Mexico City, Day 2

The second day started off fabulously. I gracefully slipped on the subway staircase, bringing down two or three Mexicans with me. I guess I was lucky that I was commuting during the morning rush hour. Otherwise I would have come away not only with big bruises on my arms, but also with broken legs. As I realized later, my landing was softened by my small backpack, my camera to be specific. It was only my viewfinder that got broken, but still upsetting. Digital SLR camera turned into a film camera. Even taking pictures became adventurous. I will wait until I come back to New York to find out how much the flight over 10 stairs will cost me.

Today I toured the historical center of Mexico City - I strolled around Zocalo, took pictures of Palacio Nacional, Plaza de La Constitucion, and Catedral y Sagrario Metropolitano. I carefully took in the city life of El Centro, which is as I read the up and coming area of the city. I tried hard to see the signs of up-and-coming neighborhood, but I did not. I definitely was there too early in the morning. I talked to two policemen who were disappointed in my knowledge of Spanish (join the club, guys!) and similarly unsuccessfully discussed my plans for the day with a representative of a tourist agency. In other words, I behaved as a good tourist.






In order to enjoy the beauty of Casa de Los Azlejos (The Blue House) I went for a second breakfast at Sanborns, a local chain of café/stores. On Madero street, Sanborns occupies a gorgeous colonial house with blue-tiled façade built in 1596. I did not mind the horrible coffee (to my surprise) since I enjoyed the patio and evolving city life in front of me.



Around the block I found Palacio de Correos (Post Office Palace), which looked even better in life than on pictures. I though this French beauty would be flocked by tourists, but it was not busy at all.




I concluded my tour of the historical Mexico City by walking through Palacio de Bellas Artes (Fine Arts Palace) and Paseo de La Reforma where I enjoyed tremendously a freshly squeezed orange juice for M$5 (50 cents).

After the required sightseeing I was off to less popular destinations. [On that note I have to say that I completely disagree with the suggested tours of the official tourist map. The best streets in Condesa are not even suggested!]

My second stop was in Roma Nord as I was going to a particular ceramic store in hopes to buy a mirrored ball like the one in Luis Barragan house. No suerte – no luck! But on my way there I talked for 15 minutes in Spanish to a street shoe cleaner and smelled delicious street food just around the corner from the store. With that in mind I marched to Roma Sur, to that particular street taco stand to try the best campechanos according to Manu from La Bodega, my yesterday's mescals bar. Campechanos are tacos with chorizo (spicy pork sausage) and beef. I found the ladies; I asked for two tacos (1 USD each) swallowed within 2 minutes and intrigued by mole in front of me ordered a chicken enchilada with mole (50 cents). I have to admit that it was delicious and different from I have been served in the US.



I was already off the tourist map, so finding a subway stop required some effort. I was asking around. I have to admit that I understood only the first two words and the direction, to which the hand of the speaker was pointing. Locals were talking fast.

My last stop for the day was UNAM (Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México) to witness the main library designed by Juan O’Gorman – in my mind one of the most famous buildings in Mexico City. UNAM is the largest university in Latin America and no wonder I got lost there twice. Finally, the windowless building was located. To be honest, I was slightly disappointed. On way to it, I saw a number of really cool but not famous buildings. I was more impressed by the “love in the air” of UNAM, students were laying around on the grass, making out in front of thousands of other love birds. After all, it was the first week of spring.