On the move

Today we packed up and left San Miguel for the other World Heritage City in the district. Before we left, I took a couple of photographs of the view we had from our B&B, Casa Cinco Patios. You can see that the rooftop of the place has been livened up with many colours and a cactus garden.

Casa Cinco Patios extends all the way to the blue wall.

Our bus trip from San Miguel to Guanajuato was quite short, but often the travel was bumpy since the roads are not in the best shape. When we arrived at our latest accommodation, Casa Zuniga, we were very impressed. We are located above the city near the Pipila Mirador, and right next to the Funicular which takes 90 seconds to go up and down. The place is both very convenient and impressive. Since it is far above the city, we hope that is quiet at night, because the city below is certainly lively!

Our large room at Casa Zuniga

The Funicular

We headed down into the city and took it in for a while before we stopped for a Mexican lunch at the Plaza de la Paz. Unfortunately, we were both feeling a little shaky. Montezuma's revenge was upon us (as the title of the blog suggests - we are on the move), so our tour of the city was cut short in the afternoon. We did manage to take a few photos, however, but we have barely scratched the surface of this lovely place. 

Our Lady of Guanajuato Church at the Plaza de la Paz

Inside la Biblioteca

Teatro Juarez at night

Mariachi Band

After a rest, we descended into the city yet again, looking for some friends of my sister, Catherine, who, like us, had just arrived in Guanajuato. Eventually, we found each other and had a lovely visit on the Jardin Reforma. Mariachi bands played and the local people milled about as we sat and chatted over drinks. We have decided to spend tomorrow together touring the city.

Sue and I meet Mary, Jan and Janie.

Walking and Shopping

Here in San Miguel, we picked up a booklet called "Walking and Shopping". That is the perfect title for a day in this town: Sue and I did a great deal of both of these, although our husbands will be relieved to hear we did not buy much.

The day started with a delicious breakfast made by Lucha, our housekeeper at the B&B. We then headed out to the Jardin area (the city centre) to join a walking tour of San Miguel guided by a Canadian ex-pat named Howard. For two and half hours, we were given a history lesson of the town and the country, while we visited such sights as the Parrochia, the Casa Canal, La Biblioteca Publica, and the Iglesia del Oratorio de San Felipe Neri. Sue and I were the junior members of the group - clearly there are very many retirees in San Miguel.

Howard instructs the group

The Clock Tower

Parrochia

Sue considers entering the convent

The Oratorio Courtyard

After the tour, we headed north to Fabrica la Aurora, a former cotton mill which now houses beautiful arts and crafts from local artists. There we enjoyed delicious ceviche for lunch, and browsed extensively. Heading back to the heart of the town, we visited the Artisan's Alleyway where the locals sell Mexican handicrafts; nearby, we visited the fruit, vegetable and flower market (just for you, Marguerite), before wending our way through the shops in town. Very often, a doorway would lead to a courtyard surrounded by several shops. San Miguel is an ideal spot for meandering.

Wheels in Fabrica la Aurora

Ceviche

Artisan's Alleyway

At about four, we decided to stop at an outdoor cafe near the Jardin for a cold drink. We were soon serenaded by two guitarists, one a Canadian with a CBC shirt and the other a Mexican with penchant for Neil Diamond songs. We even sang along. Serendipity.

Singers

Refreshed, we continued walking and shopping until we found the restaurant Chris and Russell had recommended the day before - a Thai place called the Venus Lounge where, unfortunately there was no musica on Wednesday, but we had a delicious dinner anyway.

Finally, our tired legs took us to the bus stop; for five pesos, we were driven home. You will notice that there are more photos today. This place is so beautiful, I had to include a few extras.

San Miguel de Allende

We have come to the end of a long day, which turned out to be even longer than we expected. Sue set her alarm for 5:20, so that we could be packed up and ready to go for our 6:00 a.m. pick up this morning. We managed our 40 minutes well and were down in the lobby with five minutes to spare. That is when we discovered that it was actually only 5:00 a.m., not 6:00, as we thought. Sue's iPhone was still on Toronto time. Undaunted, we went back to bed and tried to rest a little for the next hour until our cab arrived at 5:50. I am in charge of alarms from now on. ;-)

We were so early that we were at the bus station with lots of time to spare. Our first class bus with ETN was very comfortable - our seats reclined, we had a sort of footstool to rest our legs, and we were provided with a drink and a sandwich, as well as a movie to watch. We tried to doze a little during our four hour trip to San Miguel because we wanted to make the most of our time here.

Our room at Casa Cinco Patios

Our B&B here is called Casa Cinco Patios because it has five patios. It is really quite nice and it seems as if we have the place almost entirely to ourselves. To get to the centre of San Miguel, we have to walk about 10 minutes downhill (which is uphill on the return trip, of course), but we like the exercise.

Mexican lunch

Mural and the Instituto Allende

At the tourist information centre in town, we were given a good map and some suggested places to walk on our first day. We chose a local cantina for a mexican lunch and then set out to explore the town on foot. Our route took us to the beautiful Instituto Allende, an international art and language school which also houses the work of several local artisans, and a restaurant.

