many photos.

My original plan was to walk up to the Anthropology museum, mainly to find the stall where I purchased some delicious esquites last time.  (esquites are sweetcorn, off the cob and warmed in a broth of herbs and spices, served in a polystyrene cup and topped with mayonnaise and cheese. Delicious!)  However, instead we took the wrong route and ended up in Chapultepec Park.  Not a problem, it was a lovely day and we decided to spend some time in the park instead.  Firstly I dragged Rob onto the land train – this was a fun way to rest our feet whilst getting a quick tour of the park.   After this, we retraced some of the train route to the beautiful Fuente del Quijote and then on to the boating lakes.  I purchased some Dorilocos – had to be done, as I was too ill last time we were here to face this local snack (Not sure I will try it again! Doritos covered in chilli/chamoy sauce, peanuts, grated carrot, jicama and jelly sweets) and we sat next to the quiet lake enjoying the beautiful day and getting bothered by cute squirrels.

Finally made it to the Anthropology museum and just sat outside with esquites, watching the Voladores.  Didn’t do the museum itself as we had visited it last time we were here and just wanted to sit outside in the sunshine, knowing we were soon to return to cold, rainy UK.

Walked back up the Reforma to see the rest of the alibrijes and continued our walk to the Popular Art museum – a longer walk than we thought!  So glad we finally made it here though, as its probably my favourite museum that I have visited in Mexico, folk art, creativity and historic artefacts, right up my street.  Too tired to walk any more, we got an Uber back the short distance to our hotel.

That evening, we went back to Café Bizarro in Roma district.  It was a lot quieter than Friday night and for some reason they seemed to have run out of practically everything on the drinks menu, but the music was great and it was perfect to spend our last evening in our favourite place in CDMX.

Photos part 1 – Reforma, Chapultepec park and many alibrijes https://vampyresheep.smugmug.com/Holidays/2022-Mexico/11-06-Chapultepec-Reforma-and-Popular-Art-Museum

Part 2: Popular Art museum and Café Bizarro https://vampyresheep.smugmug.com/Holidays/2022-Mexico/11-06-Sun-part-2-Popular-Art-Museum-Cafe-Bizarro/

We had originally planned to take a bus out to Tepoztlan, a hill town to the south of the city known for a pyramid on the hill and being a bit spiritual, but figured we were staying in the centro so should make the most of being there instead.  As this was our second visit, we were keen not to retrace the same steps, but at the same time there are some familiar sights one has to revisit, so toady was mainly for visiting sights we missed last time

We went to Café de Tacuba for breakfast, one of the oldest restaurants in the city, with stunning décor. Breakfast was absolutely enormous, so we really shouldn’t have ordered a sweet pastry too (didn’t realise that was an additional item) but they were happy to let us take them away with us.

Strolled back towards the Zocalo, with our first stop being the Secretaria de Educacion Publico offices to see the murals.  We asked to see the murals at the door, and were ushered in, asked to leave a form of ID at their desk and then allowed to just wander around the courtyards.  The main feature are the array of murals painted by Diego Rivera, celebrating the history of Mexico.  For me, I was more blown away by the Siqueiros mural over the staircase near the entranceway.

Nearby was the elusive gothic clothes shop Horror Boutique, that we failed to find last time.  It was tucked away on the 4^th floor of a “shopping centre” with security on the door and on arrival at the shop we had to ring to be admitted.  That was a bit awkward, being followed around the shop by the owner and her assistants (all very friendly but keen to make a sale).  All the items there were hand made and absolutely lovely, but nothing I needed for this trip or could take home with me.

Went to watch the dancers perform outside Templo Mayor, yep I know its touristy, but its wonderful to watch! And as we were at the Zocalo, we crossed over to go back into the Gran Hotel to see the stained glass in daylight, absolutely stunning.

From here we headed back up Av Francisco Madera towards Bellas Artes, stopping off at the Palacio de Iturbide (Citibanamex Culture Palace).  Free to get in, the main exhibition was on Spanish renaissance art. Not usually my thing but these were very interesting, particularly a few that had speech bubbles of a kind coming from some of the characters – renaissance comic book art!

Continued our walk past the Palacio De Bellas Artes (absolutely love this place but we did visit last time) and to Alameda Park, where we just sat by one of the fountains for a while, eating our pastries from breakfast, resting our feet and watching the world go by.

We had time for one more visit, so decided to go to the Franz Mayer museum.  Not quite what I expected from the online images, as most of the exhibits were in modern galleries and the collection felt not to dissimilar to what I’d see at the V&A at home.  However we emerged out into the pretty courtyard, decorated with Catrina statues, and decided to stop here in the café for coffee and icecream.

