Mexico City, Week 3

The city is gearing up for the Day of the Dead or Día de los Muertos. Here are just a few of the hundreds of colorful creatures and skulls on display. Sundays around the city are a zoo. Pretty much all 20 million of the City’s residents are out and about and about half of them were out checking these displays. 

Mexico City, Week 2

Oh yes, the fad has caught on down here too. 

Dog grooming is big business down here. I passed this grooming studio daily on my way to school. This big guy caught my eye. 

Practicing the Chinese lion dance in the park. I read that there will be a performance in one of the big Día de los Muertos parades. 

The domes of the Museo del Carmen in San Ángel. 

I took a wrong turn one day and ended up walking in the wrong direction but check out the old aqueduct hanging out in the median of the street!

So much color at the weekend craft market in San Ángel 

Cobblestones!

This is what you need if you are serious about making carnitas. 

It’s been pouring cats and dogs here in the afternoons or evenings. On this day, I got caught in the middle of it. 

The monument for Álvaro Obregón, a former president of Mexico who was assassinated.

Some silly art at the craft market—I thought it resembled Tink and her aspirations beyond lap sitting. 

Just a kid practicing his ninja moves while he waits for a table for lunch. 

Um, yes, he did get his revenge.  

A peaceful pond in the middle of the city 

Mexico City, Week 1

It all started when I decided to quit my job...I decided I would spend some of my new-found free-time learning to speak better spanish.  Naturally, I needed to plan a trip to a Spanish-speaking country.  And, I chose Mexico.  I’m staying in Mexico for 3 months. Justin came down for the first week and besides some rough acclimatization, we hit up most of the tourist hot-spots.  Here are some photos from our vacation week:

Our first day in Mexico City, we hit up a barbacoa restaurant, El Hidalguense, that was delicious!  

In the subway, those CDMX designers were pretty creative. Not only does this look cool, it actually plays the notes when you step on the keys.  

We visited El Templo Mayor, a major archeological site right in the middle of downtown Mexico City.  Several rulers occupied this site before the Spanish conquests when it was ultimately abandoned.  Some utility workers discovered some artifacts from it the 1970s ultimately kicking off a major excavation to unearth what is visible today.

We took a day trip out to these amazing pyramids, Teotihuacan. It was a beautiful day and by Monday, my body had adjusted to the altitude so I was feeling good. See those stairs? We climbed every one of them. 

What vacation would be complete without a fancy meal out? We had a reservation for comida at Mexico City’s fanciest Mexican restaurant. There were grasshoppers, ants and other less exotic fare on the menu. It was a special experience but I enjoyed some of the simpler places we ate at just as much. 

We walked by a half dozen of the little tortillarias. Just add some dough into a machine and out pops fresh tortillas for dinner. 

One of several Diego Rivera murals here in Mexico City. I loved his communist themes. He was a true revolutionary. 

We rented one of these colorful trajineras and cruised the canals of Xochimilco. 

Pro-wrestling Mexico style. I think Justin liked this more than I. Here, the luchadores are midgets. You had to feel bad for the little guy.  

On our last full day, we took a cooking class and made tamales, chicken mole, salsa, chalupas and a sweet pumpkin dessert. It was a fun afternoon!