Today we had our first breakfast at Hotel Catedral at 9 AM. Evan and I arrived around 9:15...
I don't think I want to eat breakfast today...I am sitting at the table in la atria (it looks like a conference room)... the breakfast looks super cheesy so I can't eat it anyway... I decided to eat bread and strawberry jelly... it tasted great. Orange juice full of pulp to drink...
I think Montezuma has visited me this morning... Wonderful... The three sick people are feeling better today..and it is a good thing too because the schedule for today looks pretty hectic...
11:30-12:00-- Casa de la Imprenta (printing house) -- Posada's workshop & Tamayo mural --Academia de San Carlos
12:00-1:00 -- José Luis Cuevas
1:15-2:15 -- lunch by the cathedral
2:15- 4:00 -- Interior
Not much time to journal or anything today.... and I basically only took pictures of the National Palace where Diego Rivera's murals are located. The largest mural told the history of Mexico.
The "Prequel"
The "Main Story"
The "Epilogue"
The prequel was on the left side with the Aztecs and other indigenous groups were depicted. In the middle was the main story of the history of Mexico... and then on the right side was the epilogue.
**Notes from board**
Represents the institutionalization of the Mexican muralist movement
Ideological premise here is that Mexican revolutionary history arises out of the conquest
Synthesis of Mexican nationalist politics and post colonial cultural renaissance and concept of mestizo--not one or the other but often a conflicting combination of the two
I woke up a bit before 7:15, and did everything I had to do. We were all ready for breakfast at 8:30 AM, according to plan. We had tortillas, eggs mixed with tomatoes and onions, flan, and naranjada (orange juice). It was really good as usual.
Many people had fallen ill... Montezuma's Revenge was in total effect. Sarah was the sickest of all, then Jacob, and most recently (as in ... this morning) Christina. Montezuma was taking his revenge on us, one by one it seemed like... Ashley and I got really paranoid and so we asked Dr. Burmeister for some Pepto Bismol tablets, just to be on the safe side...
Although we had planned to load the van up and leave by 9:30... we actually left Hostal Cuija Coyoacan at 11:30 AM... we had a whole two hours of waiting!! Loco... There was something wrong with the credit card, when Mr. Brown went to pay for our stay... I thought it was because he didn't notify his bank before making such a big purchase... but really the problem stemmed from a power outtage in Coyoacan. The banks had no power, and so the credit card machine was not functioning. Finally at 11:30 it was all squared away... and we could finally be on our way!
Packing the van:
15 passenger van
including everything that everyone owns
three seats were taking just for luggage; not including our carry-on bags...
Mrs. Brown and Marcela were in the front with the driver
The big suitcases were in the second row
The sick ones: Sarah, Jacob and Christina were in the third row
Terresa, Stephanie, and Dr. Burmeister were in the fourth row
Erin, Ashley, Evan, and I were sitting in the back row
and Mr. Brown had to stand by the van door because the luggage was taking up too much room and there was no where for him to sit.
It was approximately 12:30 PM when we reached Hotel Catedral. Evan and I are roomies on the seventh floor. Since everyone was crowding the elevator... three of us, Evan, Ashley, and myself, decided to climb the stairs with our small bags. We climbed up two pyramids...what's six or seven flights of stairs?! :D When we got to the sixth floor, everyone was there already and were unloading their luggage off of the cart. Evan and I grabbed our bags and carried them up the stairs our selves, instead of waiting for the bell boys to get on the elevator. I was just tired of all the waiting... things get done faster if you just do it yourself.
The hotel was very nice and elegant. There was a huge difference between our rooms here than at Hostal Cuija Coyoacan: no bunkbeds, and more spacious. We had two full-size beds, long opaque curtains, a ceiling fan, private bathroom, carpet, tv, phone, etc. Also, we had direct access to the patio/terrace... whatever you want to call it... that had a beautiful view of the cathedral.
***********
Hotel Majestic Restaurant
We had lunch at Hotel Majestic; even though we heard bad reviews on the rooms, the service, and the food... We were under the impression that we did not have to eat there if we did not want to... we were basically there for the view of the Zocalo...
Zócalo from the Hotel Majestic Restaurant
but looking at the schedule... I didn't really see any other time that I would be able to get something to eat... and so I ordered an Americanized meal of hamburger and fries. Una hamburguesa con papas a la francesa.
The review of the food, which we heard from an older German gentleman who stayed at the Hostal, held true. It was not that great... I could not even finish mine because I didn't like the taste and even though my hamburger wasn't well cooked...it was very dry... just bad. I felt like I wasted 120 pesos... which is a little less than 12 American dollars.