Walked back to the hotel, stopping off at a little crafts market nearby and then up to the rooftop bar for a drink.  As soon as our drinks arrived, the skies got darker and a massive storm broke out!  The few of us left in the bar huddled together in the one bit of shelter in the centre, screaming when a massive clap of thunder happened right above us!

For the evening, we got a taxi to my favourite horror bar, Café Bizarro in the Roma district. It was busy but we managed to get a table, and spent the evening there eating and drinking.  Their Bizzareada cocktail is to die for – beer blended with fresh fruit and ice.

Photos: Café Tacuba and SEP https://vampyresheep.smugmug.com/Holidays/2022-Mexico/11-04-Fri-pt-1-Cafe-Tacuba-Public-Education-Office-murals

Around the zocalo and Palacio de Iturbide https://vampyresheep.smugmug.com/Holidays/2022-Mexico/11-04-Fri-pt2-zocalo-Citibanamex-Culture-Palace

Alameda, Franz Mayer museum and Café Bizarro https://vampyresheep.smugmug.com/Holidays/2022-Mexico/11-04-Fri-Zocalo-to-Alameda-park-sightseeing

At just after 5am, we were picked up by Tanya and Ralph of Go Well Tours to take us to Aztompa cemetery.  We’d spoken online about my experience last time, that I felt uncomfortable being there at night with the coachloads of tourists, many of whom paid little respect to where they were, and Tanya suggested it would be better to go there for the sunrise, so here we were!

We got there just as sun was breaking, so got to experience this beautiful place, memorials adorned with massive candles in the dusk and then in more detail as it got lighter.  Many local residents had completed their vigils and were leaving for the day, and those who still remained had evidently been at the mezcal all night.  It was friendly and jovial, and a lovely way to experience this beautiful cemetery.

Tanya had prepared breakfast, and we sat on the steps at the cemetery entrance with our delicious morning picnic.  We then got back into the van to continue uphill to Aztompa archaeological site.  Not as complete or as well known as the neighbouring Monte Alban, it benefited however in the lack of visitors and stunning views of the hills around and Oaxaca below.  It truly was a special experience.

We were dropped back to our hotels, Rob and I saying our goodbyes to Tanya and Ralph, talking about whether we will be back a third time.  We spent a couple of hours at the hotel, Rob snoozing on one of the pool loungers and me going for a swim.

For the evening, we knew the main comparsa was going from Jalatlalco that evening but it turned out to be later than I thought, so instead, Rob and I popped to Jalatlalco for a late lunch at La Terraza del Copal and then a wander around the pretty streets, stopping for icecream of course.  We returned to our hotel early evening to apply some Dia De Muertos face make up.   As the hairdresser next to our hotel wasn’t doing make-up this year and I was slightly overwhelmed by all the options in town, I had instead bought all the makeup at market the day before and now had to work out how to apply it.

Headed into town to meet with Doreen and Kevin, Doreen was getting her face done by one of the street artists.  Once again a tad confused by the comparsa routes – one of our epic fails this time round was missing most of the ad-hoc parades we loved so much last time – we decided to go the safe option of heading to the Plaza de la Danza to watch the performance and then follow them when dancers and giant statues set off to parade.  This worked at least, we got a fantastic view and it was great to see, even if it was one of the big, organised events.  We followed the parade to the Zocalo, where the crowds got too much and we set off our respective ways to our hotels, with Rob and I deciding on a late night cocktail at Gozobi first.  Not such a great experience this time, as the service was pretty terrible when the place was more crowded.

Photos Aztompa https://vampyresheep.smugmug.com/Holidays/2022-Mexico/11-01-Aztompa-Jalatlalco-Plaza-de-la-Danza

Jalatlalco and Plaza de la Danza https://vampyresheep.smugmug.com/Holidays/2022-Mexico/11-01-Tues-part-2-Jalatlalco-Plaza-de-la-Danza

There were two ways to get to Oaxaca (three if you count the night bus) – a winding, 8 hour bus ride over the mountains, nicknamed the Vomit Comet, or a more expensive but nippier 30 minute flight in a 12 seater Cessna.  We went for the latter and I was quite excited about this!

After going through the usual airport security palaver (I didn’t realise there was an issue carrying liquids on board a flight like this but it turns out, yes, airport security didn’t like it), we boarded the cute little plane and I was thrilled to get the front row.  The flight was way smoother than I expected and the views absolutely stunning, it was well worth doing.

We got to our hotel mid-morning, Casa de la Tia Tere, and unlike last time we stayed here, they asked us to come back at check-in time agreeing to hold our luggage in the meanwhile.  We headed into Oaxaca for brunch, returning to Café Nuevo Mundo, where we had our very first Mexican breakfast last time.  The food was still good, although Rob’s steak burrito had changed and now consisted of ground steak mixed in with the eggs.  Rob was also starting to feel a little delicate in the stomach, from what we suspect was our lunch on the beach the day before.

