MEXICO: TAXCO

 March 13, 2018

We drove from Cuernavaca to Taxco, a distance of about 89 km (55 miles), and by the time we got there, it was definitely time for lunch.

Arnold took us to a fantastic restaurant, Del Angel Inn, that was perched on a hillside and had balcony dining, which allowed us a spectacular view of  this hilly city.  The sign for the restaurant notes that it is "Exquisitely divine!", which it was.

And look who the hostess was!

 

It's a pretty good likeness, don't you think?

This little gem was on one of the restaurant walls. Cute, huh?

MEXICO: CUERNAVACA

March 13, 2018

Arnold picked us up at 9:00 AM for a trip to Cuernavaca and Taxco. However, first we had to eat some breakfast, so Arnold chose a fun restaurant, Lonchería Bravo Torta de Suaderó.

I tried something new: a cazuela, or a Mexican version of a breakfast casserole with eggs, meat, sauce, and other ingredients. 

Bob loves a good sandwich, so he had a torta.

From there, the drive to Cuernavaca takes about an hour and a half.

As we were getting on (or maybe off) the freeway, we noticed this horseman amidst the various overpasses--a rather unusual placement for the statue, don't you think?

MEXICO: AMECAMECA AND TLALMANALCO

March 12, 2018

Our hours at high altitude visiting El Popo and La Izta made us quite hungry, and Arnold suggested we stop at Panes y Pasteles de Tenango in Amecameca. Between 1928 and 2012, the building was a grocery store, and in 2013 it was remodeled to become this restaurant.

First course: tortilla soup for me and tlalpeno soup (chicken and veggies) for Bob:

Main course: Enchiladas gratinada con cecina (basically enchiladas verdes with a slice of very thin dried meat) for me and cecina (thinly sliced dried beef with tortillas, guacamole, and beans) for Bob:

Dessert for both of us: Cajeta crepe (goat milk dulce):

We walked past a very ferocious lion. Usually lion statues are more majestic--and tame. I wouldn't want to meet up with this dude in real life.

El Templo de la Virgen de las Asuncion, across the street from the restaurant, is a church that was severely damaged by the 7.1 earthquake that hit this area in September 2017. We could see that a lot of repair work was underway.

MEXICO: EL POPO AND LA IZTA MOUNTAINS

March 12, 2018

We started our morning back at El Tono. Bob had tostadas:

. . . and I had enchiladas verde.  Not exactly what we are used to eating for breakfast, which made it even more delicious!

Ah, the salsas. 

I had hot chocolate, and Bob had tamarind juice.

MEXICO CITY: PASEO DE LA REFORMA AND CHAPULTEPEC PARK

March 11, 2018

I had eaten a large plate of rich, spicy mole, and I had about the worst case of acid reflux I had ever had that night. I was up until 3:00 AM, at which point I finally took two Benadryl just to get some sleep. That totally knocked me out until after 9:00 AM, so we got a late start. We left the hotel around 10:00 and headed for Paseo de la Reforma. 

The Paseo de la Reforma, or the "Promenade of Reform" is a very wide divided street modeled after the great boulevards of Europe, such as the Champs-Élyseés in Paris or the Paseo del Prado in Madrid. It was designed and built in the 1860s to link Emperor Maximilian's castle to the city center. 

Today it is the hub of the downtown business area and home to most of the city's tallest skyscrapers.

Photo from here

Our goal was to walk along the Paseo de la Reforma to Chapultepec Park (where Maximilian had his castle), about 1.75 miles from our hotel, 

In the aerial photo at the top of this post, you can see that the Paseo splits around a monument. I remember this monument well from my first visit to Mexico City with my mom in 1978. We could see it from our hotel room window. It is known locally as El Angel, and more formally as The Angel of Independence. It was built in 1910 during the presidency of Porfirio Diaz to commemorate the centennial anniversary of Mexico's War of Independence. 

MEXICO CITY: DOLORES OLMEDO MUSEUM

March 10, 2018

So . . . who was Dolores Olmedo? A very wealthy Mexican businesswoman and collector, Dolores was Diego Rivera's and Frida Kahlo's friend, and even appears in some of Diego's paintings. After Frida died in 1954, Diego spent the last three years of his life living with her in her home in Acapulco, where he died in 1957.  Dolores told Diego that she planned to create a museum to show his work, and he made a list of paintings she should acquire, including 25 pieces by Frida. She did not like either Frida or her work, but she bought up all the work she could anyway, along with 137 works by Diego. In fact, she because the foremost collector of his paintings.

Dolores bought a large piece of land in the Xochimilco district in 1962. She built a beautiful estate home there, which she converted into a museum in 1994. That museum now houses the largest collections of Diego Rivera and Frida Kahlo paintings. She outlived Diego Rivera by 45 years, dying in  2002.

And this is where I wish I had the pictures from my camera. Bob has dozens of photos of the Mexican hairless dogs and a peacock on the property, and six pictures of the museum interior. SIX.

Maybe photos weren't allowed inside? I can't remember. Sigh.

Frida loved dogs, particularly the hairless Xoloitzcuintle (aka Xolo dog, Colima dog, or Mexican hairless dog).  Dante, Miguel's dog in the Disney movie Coco, was a Xolo dog.

She sometimes included her favorite dog, Senor Xolotl, in her paintings. This one, Self Portrait with Monkey (1945), is in the Dolores Olmedo Museum, but I had to find this photo on the internet. I wonder why Senor Xolotl's name didn't make it into the title?

I think these dogs were the highlight of the visit to the museum for Bob.

MEXICO: XOCHIMILCO CANALS AND UNAM

June 10, 2018

After leaving Coyoacán, we headed south to visit Xochimilco, "The Venice of Mexico." Like Coyoacan, Xochimilco is one of the alcadias, or burroughs of Mexico City. It is best known for its 110 miles of canals, remnants of the extensive canal system built by the Aztecs.

In 2011 Xochimilco was designated one of Mexico City's twenty-one "Barrio Magicos," or Magical Neighborhoods. (Incidentally, the city center of Coyoacan is also a Barrio Magico.)

This is another city that I visited 40 years ago, and in the intervening decades, tourism here has increased dramatically. Dozens of boats were lined up at the dock waiting for passengers.

Victor purchased our tickets and we boarded our boat, "Puros Cuates," which I think means "Pure Friends" (Pals? Chums?)

Many of the boats are named after girlfriends or wives: Adriana, Lupita, Victoria, Julietta, Carmelita, Andrea, Conchita, Maria Cristina . . .