Travel With Betsy

Double Decker Discoveries…..

….in Mexico City…..

While the  private guide is the best way to understand the local’s perspective of a specific part of a city, the best way to get a broad overview of the whole city and to cover a lot of ground is to take the double-decker bus. Every large city that I have ever visited has one. Mexico City was no different. Passengers get on the bus at a central location, take a loop around the city and get off at any one or more of the many city sites on the route of the bus. Our exploration on the first day revealed that we could get a ticket for the day for $8. We would drive through the neighborhoods with a recorded commentary…..and……we could get off at the Anthropology Museum, which was our museum of choice for this trip.

Sold!

We climbed on board and started out through the Zocalo district and headed out towards the Chapultepec neighborhood that houses the Anthropology Museum. On our way, we rode through many of the neighborhoods……

…..to include the Polanco, which is famous for its high end shopping, hotels and restaurants.

Two hours later……really bad traffic……we reached our destination at the Anthropology Museum. The area where the museum is located was fashioned after Central Park in New York City. On one side of the street was a man-made lake where people were pedaling small boats.

On the other side of the street was another park area with vendors selling snacks and trinkets.

It was quite reminiscent of my stroll through Central Park on my trip to New York City this past summer.

At the museum, we learned all about the ancient cultures of Mexico. As is the case when we visited Peru, I was amazed that these ancient cultures were able to produce such detailed and intricate artwork without any real tools.  They were highly skilled in mathematics and logistics.

Check out the little faces in these flowers…….

It was incredible!

In addition to the art, we also found some displays of the old cities and some of the pyramids near Mexico City.

On a previous day, we had visited Teotihuacan….

….one of the old cities housing some of the pyramids of the old cultures. It was interesting to get the tutorial here at the museum.  At the museum we learned about the old cities and at Teotihuacan we were able to see…..up close and personal…..examples of the handiwork of the ancient Mexican cultures. The stars here were the architecture and the well-preserved murals.

Unlike what we found in Peru, the stones that made up the city walls were connected together with mortar studded with smaller stones.

The city is anchored on one end by the pyramid of the moon and on the other end by the pyramid of the sun. Both pyramids house the remains of early rulers of Teotihuacan. 242 stairs ascend one side of the pyramid of the sun, which is the one our tour guide encouraged us to climb.

Why not?!

The stairs were straight up and had a very uneven rise making it very difficult to find a balance.

It felt like we were scaling a wall. We lifted our knees high in order to make the rise and huffed and puffed our way to the top. Then, we came back down via our butts taking a slide on the steps.

Really challenging!

My tall travel buddy had a particularly difficult time on the way down. She’s much further from the ground than I am which added to the challenge. But, it was well worth it!

Our experience on the double-decker bus and at the museum were worth it, too!  It was a great couple of days!

This was the end of our tour of the delights of Mexico City as described by private guides, seen from double-decker buses and experienced through simple observation.

I loved every minute of it!

I will be back!

To Guide or Not to Guide……..

…….that is the question…….

In years past when traveling to new places, I never hired a guide to give me a tour of anything. I did my research, took along tour books and saw what I could. I still do that.  But, ever since my trip to Costa Rica a few years ago when I hired someone to walk me through Manuel Antonio Park, I have changed my leanings on this for some types of exploration. In Manuel Antonio, the guide pointed out animals that blended into the flora of the forest that I would never have seen had he not pointed them out. I find it the same with a walking tour when the walk is the main event.   Last week in the Cardesa and Roma sections of Mexico City, had we not opted to hire a private guide, we would have missed some of the interesting, more obscure things in these areas as well as their stories, which is the point of the exercise.

A private guide, you say?!

Isn’t that expensive?!

Well……it depends on your perspective. We had a full 9 hour walking tour that included transportation to and from our hotel, a multi-course lunch in a French deli……with a bottle of wine……,

……..a coffee at the “witches coffee shop…..here are the pictures of the witches……..,

and a special Mexican chocolate treat in the mid-afternoon just as we were needing a boost.   But, the best value of the tour was in the expertise and knowledge of our trained local tour guide, Roberto, who walked us through the neighborhood where he lives and the one adjacent to visit and view some of the places that are on his personal “hit parade”.

What is that worth? Let’s see………

As we walked along, we got a lesson on the history of Mexico City and how these neighborhoods were developed. Mexico City has 22 million inhabitants in a 60 square mile area. It is the third largest mass of people per square foot in the world. The city sits on a maze of canals that were filled in years ago, so the foundation of the city has some weaknesses. Some of the buildings are sinking.

The neighborhoods were developed and designed by European immigrants who came to Mexico City and incorporated elements of their own culture into the areas where they settled.

For example, the Roma neighborhood was an area where many wealthy French immigrants settled. Much of the architecture there reflects the Gothic style that is typical of the older sections of France. You can see this reflected in this old home.

Inside the house was a mixture of the Gothic, Baroque and Art Deco styles of design.

Across the street was another house that looked very similar. And, across the street from both of them was the church that anchored the neighborhood, built by the people who lived in these homes.

Next to the church was a small museum that most people miss that tells the story of Father Miguel Pro who was executed by the Mexican government in the early 1900s for going against the government’s ban on religion. The Mexican government thought that the church was getting a little too full of itself. Imagine that!

It’s all about control…..isn’t everything?

So, Father Pro went underground to perform church services, weddings, funerals and other religious rites. When his antics were discovered by the government, he was made an example and killed at gunpoint, execution style…..with his arms outstretched….a martyr. He is in line now to become a saint.

