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| Our balcony |
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| The Zocalo |
First full day in Mexico City did not disappoint. We slept in a bit after our lack of sleep yesterday and decided to run down to the largest park in the city that’s about a mile from our Airbnb. Getting there was choppy running; to be expected in this big a city, but it was great to take in the sites of the neighborhood. It was also a bit of a challenge to actually get into the park. I thought there was a gate right at the end of our street, but it wasn’t open, so we had to run along the fence line for a while. When we got to the next entrance, that one was also locked. Every Monday, the park is closed for cleaning. Good, I suppose, although a lot of hacking streets to come up empty-handed. We settled for running along a boulevard path for a while which was nice enough. Lots of huge trees lined the sidewalk. Still lots of stopping at any big road crossing, but it was my first day back running after Grandma’s so it was mainly just getting out for the heck of it.
We stopped at the local market to get some fruit at the end of the run and eventually chased down a bakery with outstanding pastries. Ate them as a breakfast/lunch on our patio. Excellent food.
Today, the main goal was just walking around. It was a little over 3 miles to the Zocalo, so we decided to walk it, checking out a couple of the bigger monuments in the city along the way. Avenue de Reforma is one of the main drags in the city. Lots of activity, although there kind of is everywhere we go. The Angel of Independence straddles the avenue, looking a lot like the big monument in downtown Indianapolis.
Monument to the Revolution was a couple blocks off the avenue, but was just as grand or more. It’s a massive stone structure on a huge plaza. You could go up in it too, but it was $7, which seemed a bit pricy for a view that would be dwarfed by the office buildings in the area, so we settled for just relaxing on the plaza a little bit.
Next up was the Alemada Central which is the historic park of the city center. We strolled through that and onto a pedestrian only street which had tons of people moving on it. Very similar to any of the old medieval centers of European cities. This brought us to the Zocalo and Cathedral. It has to be a weird relationship that many Mexicans have with the Cathedral and Catholic Church. Many Mexicans are catholic, I think, but the cathedral is such a reminder of the brutal colonial history that came to the city with the Spanish arriving.
We did walk through the Cathedral (in no small part because Kate was looking for a bathroom) and while it was grand, I’ve seen enough Cathedrals that I guess I’m just not as awe inspired as I once was.
From the Zocalo, we started making our way to the huge artisan crafts market. We hit upon a street that nearly every vendor was selling different kinds of light fixtures. Lots of stimulus for the eyes. Then it transitioned to other electrical items (plug-ins, wires, etc). From there, plumping, faucets, etc, flooring, you name it. It was like a massive Home Depot in the city center, split up by independent vendors. Pretty cool to take it.
We needed a break from walking so we found a cafe on the edge of a park and ordered a couple coffees and a dish of huevos rancheros. I got Cold Brew + Orange juice (combined) which was an awesome combination. Kate had an iced latte, which was also great.
The Artisan market was amazing. It was unclear if they actually made all of the crafts, or it some are simply shipped in from China, but the variety and level of detail on so many of the items was amazing. We want to get some new low-ball glasses, but aren’t checking luggage on the way home, so we’d either had to cram the suitcase or ship them. Still haven’t rule out buying them, but we’ll wait and see. Kate did but a couple cool mobiles for friends that have babies on the way. One with hummingbirds and another with turtles.
It was looking like rain as we left, but it hadn’t rained yet so we decided to try out the Metro on the way back (we were done walking for the day, so it was either Metro or Uber). The Metro is roughly a quarter to ride and easy to navigate. We got off at our stop though and were greeted with a downpour. We were roughly a mile from our place and there was a bus transfer we could make, but after waiting our the rain for a while under a shelter, it was unclear where the bus stop was (or if there was a bus stop). We saw a bus pass, but hesitated because we didn’t know if it was the right one. Later research indicated it probably was and there is no stop, you just have to flag them down. At the time of uncertainty though, we decided just to Uber the rest of the way home. Much more expensive than the Metro, but still not a big deal at $5 or so.
Grabbed some beer at a brewery in the neighborhood: Morenos, which was also good. Then dinner at a Oaxaca restuaurant: Pasillo de Humo, right down the block from our place. It was good, but not great.
All in all a great first full day in Mexico City. Ready for a couple tours tomorrow.
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