Sunday Afternoon Markets in Coyoacán...

After leaving La Casa Azul we headed straight for the famous market at Coyoacán. Coyoacán is most famous for its beautiful town square and Sunday market. The western Jardín del Centenario is surrounded by attractive cafes and centers on a fountain with a coyote sculpture, the symbol of Coyoacán. It’s a popular gathering place for families.

The market was great, selling all kinds of delights. The hand made marzipan looked like little sculptures and much to precious to eat.

But what we were really interested in was looking at some local art - and we weren't disappointed!

We all were entranced with the work of a local etcher. His beautiful aquatints were light and romantic and very reasonable.

So after a few inevitable purchases we were ready for lunch. Susan had some recommendations on where exactly we should eat - grasshopper was going to be on today's menu.

We walked through the centre of town, passing by the beautiful Catholic Church on our way to the restaurant.

Los Danzantes is an award winning restaurant, (it has been reviewed many times as the best restaurant in the city) and it was jam packed with people. We were lucky to get a table upstairs for lunch without a reservation. The building was beautiful and the artwork and colors inside were also striking.

Los Danzantes, (also known as Los Nahuales) is also a mezcal distillery in Oaxaca. Here they produce  a famous line of single village mescals, Alipús, which didn’t yet distribute to the US. Yes, you guessed right - I had to sample the best Margarita they had on offer, this one made with the special mezcal.

Mum and I went with the waiters advice and ordered the speciality of the house - green chill stuffed with pork, drizzled in a cold nut sauce called noganda with crispy pieces of pomegranate. This is a dish I would not normally consider ordering, but I am so glad I did. It was truly divine.

Susan ordered a vegetarian dish with grasshopper. We were unsure how exactly the grasshoppers would be presented - but as with all the dishes at this restaurant everything on the plate looked delicious. The grasshoppers are the crispy red shavings on the right side of the plate. They were enjoyable when used as a garnish - although extremely salty.

Most of the expensive, high end restaurants highlight Oaxacan specialties from grasshoppers to fresh salsa to mezcal, but what makes Los Danzantes different is that they’ve caught on to using a conscious and strict commitment to supporting local farmers and mezcal producers. I loved the wall filled with old mescal bottles and covered with painted glass.

We made the journey back to our hotel with enough time for a half hour siesta before we went to the dining area for a two hour session of cocktails and appetisers. I couldn't dream of a better way to end the day, overdoing it with margaritas and yummy food. We were all exhausted but elated after having such a great day.

La Casa Azul ....

La Casa Azul or The Blue House, was the place where Frida Kahlo, the most renowned Latin American artist in the world, came into this world, lived, and took her last breath. The building, which dates to 1904, was not a large-scale construction. Today it has an 800 m2 building surrounded by property measuring 1200 m2. Diego and Frida filled it with color, folk art, and pre-Hispanic pieces to show their admiration for the peoples and cultures of Mexico.

The construction underwent two major modifications. When Russian revolutionary Leon Trotsky lived with Diego and Frida in 1937, the property today occupied by the garden was purchased. In 1946 Diego Rivera asked Juan O’Gorman to build Frida’s studio.

The interior of the house has been maintained virtually intact. This was respected by the poet and the couple’s friend, Carlos Pellicer, who designed the museum display for the space after Frida’s death.

It is a truly beautiful house filled with paintings, so many that I had only ever seen previously in books. It was also interesting to see works which were incomplete.

We had the pleasure of wandering in and out of bedrooms, the wonderful studio and amazing kitchen. The kitchen looked like the perfect place to prepare a huge banquet for family and friends.

Even the wonderful gardens contained sculptures and interesting photographic opportunities, see Frida and Diego alias Susan and Gayl below.

This was a truly fabulous way to start the day - Viva La Frida!

"Painting completed my life. ”
- Frida Kahlo

Frida Kahlo Heaven....

We woke on our first day excited and ready for adventure. We headed down to a wonderful breakfast in the hotel restaurant. It was great to discover that the Mexico City Marathon was in progress, immediately out the front of our hotel.

We wandered up the main drag, enjoying the atmosphere of the big race. We were headed for the metro   and train ride to Coyoacan. On our walk we passed some interesting paintings on buildings and great graffiti.

We had a quick detour to look in the Cathedral just across from the Metro. Mass was on and the church was surrounded by markets selling all kinds of religious artifacts you could imagine. It certainly was Catholic heaven.

It was really nice to travel without the kids for a change. I appreciated having the freedom to change plans at a moments notice and enjoy the offerings of the city without any ramifications. After the church detour we found the Metro and purchased a 40c ticket for our travel. The station reminded me a little of town hall, until the train arrived. It was more like rush hour in Tokyo trying to board the train, but as we passed some stops the train emptied out and we were actually able to sit.

We arrived at Coyoacan station and headed for Frida's House. We enjoyed a beautiful Sunday morning walk through the streets and arrived at the Blue House. We were about to enter Frida Kahlo heaven - "Long Live Life!"

Mexico City Here We Come....

Susan, Mum and I headed for Denver International airport full of excitement and ready for a huge ladies adventure in Mexico City.

We walked into the airport at roughly 9.50am with plenty of time to explore the shops before our 11.30am flight to Dallas, Texas. Denver airport has many beautiful artworks on display including an American Indian exhibition which features the following painting. Mum and I were transfixed by the image.

After a smooth flight we arrived in Dallas with a couple of hours up our sleeve before our much anticipated flight to Mexico City. After exchanging some cash we met a lovely man who was very proud of his cowboy boots - he had them custom made in Florence and was very happy to have them photographed.

We sat down to a lovely lunch of beer, white wine, a blue margarita, tacos and burritos.

Back on the plane we were treated to an amazing view of clouds and a distant storm before we landed at around 7.30pm local time.

I really enjoyed the beautiful, brightly colored murals while we endured the very long line though immigration.

Later in the evening, around 8.00pm we finally arrived at our Hotel in Mexico City - look out the ladies have arrived!