Mexico City: First Explorations

ARRIVING IN MEXICO

On Thursday we were up at 4:15 to get to SRQ for our 7:30 am Atlanta flight and then on to Mexico City. Relatively smooth flights with no delays, even arrived early. The immigration line was quite long, but kept moving and after half an hour we had been admitted to Mexico. We claimed our bags which were already unloaded and then connected with our driver and his compatriot for the 40 minute drive to our hotel. Along the way, many jacaranda trees in bloom, such a lovely shade of purple, and plenty of concrete buildings with plain fronts painted in one solid color—everything from mustard yellow to midnight blue to bright turquoise and even some pinks and magentas.

The Wild Oscar is a small boutique hotel with a slightly funky vibe and so discreetly located, across the street from an elementary school, that you don’t know it’s there until you go down the half hidden steps and see the sign just at the entrance. Furnishings are mostly contemporary in dark woods and black trim and black stone.

We have a smallish room with a balcony and all the usual accoutrements, but only one desk chair inside and one outside chair on the balcony. The hotel is named for Oscar Wilde and I need to inquire why. Each elevator has a quote from Wilde done in cursive in bright paint on the floor, one yellow and one blue. One quote is “Life is too important to be taken seriously,” and the other something like, be yourself because everyone else is taken.

We took a short walk around the neighborhood, Polanco, admiring the upscale shops, the many restaurants and cafes, a small park, and the numerous banks. Traffic is lively and even in a crosswalk you need to exercise great care! There are no stop signs or lights at most intersections . Reminds me a bit of taking your life in your hands crossing the main streets in Hanoi.

We walked to our dinner restaurant, Comedar Jacinta, for a bit of Mexican comfort food. It’s 2 hours earlier here so by 6:30 pm, we were hungry and tired. We ate outside and were a prime target for the rose peddlers, the man with kids’ toys and other street vendors, but being seated there meant we could watch the street scene. After sunset, a gusty wind led to the unfurling of plastic sheets and we were cozy. The beef barbecue and the mixture of beef strips, cubes of cheese and guacamole with cactus served with tortillas were delicious and our two waiters most helpful.

FRIDAY ROAMING

This morning we left the hotel before 9:00 and walked a few blocks and through a small park to the Museo Nacional de Anthropologie. It’s a large and gorgeous modern building with an expansive plaza off of which there are a series of galleries covering the history of Mexico through its various cultures and customs. You could easily spend an entire day here so we were pleased when the woman at the Information Desk pointed out which galleries were the ones not to miss.

We learned about Teotihuacan (AD 100-700) and its influence far beyond its own region. (On Sunday we will visit the pyramids at Teotihuacan). And spent time in the Mexica Hall (or more familiarly known to us as the Aztec empire, AD1200-1521) and then the Maya Hall where we re-appreciated how sophisticated the Mayans were in their development of writing and their use of mathematics. Lastly, we checked out one of the Ethnography Halls on the upper floor. It is an impressive and very well laid out museum. Introductory and some explanatory panels are in English and Spanish, while individual item labels are only in Spanish.

Our feet were tired and our bodies said it was later than it was so we relaxed on the café terrace with tea and pastry. Our next foray was to walk farther on in the Bosque de Chapultepec, a quiet, pleasant woodland park with winding paths, to locate the Museo de Arte Moderne.

It was a bit farther than we realized and this museum somewhat disappointing. Several small galleries in the main building plus a number of outdoor sculptures seemed to be the bulk of the collection on display.

Having covered a fair bit of ground, we then meandered back through Chapultepec to a main thoroughfare and then to the street with our hotel. We paused on the corner for a relaxing lunch at Saks.

This restaurant has seating inside and on a semicircular terrace which is raised above the traffic. Knowing we would eat Mexican at dinner time, we opted for a bowl of corn chowder, guacamole and chips, and country style chicken cubes over linguini. The box of breads and chips with three saucers of dips was a welcome bonus.

We took an afternoon break at our hotel before going out again. Those activities will be in my next blog post.

Note: All photos ©JWFarrington (some rights reserved).