After brunch we took a wander around Oaxaca, stopping off at Espacio Zapata to look at the fantastic political and mural art, purchasing a print whilst we were there, through a little market on Plazuela Del Carmen Alto to get icecream from the Icecream Museum on the Alcala.  Our first, of many, tuna icecreams!  Stopped at the Organic Harvest food market for a drink and then back to the hotel.  We were still too early to check in, but they let us sit by the pool until our room was ready.   Eventually we were able to check in and I was thrilled to have a room that opened right onto the swimming pool!  My stomach was also starting to play up a tad by now, so we concluded this was definitely from our day on the beach.

We had however booked a table at a nice restaurant for that night, Tierra del Sol, so hoped we would be OK for that.  After a swim and freshen up, we headed back into town to see if we could catch the Magna Comparsa (parade) before our restaurant booking. Unfortunately the route had changed from last time and although we picked a decent spot, the parade hadn’t reached that far before we had to leave.

Tierra del Sol was lovely. A rooftop location next to the beautiful Santo Domingo church, specialising in moles.  I had duck with pipian mole (pumpkin seeds, nuts, coriander and various other ingredients including I assume chocolate).  The mole was absolutely divine but the duck was very tough, or it may have been the blunt knife!  After dinner we had a bit of a wander up and down the alcala and over to Plaza de la Danza where we caught the end of a concert. Rob was feeling a bit rough, so we decided to call it a night.

Photos https://vampyresheep.smugmug.com/Holidays/2022-Mexico/10-27-Cessna-Flight-and-Oaxaca

Believe it or not ;-) there are more photos of the Palace- which can be viewed in this gallery

Part two of this day's gallery (Castel do Mouros and Sintra at night_ is here)

Another beautiful sunny day and we realised we had so much left to see on our last day in Lisbon.

more photos of this beautiful cemetery are here

more photos of Alfama can be seen in my gallery here

Back in work, with blisters upon blisters, aching calves and incredibly sleep deprived after flight delay meant we didn’t get home until 1.30 this morning.  It was a rather fantastic long, long weekend in Lisbon.  A full trip report will follow, with photos of course – probably not going to upload the full albums to Facebook, so I hope people spend a few moments/mouse clicks to read my blog posts instead.

I’ve never been to Portugal before – the image of resorts on the Algarve was not somewhere top on my radar for holiday.  But after seeing friend’s post about Lisbon and Sintra, my interest was piqued.  We were not disappointed.

I’m not sure what I am going to miss more; the city of Lisbon itself, an adorably shabby sprawling mass of a place enhanced by surprise panoramic vistas; the incredible food (seriously, we did not have a bad meal even in the most touristy of places and Portuguese is now at the top of my list of preferred cuisine!); the touting of cheap but delicious booze on every corner; the touting of cheap but delicious pastries on every corner;  or the much needed winter sunshine. 20c for 5 days out of 6 was just blissful.

The second half of our stay was in nearby Sintra.  This was a more classically picturesque place, an Italianate village located in the hills and surrounded by higher hills topped with palaces. This part of the stay managed to somehow be more physically exhausting but mentally relaxing at the same time.  We walked miles and saw many beautiful things.

Overall however, our hearts were left in Lisbon.  Sintra, beautiful as it is, was for me one of those places where once you’ve ticked off all the attractions there was little else to be there for but Lisbon I felt we’d only scraped the surface.  The downsides, which in some way also form part of the positives, was all the damn hills and stairs, along with the dilemma of whether you wanted to do all the things or just find a pleasant place to sit with a beer watching the world go by – either way you felt you were missing out on the other.

I hope to return.

Our final day in Mexico! The good thing about such a long and varied holiday though is whilst we were sad to leave, we'd been here long enough for one visit - although already decided we want to return! Unfortunately little opened on Mondays so we had limited opportunity to make the most of our final day.

Saturday
Today we explore the Zocalo area of CDMX/Mexico City - slightly daunting, after all the warnings not to stray too far from the tourist areas and at the same time, so much that I want to see. It was a very, very busy day! (long post, many pics!)

This day has been split out into several photo galleries:
Gallery 1 - Bella Artes is here
Gallery 2 - Av. Francisco Madera (House of Tiles, Post Office etc) is here
Gallery 3 - around the Zocalo: Templo Mayor, the Cathedral, the Palacio Nacional and Rivera murals - is here
Gallery 4 - Rivera mural museum, Torre LatinoAmericana at night and el Scary Witches - is here

Monday.