Day of the Dead Festivites

So last night our good friends E & E flew in from Seattle for a vacation here in Mexico City during Day of the Dead.  We got up bright and early this morning and made our way to San Angel and Coyoacan in the south to do a little shopping and enjoy the ambiance leading up to Mexico's big day on Wednesday.

Here we are in disguise as catrinas!  (Catrina is the word for the ubiquitous Day of the Dead skeleton.)  Bet you didn't even know it was us! 

Catrinas chillin' in the park in San Angel.

Here is an ofrenda on the street.  People build these in honor of loved ones who have passed away.  They are usually decorated with marigolds to attract the souls of the dead (thanks Wikipedia!), sugar skulls and the deceased's favorite foods and drinks.

Photogenic catrina.

In Coyoacan we found a whole tent full of Day of the Dead stuff.  Here is another ofrenda.

And here we have catrinas playing marbles.

We saw this giant catrina in the park, but you had to pay to get your picture taken with it, so we just admired from afar.

Coyoacan means wolf.  Neat.

And we ended the afternoon enjoying some Mezcal.  To me it tasted like someone put a BBQ in a cup, but others enjoyed it.

Coyocan and San Angel

This morning we took the metro out to Coyoacan with some friends. We browsed the arts and crafts markets looking for gifts for people back home, and Autumn even haggled. Next stop was the world's slowest coffee shop with the bonus feature of having the world's ricketiest stairs! I know I shouldn't expect instant service, but REALLY?!? an hour and a half for four coffees and a crepe? I mean REALLY!?! Oh well, we made up for it with some delicious tacos al pastor downstairs and all was right in the world again.

The main plaza in Coyoacan.

An old church (the first of many).

Entrance to the arts and crafts market.

Tree of Life sculpture in the Museum of Popular Arts.

Mmmmm! Meat!

Afterward, we headed up to the Frida Kahlo Museum which was converted from a bright blue house that she shared with Diego Rivera. The art and her house were great, but the interior courtyard was amazing! There were tons of Pre-Colombian statues and it was landscaped beautifully. By the time we were through, we had worked up our appetites and stopped by a cafe for churros and hot chocolate, a specialty of the Coyoacan neighborhood.

Happy and full of tacos!

Hola?
Oh hi, I'm just talkin' on the phone and drinkin a beer!
I am king of the Aztecs!

Courtyard in Frida's "Blue House"

I'm having a pyramid in my next yard too!

Heeding our guidebook's advice, we strolled down "Mexico City's most beautiful avenue." I don't know if it quite deserved that award, but there were some pretty amazing mansions and churches from the 16th century along the way.

Another old church...

NINJA - ANGEL!!!

Ode to doors...

Monument to Obregon.

The second biggest flag I've seen...

That took us to San Angel, another neighborhood know for arts and crafts markets. Parts of it were very hectic and crazy and the rest was all old and colonial. We went into a fabric store to pick up a needle and thread which involved giving the stuff to a guy at one counter in order to get a ticket with the prices on it, then heading over to the cashier to pay, then picking up the stuff from a third counter. It seemed a bit overly complicated for a transaction that amount to about $1.50! Purchases in hand, we trekked forward and finally got to the main square with the market. But by then we were all pretty worn out, and decided to take a cab back home.

San Angel...I'd hate to see it when it's "busy"...

Guess what....

...another old church!

On the way home, Autumn and I stopped for pizza and beers in a great little sidewalk cafe around the corner from our house to relax and unwind.

Ahhh...!