Sunday, February 23, 2014

Mexico City: Reforma, Flamenco

Breakfasts at Marty and Ruth are always amazing.  I know this from previously, when I stayed with them in Vancouver.  Today we have wonderful, fresh papaya, mango, and bananas, with some cheese, cold cuts, and bread.

Shortly before noon Marty and got on the metro, and headed towards Reforma, where on the last Sunday of each month no cars are allowed in the afternoon: pedestrians and bikers only, on a 6-lane avenue in the middle of the city.


By 3pm we were exhausted, having walked a good 10kms or so, throughout the city.  We also took an unplanned stop at the Benetton store, where I bought 2 shirts and some pants.  Anyways, we walked around for awhile, looking for an interesting joint to eat lunch at, and we found Fonda San Diego, a restaurant that opened less than a month ago.  For $9 per person we got a soup, appetizer, meal, and coffee.  The food was not Mexican but it was good.



Afterwards we walked around to a few other places.  I enjoyed people-watching, and I also liked the variety of architecture and how it's designed to fit in with the surrounding trees, flowers, flowers, etc...


We stopped at the bookstore at the Bosque de Chapultepec, one of the largest urban-setting parks in the world.  I'm looking for some spanish literature to read during my stay here.  I asked if they had any books written by Oscar Romero, but they didn't.

We enjoyed a nice coffee, overlooking the lake in the middle of the park.  The lake is man-made, and the water is of a strangely (suspiciously) bright green colour, but nevertheless, the breeze going through the open café was refreshing.  I also lit up a Djarum, a gift from my friend Lamont in the Jaw.


Around 6, we got up again, and headed towards the Auditorio Nacional to see a flamenco performance by a local band.  They were good, but surpirisingly, I've seen better in Vancouver.

But judging on the advertisements I saw on the board and in the local newspapers, there are a LOT of things going on in this city.  I guess that's what comes along with a city of 25+/- million people!


Tomorrow: bus trip to Acapulco, and tennis (for the next 3 days!)

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