****
The poor sick ones were in bed the whole time, they missed out on the entire day. We had many things planned for the day, but most of us didn't feel right doing them without the rest of the group. Touching moment.
At 4:45 PM we got on a double decker tour bus and went all around Mexico City taking in the sites. I think that was the best part of the day... The tour finished at 8:30 pm. We took a lot of pictures.
At 9:00 pm: we power walked to the Pastelería which was closing in the next thirty minutes. Evan bought me three pastries; I was running out of pesos...
After the Frida Kahlo Museum, we went to La Cantina to eat. I ordered tacos de arrechera sin queso (the tender steak that I've mentioned in a previous blog post) and a Sprite. The meal cost me 107 pesos. We ate outside on the patio, but it felt more like a greenhouse... not very pleasant. Luckily the ice was clean, so we were able to have cold beverages.
My steak tacos
Evan and Christina burning in the sun...
From there we walked through a local market, where I bought a toy drum for 100 pesos, and gave someone 5 pesos for a tip as he performed.
That night, would be the last night we would stay at the Hostal Cuija Coyoacan... :( *ultimate sad face* It took so long for us to become comfortable there. We actually started having conversations and watching televisino with Maria, a 77-year-old woman who worked there. One day, we had Spanish class with her. We counted up to twenty and then had a question and answer session. It was a lot of fun.
Anyways, so the last night was spent watching an international dance competition with Maria. We were watching it for a good two hours...and then Maria left to begin preparations for breakfast the next day. In the meantime, the Browns and Marcela brought out some healthy snacks: graham crackers and cheese, mango and capulines (capulines are small fruits, I think similar to cherries...but not quite sure) and mamey (which is a sweet, red fruit). It was good.
Mangoes and Capulines
Mmmm, Mamey
We had reflection and recollection and another dance off between Jacob and Sarah. I had created two cards for the people who took care of us at the hostal, one card for Monica and one card for Maria. I created the cards using watercolor paper from my own watercolor journal, not the one that Mr. Brown had given me. The images are of geckos because geckos or las cuijas seem to be the mascot of this establishment. I passed the cards around for everyone to sign, and then left them in the kitchen for Maria and Monica to see when it was time for Monday's breakfast.
My cards for Monica and Maria. ^-^'
After that, everyone headed off to begin packing because we would be moving into the heart of Mexico City on Monday.
Traffic lights, stop signs, yield signs are basically suggestions unlike in America where these road rules are strictly enforced. It seems like the white lines on the roads don't really matter at all... people make up their own lanes... but then again, this is a different country and so many different road rules and etiquette apply.
No turning signals (usually); people drive assertively and don't hesitate to merge onto the highway, or to change lanes, no matter how crowded the street. Also loud horns are a must, and you really have to get over the whole American concept of keeping one-car-length of space in between your car and the one ahead. The cars literally get 1 inch away from the car in front of them.
Apparently, there is no policy against public displays of affection. Here in Mexico City, we saw various degrees of PDA, from a quick kiss on the cheek all the way to "clothes-on sex" on a park bench. It was crazy. But interesting to keep count of. We got up to 100 in our tally! ^-^
Being able to visit Frida Kahlo's house was the spiritually uplifting moment of my trip. I love Frida so much!
We were only allowed to take pictures of the courtyard, photographs inside of her house was off limits. Frida lived in that house from 1907 until 1954. It is a fairly large estate and very colorful and vibrant. Blue, red, yellow, and green can be found all over the premises; I love bright colors :D. I enjoyed walking inside and seeing her work and photographs... also there were rooms that contained the actual furniture and equipment she used.
I saw her kitchen, where her name and Diego's name were spelled out using miniature houses and figures attached to the wall.
Her studio was upstairs. There were book shelves that lined the walls, completely filled. And on the other side was her artist table, palette, easel, wheel chair, etc etc. As stated earlier... it was in that room that I could actually feel her presence; I experienced a tingling sensation in my hands and that's when I knew she was there. In the next room, I was only a few inches away from her day bed, where she spent most of her time. This was the bed where a mirror was installed on the canopy of the bed. Next to it, in the corner, were her crutches and her prosthetic right leg! My eyes filled with happy tears when I saw this.
Moving along, I entered Frida's bedroom. This bed was slightly different than the day bed, instead of a mirror on the canopy; there was an image of butterflies! At that moment, I was absolutely sure that Frida Kahlo and I were connected!!!!
This year, there was a new photograph exhibit opened at the museum. I definitely made time to see that. Afterwards, I visited the gift shop and spent 680 pesos on Frida Kahlo souvenirs! I bought some framed photographs of her, a nice wall piece that resembles the Blue House, two unrelated Hispanic childrens' books, and a few other things. What a great day!
The "Main Story"
The "Epilogue"
