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.

Team Mexico Reunion

Labor Day weekend we had visitors from all across Mexico with a mini-reunion with the girls from Autumn's training in DC. Our first stop of the weekend was the Centro Historico.

The National Pawn Shop all decorated for the 200 Anniversary of Mexican Independence.

National Cathedral

Latin American Tower...the second tallest in Mexico City

Views from the top

I can see our house!

It just keeps going and going and going....

Ok, I guess it does finally end when you get to the mountains!

Enjoying the view.


Please note that this warning is only in English. I guess it just goes without saying that no Mexican would be dumb enough to use this coin binocular to stare directly at the sun!

Our next stop of the day was San Angel for the Saturday arts and crafts bazaar. We thought that it would be a "unique cultural experience" to ride the subway down there....and it was! So, the Metro here is generally considered safe, but they have a big problem with GROPING! It's so prevalent that at peak times there are separate cars available for women and children to avoid the grope-ready hands of the general population. Well, this wasn't a "peak time", so those cars weren't available, and it was massively packed. Autumn and one of our friends BOTH got butt-groped, and after hearing about the tragic event...everyone else was a little like, "Well, what's wrong with me? Aren't I attractive enough to be groped?" Grope-worthiness aside, I don't think anyone will be suffering any long-lasting psychological trauma from the experience, and we all lived to ride the Metro another day!

After browsing the goods in the market and grabbing lunch, we headed over to Frida Kahlo and Diego Rivera's house.

Diego lived in the white house and Frida in the blue...but at least she had a little bridge to go to and fro.

Guess who was excited to see a cactus fence?

Diego's studio.

Final stop of the day!

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...!