Chris and Russell

While there, we struck up a conversation with Russell and Chris, an American/Canadian couple who were eager to share their love of this place with us. They bought us Margaritas, and then gave us a tour of some of the places they felt we had to see. Foremost among them was the Rosewood Hotel, a luxury facility with beautiful views over the town. They also showed us Toller Cranston's cluttered studio and several shops. Finally, they invited us to their spectacular rental home where we were wined (but not dined). What generous people! Perhaps we connected with them so well because Chris is a retired teacher/principal from London, Ontario, or because Russell's specialty is picking up women. Whatever the reason, we were very fortunate to happen upon them today.

The view from the Rosewood

Toller Cranston's Studio

Church Tower near Chris and Russell's home

Sunset

To end our day, we headed to the rooftop of Socialitte, an Italian restaurant, for some pasta and a glorious sunset. Thus refuelled, we were able to walk back up the hill for a relatively early bedtime.

Amigos

Sadly, this has been our last day in Mexico City. There is so much to see here and we are loving our B&B so much that we are rather sorry to leave. Still we have made the most of our visit.

For this day, I had arranged for Amigo Tours to pick us up at our B&B at 9:00 for a day trip to Guadalupe and Teotihuacan. When the bus did not arrive at our hotel at exactly 9:00, Ernesto (one of the wonderful staff here) immediately called the company and inquired about what was going on. It seems as if they had forgotten us, but because of that timely phone call, the bus showed up some 20 minutes later and we were off. Our tour group for the day consisted of three Chileans, two Danes, one Frenchman, one German, and four Canadians (including us.) Our guide, Ivan, was a young man who possessed a great deal of knowledge about the sites we visited but lacked the warmth and charm of Hugo.

Tletelolco

First we went to Tlatelolco, known also as the Plaza de les Tres Culturas, an Aztec market place. There we saw evidence of three civilizations. Most notable were a sort of primitive sauna made by the Aztecs, and the Church of Santiago which was constructed by the Spanish conquerors mainly of stones from the Aztec buildings. The area is surrounded by modern apartment buildings which constitute the third culture. On the plaza itself is a commemorative stone to the 1000 Mexican students who were murdered in this spot just before the 1968 Olympics. I never knew such a travesty had occurred!

Old Shrine

Next, we made our way to the shrine of Guadalupe. There are, in fact, two shrines. The first one was built in the 19th century but it had to be abandoned for a period of time when the ground beneath it began to sink. (All of Mexico City is sinking by the way, so this did not come as a surprise to us). The new shrine is a 20th Century structure. At noon on a Monday, it was packed with pilgrims, many of whom had "walked" to the entrance on their knees.

Our third stop was at a tour bus standard "sell to the tourists" place. There, we saw how cactus can be used as paper, as a needle, and as thread. We were given samples of alcohol derived from the agave plant, Pulque and Mescal, and shown handicrafts made of obsidian and precious stones. Here, we also had a buffet lunch. It was either that or nothing.

We learn the wonders of the agave cactus

Finally, we arrived at the highlight of the day, Teotihuacan. It is a wonderful, extensive Aztec City which once housed some 200,000 people. We climbed as far as we were allowed on the Pyramid of the Moon at the south end of the city, and then we climbed all 280 steps to very top of the Pyramid of the Sun where we faced west to salute the gods and receive positive energy. It was an exhilarating experience! At first, I did not think I could make it to the top; either my legs or my vertigo would prevent me, but with Sue's encouragement, I got the the summit with no problems. I am so glad I did!

Standing in front of the Pyramid of the Moon

On top of the Pyramid of the Sun

After, we visited the museum on site, our bus load of amigos made our way back to the city. We said goodbye to our international companions and sat down to a glass of wine with our B&B amigos, Alan, Calvin and Soledad. For dinner, we headed out to Azul with even more amigos, Bev, Erin, Steve, Mary Ann and George, all friends from the West Coast of the US.

Dinner at Azul

Chapultepec Chamaquitas

Monument del Ninos

On this, our third day in Mexico City, we have become very comfortable. We have added subway travel to our other modes of transportation and have found it to be the easiest way of all to get around. A bonus is that it cost each of us a mere three pesos to travel today.

Sue and I go Mayan

Hugo at work

The Castillo which houses the Historical Museum

Sue and I with Aztec clock

Dinner group

Much of our day was spent in the Bosque de Chapultapec, where we reunited with our personal guide, Hugo Garcia, to visit the impressive Anthropological Museum. We are pleased that he was there to explain Mexico's rich ancient cultures to us, his "chamaquitas". Most impressive were the Mayans who were a very advanced civilization, but the Aztecs were notable as well, as were several other groups. Hugo was very well informed, and helped us navigate the Museum in under four hours.

Sue in a headdress

Sue and I had lunch on an outside patio at the Museum after Hugo left us, and afterwards, we meandered through the park until we arrived at the Historical Museum which is housed in a Castillo at the top of a hill. There we saw several rooms with a European flavour, as well as several murals. Among those was a powerful one by Oroszco, whom I first encountered in Guadalajara three years ago. While most of the explanations were in Spanish, Sue and I feel we have a sense of the country and the city's rich history now.

