David's exhibit and historial downtown. Good bye Mexico City - Sunday Jan.29

The day started with a - now - funny México City experience. I was suppose to meet David and Gloria for brunch, at the "Plaza de la Constitucion." Thirty minutes of an UBER ride later, I found out I was in the wrong place because there are here multiple "Plaza de la Constitucions" in Mexico City!!!! I had no option but to get back in a taxi for another 50 minutes, and head to the right one! It was the longest and most expensive brunch ride ever, but I got to see more of the city. Moral of the story: always check the borough/municipality before going anywhere here. Mexico City has 16 municipalities and they all have similar street names.

TLALPAN 

That's where I really started my day. This is a super cute area of Mexico City, all the way in the south. It feels like we are in a small town. 

FROM WIKIPEDIA: Tlalpan is a borough (demarcación territorial) in Mexico City. It is the largest borough, with over eighty percent under conservation as forest and other ecologically sensitive area. The rest, almost all of it on the northern edge, has been urban since the mid-20th century. When it was created in 1928, it was named after the most important settlement of the area, Tlalpan, which is referred to as “Tlalpan center” (Tlalpan centro) to distinguish it from the borough.

This center, despite being in the urbanized zone, still retains much of its provincial atmosphere with colonial era mansions and cobblestone streets. Much of the borough's importance stems from its forested conservation areas, as it functions to provide oxygen to the Valley of Mexico and serves for aquifer recharge. Seventy percent of Mexico City's water comes from wells in this borough.

We had brunch at La Casa de Juan, a beautiful restaurant and cultural centre, right at the main square. 

I learned this was the place of the first phone call in Mexico. 

I came here to see David's exhibition. He does this amazing portraits of today's photographs printed on canvas, modified digitally, then painted over, to resemble a baroque painting. The result are both real and fun. He turns his friends into 1700s characters. 

Impressive work!

David's Muse!

A little walk in the neighbourhood after brunch.

HISTORICAL DOWNTOWN MEXICO

We drove back to downtown Mexico - where I accidentally ended up in the morning. 

This is the Palace of Fine Arts.

FROM WIKIPEDIA: The Palacio de Bellas Artes (Palace of Fine Arts) is a prominent cultural center in Mexico City. It has hosted notable events in music, dance, theatre, opera and literature in Mexico and has held important exhibitions of painting, sculpture and photography. Consequently, the Palacio de Bellas Artes has been called the "Cathedral of Art in Mexico". The building is located on the western side of the historic center of Mexico City next to the Alameda Central park.

The first National Theater of Mexico was built in the late 19th century, but it was soon decided to tear this down in favor of a more opulent building in time for Centennial of the Mexican War of Independence in 1910. The initial design and construction was undertaken by Italian architect Adamo Boari in 1904, but complications arising from the soft subsoil and the political problem both before and during the Mexican Revolution, hindered then stopped construction completely by 1913. Construction began again in 1932 under Mexican architect Federico Mariscal [es] and was completed in 1934. It was then inaugurated on November 29, 1934 and was the first art museum in Mexico dedicated to exhibiting artistic objects for contemplation.

The exterior of the building is primarily Art Nouveau and Neoclassical and the interior is primarily Art Deco. The building is best known for its murals by Diego Rivera, Siqueiros and others, as well as the many exhibitions and theatrical performances it hosts, including the Ballet Folklórico de México.

The House of Tiles.

FROM WIKIPEDIA: The Casa de los Azulejos or Palace of the Counts of the Orizaba Valley , as it is also known, is a palace located in the historic center of Mexico City , more precisely between the current pedestrian streets of Madero and Calle Cinco de May . The building was built during the viceroyalty period , and it is commonly known by this name (rather than by the noble title of those who inhabited it) due to its cover of talavera tiles from Pueblathat cover the exterior façade of the building and make this work one of the most beautiful jewels of civil architecture of the New Spanish Baroque .

The Metropolitan Cathedral is an enormous presence right at the Plaza de la Constitucion.

FROM WIKIPEDIA: The Metropolitan Cathedral of the Assumption of the Most Blessed Virgin Mary into Heaven (Spanish: Catedral Metropolitana de la Asunción de la Bienaventurada Virgen María a los cielos) is the cathedral church of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Mexico. It is situated on top of the former Aztec sacred precinct near the Templo Mayor on the northern side of the Plaza de la Constitución (Zócalo) in the historic center of Mexico City. The cathedral was built in sections from 1573 to 1813 around the original church that was constructed soon after the Spanish conquest of Tenochtitlan, eventually replacing it entirely. Spanish architect Claudio de Arciniega planned the construction, drawing inspiration from Gothic cathedrals in Spain.