I can support that.   No one is asking me. But, if they do, he has my vote!

Our guide took us to several of his favorite art galleries, which are abundant in the Roma area. And, we visited the home of Ramon Lopez Valarde, a famous Mexican poet……deceased of course.

In the home, we walked through the closet in his bedroom…

yes, the closet….

….to a very secretive avant-garde museum that reflects his lifetime struggle with his own internal opposing thoughts. For example, he wanted to be a priest, but liked the ladies too much….had syphilis in fact when he died, which put him out of the running for priesthood. The whole museum was set up to reflect these dichotomies. It was highly unusual, but very interesting…..and off the beaten path.

In the Cardesa neighborhood we found a more residential feel with groupings of restaurants and shops at different intervals in between the houses and apartments.  This area was developed by a group of Jewish immigrants. Again, there was a mix of architectural styles reflected in the houses and shops that lined the streets.

It was also here that we saw some of the sad devastation from the recent earthquake.

Although the Cardesa section seemed more residential, both of these neighborhoods had lots of green spaces for the enjoyment of the residents.

They were delightful.

Now……back to the question on the value of the private guide.

We saw things that were obvious. But, we also saw many things we would have not found on our own. Without the guide we would have been looking at the sections and the buildings. But, we really wouldn’t have learned too much. And, we wouldn’t have gotten the personal insights into Mexico City and the neighborhoods that we gleaned from talking to Roberto.

And, honestly, in places like Mexico, a private guide doesn’t cost as much as you think it might. We were happily surprised when we tallied up our bill at the end of the day.

So, what’s a private guide worth, you ask?

I say….. it’s “priceless”…….

…by Mexico City….

I’m not sure what I was expecting from Mexico City when I agreed to meet my travel buddy, Jody, there for a few days before we headed out to San Miguel de Allende for a “girls” weekend with some former work buddies. Lately, I had read that Mexico City is an up and coming travel destination boasting excellent food, amazing accommodations, incredible art and interesting architecture. But, I had no idea that I would find so much there in my four days of exploration. I left there feeling totally blown away……..and totally wanting more.

Mexico City is divided into neighborhoods much like those that I found in Buenos Aires when I visited a few years back. We visited……or at least passed through……most of the neighborhoods that tourists frequent and found each one to be interesting in its own way with its own unique characteristic.

Our first exploration was in the area around our hotel in the “Zocalo” neighborhood, which is the heart of the city. Our hotel was directly across from a grand cathedral planted in the middle of a large square.

The hotel has a rooftop restaurant where we had breakfast every day, evening drinks and a few light dinners.

From this vantage point, we had a great view of the “action” around the cathedral as well as other interesting points in the square. Much to our surprise, this included an ice skating rink, of all things, at one end, which we decided was probably a leftover from Christmas.

We wandered through the square on our first day, which happened to be Sunday, and found a group of people who had come by to be “purified” in a traditional ceremony.

The “purification” ceremony was, of course, of interest to us, as we thought that we may also need to be “purified”.

One can never be too sure. After some close observation, though, we decided that we were “pure” enough and, so, didn’t participate. But, Jody did come across someone who we both thought would make a fine next husband for one of us….very cute…well built with a very tight butt….and, as a bonus, very creative attire.

We left the ceremony and did some more wandering through the Zocalo section and discovered a lovely park…..

……..lots of street vendors and a multitude of art museums.

One of the museums had a classical music concert being projected on a screen outside. There were lots of local people sitting in rows listening to the music. What a lovely way to spend a Sunday afternoon.

Jody and I are both veteran travelers, so this next point of interest will be hard to believe. Neither of us anticipated that we might have cool weather. Jody was a little more prepared than I was, with a light sweater, thin scarf and some closed toed shoes.

But, not me!

I came with the clothes I would wear at home at this time of the year….light tops, summer weight pants and summery shoes. I did have a sweater. But, as Jody pointed out, its weave had large holes, which wouldn’t provide much warmth with morning and evening temperatures anywhere from 35-55 degrees. So, we spent a fair amount of time on the first day on the shop-lined pedestrian street behind the hotel shopping for an outfit of warm clothes for me. I bought a sweater jacket, long sleeved shirt and a scarf that I used mostly as a blanket. With my funny brown packable hat, I looked like a true local.

I wore this getup every day…..same shirt, different day as they say. I am still wearing the outfit on my travel back home.

You are lucky to be reading this from another location! I desperately need a change!

In our Zocalo neighborhood we also found the first in a 10 day line-up of very inexpensive, but excellent food experiences. Our best deal on food, was at a pizza restaurant on one of the side streets from our hotel. We had 2 bottles of water, 2 Heinekens and 2 personal sized pizzas for about $10. And, it was good!

It was also here that we learned the Spanish word for bottle…..botella….for those of you who don’t know. The waiter had no English and I almost ended up with a “draft” beer, which would be just fine in the United States. But, I wasn’t sure about Mexico. I am a careful drinker in places where the water is suspect. Is there water in “draft” beer? No idea….and no reason to tempt fate. But, we had a good evening snack and a lot of fun trying to communicate with the wait staff.

So, we decided after our first day, that we were going to like this city. And, I decided that my maneuver through the complications of getting out of my small town for this adventure would be worth the effort if the other days were as good as this one!

I was hopeful………

….and blown away by my first day in Mexico City……