Back at Red Tree House, we visited with the other guests over a glass of wine before heading out in a large group for dinner. This included Alan and Jane from an island outside of Seattle, Steve, Erin and Bev from Portland, and Sue and me. We settled on an Argentine place called Gaucho, which we all agreed served excellent food.

We spent some 6 hours on our feet today, but it was well worth it! 

San Angel, Coyoacan and Condesa

Our second day in Mexico City has been quite busy. We started the day with one last stroll around the Centro Historico, before we sat down to a healthy breakfast at the hotel restaurant. (They actually have an egg white omelet and green juice on the menu, so we went for it!). Our taxi driver arrived early to transport us to our second accommodation, the delightful Red Tree House in the Condesa neighbourhood. Although we arrived at 9:20, much too early, we were given the red carpet treatment: Jorge met us on the street and helped us with our bags, Alex made us a second breakfast, a "taste" he said, of the day's dish (good thing we had the healthy breakfast earlier), and Craig provided us with a map of the area and very good directions to the bus we planned to take to our destination for the day. He also gave us tickets for the Metro to return in the afternoon. While we were exploring the city, the folks at Red Tree House moved our luggage into our room. I think we will like it here.

Art at the Bazar

Moi

Streetscape along San Francisco Sosa, in Coyoacan

Eating healthy

Inside the Blue House

Patio at Red Tree House

We bravely set out on a bus, (sitting in the women's section), which took us to the Avenue La Paz and the Saturday Bazar de Sabado, a wonderful market with lots of local art available. Before leaving Toronto, I had found a walking tour of the Coyoacan area and this was our first stop. We also visited the Templo de San Jacinto, and the Diego Rivera studio across from the San Angel Inn. Eventually, (after I got us lost twice), we made it to a pretty little restaurant for lunch (La Pause) and then to the Jesus Reyes Heroles Cultural Center, the Plaza Hidalgo with the Templo de San Juan Bautisto, and finally to Frida Kahlo's Blue House, now a museum.

We walked a lot today, usually on uneven cobblestoned streets, and that made us tired. Poor Sue developed a blister on her toe and was most uncomfortable in the last part of our journey today, so we decided to change our plans for the return to our B&B. Instead of taking the subway, we managed to get ourselves a cab back to the Condesa neighbourhood, although our driver got hopelessly lost when trying to find the Red Tree House. Eventually, rather than run the meter up any more, we bailed on him and got lost ourselves. Trust me: the Romans did not build the roads in Mexico City. No matter - we eventually found our way back to this lovely place where Eduardo greeted us and showed us to our room. A little later, he walked us to our restaurant of choice, La Lampuga, where we shared a delicious seafood dinner.


We ended our evening with a glass of wine on the patio here at the B&B, where we chatted with Alan,  Calvin and Jeffrey, all fellow Canadians.

Exploring the Centro Historico with Hugo

Hola from Mexico City,

We arrived safely at about 12:45 local time and, very efficiently, we picked up our luggage and made it through customs. Finding a "certified" taxi was a cinch too, so we made it to our hotel shortly after two without being kidnapped.

Sue in our room

Some of you may have noticed that we are staying at two different hotels while in Mexico City. This was not our original plan but we are thrilled that it worked out that way. With only half a day to explore the city today, it is most convenient that we are situated right in the centre of the city - the Centro Historico. Our hotel, (which we got for a bargain price on Hotels.com) is stunning. The room is massive, and we are situated on the fourth floor, where we can get a good view of the ceiling of the foyer. It is made of Tiffany glass, and was originally installed in the late 19th century.

Tiffany Ceiling

Because we wanted to see the Diego Rivera murals in the Palacio National, we headed there first. We asked for an English speaking guide and that's how we found Hugo, a charming Mexican gentleman - 75 years young - who became our companion for the next two and half hours. Not only did he give us a tour of the Palacio National, he also took us to three small museums, the Templo Mayor and the Catedral Metropolitana. Along the way, he shared his extensive knowledge of Mexican history and culture. As we made our way towards the church, Hugo encouraged us to have our spirits cleansed by an aboriginal shaman. That was quite the experience! I captured some of Sue's encounter on film.

Freda Kahlo image in a Diego Rivera mural.

Hugo and his chichiquitas

After we left him, we made our way to the Palacio de Belles Artes, and then back to the hotel along a pedestrian mall that was teeming with people; lots of the 35 million Mexico City residents were out this evening.

We decided to follow Hugo's recommendation and dined at "El Popular", where we bravely ordered two authentic Mexican dishes that were quite tasty: Sue had Costilla Azteca, while I had Enfrijoladas con chirozo.

The facade of the Catedral

Sue and the shaman

Back at the Gran Hotel Cuidad de Mexico, we headed up to the terrace to get a view over the Zocalo at night. Beautiful!

Zocalo at night