Hola de la Ciudad de Mexico

Hola de la Ciudad de Mexico

Mexico City is really crooked; it’s built on mud essentially so all the buildings are on a lean, which makes for an interesting perspective and skyline. There are police on every corner and patrolling the streets in large trucks, cars, horses and motorbikes. The people are helpful and friendly and despite being a city of 18 million has a really relaxed vibe about it.  It’s pretty stinky, but we knew that before we arrived – winter is the worst time for air pollution here.

There are art galleries and museums everywhere with exhibitions by Picasso, Paul Strand & Walker Evans, and Diego Rivera, for example. The old buildings are beautiful – the National Palace, the Belles Artes museum, the Metropolitan Cathedral, and la Casa de los Azulejos, are all awesome in size and in beauty. The highlight for me has definitely been Frida Khalo and Diego Rivera’s house in Coyoacan – about 15 minutes on the metro from our accommodation in the Centro Historico. La Casa Azul was an oasis of calm with amazing paintings by Kahlo and Rivera.  A number of the old rooms have been restored with furniture and artifacts from the artists’ lives in Mexico City.  The big central courtyard was verdant green with all the plants and trees.

We’ve been looked after very well so far. Now for Oaxaca, 6 hours south of Mexico City by bus, where Hamish is eyeing up the fried grasshoppers and Mexcal being sold on the street. I’ll let you know how he gets on.

The Metropolitan Cathedral, the largest in Latin America

At Templo Mayor ruins

Diego Rivera Mural, Bellas Artes

La Casa Azul

Frida's studio

Trotsky's room when he was a guest at La Casa Azul

The garden, La Casa Azul

The mosaic tiles at la Casa de los Azulejos

The Zocalo, Oaxaca