Part of the cathedral is tilted due to damages over time. 
One side of the building looks like it's sinking.

FROM WIKIPEDIA: Over the centuries, the cathedral has suffered damage. A fire in 1967 destroyed a significant part of the cathedral's interior. The restoration work that followed uncovered a number of important documents and artwork that had previously been hidden. Although a solid foundation was built for the cathedral, the soft clay soil it is built on has been a threat to its structural integrity. Dropping water tables and accelerated sinking caused the structure to be added to the World Monuments Fund list of the 100 Most Endangered Sites. Restoration working beginning in the 1990s stabilized the cathedral and it was removed from the endangered list in 2000.

The Mexican president's palace.

The huge Mexican flag on the middle of the square is raised early morning and lowered at around this time, every single day.  

I love the skulls everywhere.

Just around the corner, hundreds of people gathered in small indigenous cerimonies of dancing and practicing cleansing rituals. 

There were smudging rituals happening simultaneously every ten steps. 

People lined up to participate. 

The air was filled with a strong and powerful aroma.

Museum of Photography.

The Main Temple is right there too, in the thickness of the downtown madness.

FROM WIKIPEDIA: The Templo Mayor (Spanish: Main Temple) was the main temple of the Mexica people in their capital city of Tenochtitlan, which is now Mexico City. Its architectural style belongs to the late Postclassic period of Mesoamerica. The temple was called Huēyi Teōcalli [we:ˈi teoːˈkali] in the Nahuatl language. It was dedicated simultaneously to Huitzilopochtli, god of war, and Tlaloc, god of rain and agriculture, each of which had a shrine at the top of the pyramid with separate staircases. The central spire was devoted to Quetzalcoatl in his form as the wind god, Ehecatl. The Great Temple devoted to Huitzilopochtli and Tlaloc, measuring approximately 100 by 80 m (328 by 262 ft) at its base, dominated the Sacred Precinct. Construction of the first temple began sometime after 1325, and it was rebuilt six times. The temple was destroyed by the Spanish in 1521, and the Mexico City cathedral was built in its place.

The Zócalo, or main plaza of Mexico City today, was developed to the southwest of Templo Mayor, which is located in the block between Seminario and Justo Sierra streets. The site is part of the Historic Center of Mexico City, which was added to the UNESCO World Heritage List in 1987. It received 801,942 visitors in 2017.

The aerial view of the temple's ruins from one of the many rooftop restaurant patios in the area.

What a wonderful way to seal this amazing trip!

Great view, with even greater friends.

Tuna tacos and a plantain dish with traditional Mexican Mole.

FROM WIKIPEDIA: Mole, from Nahuatl mōlli, meaning "sauce", is a traditional sauce and marinade originally used in Mexican cuisine. In contemporary Mexico the term is used for a number of sauces, some quite dissimilar, including mole amarillo or amarillito (yellow mole), mole chichilo, mole colorado or coloradito (reddish mole), mole manchamantel or manchamanteles (tablecloth stainer), mole negro (black mole), mole rojo (red mole), mole verde (green mole), mole poblano, mole almendrado (mole with almond), mole michoacano, mole prieto, mole ranchero, mole tamaulipeco, mole xiqueno, mole pipián (mole with squash seed), mole rosa (pink mole), mole blanco (white mole), chimole, guacamole (mole with avocado) and huaxmole (mole with huaje).

Generally, a mole sauce contains fruits, nuts, chili peppers, and spices like black pepper, cinnamon, or cumin.

I could not leave without a Marguerita, of course. Cheers!

FROM WIKIPEDIA: The margarita is a cocktail made up of tequila , triple sec, and lime or lemon juice . It is often served with salt on the rim of the glass. The drink is served by shaking the ice (con hielo), mixed with ice (frozen margarita), or without ice (straight up). Although it has become acceptable to serve a margarita in a wide variety of glass containers, ranging from cocktail and wine glasses to large schooners as well, the drink is traditionally served in the eponymous margarita glass, a stepped-diameter variant of a cocktail glass or glass of champagne, somewhat resembling an inverted hat.

Just happy.

Mexico City, my dear.
You have been wonderful to me! Thank you!
I learned so much about you and I will always remember your beautiful streets, your friendly people, your warmth and your hospitality. 

I hope to see you again soon.