The Austin's 2016 Travel Blog: Mexico City and About

                            Blog I - Mexico City - Out and About

                              

Yes, we're finally here…in Mexico City.

It wasn’t until we were seated comfortably in the plane, reading a glossy travel magazine, that it all became clear that Mexico City is having a moment.

All of a sudden, or so it seems, the largest city in the Americas has absolutely captivated international news and taste makers.

And now, the ink is flowing, extolling its historic architecture, booming arts, gastronomy, and cutting-

edge cultural scene.

Even the pope has just made his way to this 2 km. high city.

There is no question that La Ciudad de Mexico is this nation’s undisputed centre of gravity....



....with much of the country's best being drawn to this sprawling metropolis like a river to the sea.

Mexico City's population of over 20 million people makes it the largest metropolitan area in the western hemisphere...

....and the largest Spanish-speaking city in the world.


People here tend to call it D.F. (pronounced: Day F-EEE), a term of endearment stemming from the Spanish letters that stand for Federal District (like Washington, D.C).

Both the oldest capital city in the Americas and one of only two founded by Indigenous peoples, the other being Quito, Ecuador,......

...the Aztecs began building the city they called Tenoctitlan, on a swampy island in one of the 6 lakes that covered this big valley high in the mountains.

The Centre of the Aztec capital: Tenoctitlan 

In less than 200 years, they created their city, with all its temples, and empire...

Called Zocalo today, Tenoctitlan,, is the heart of Mexico City,

and the home of the world's second largest square.

...only to see conquered in 1521 by the Spaniard, Cortez.  In short order, Tenochtitlan was almost completely destroyed, and on its ruins, rose a drained, redesigned and rebuilt Mexico City.

And so, because Mexico City is virtually on a lake bottom, it has been dealing with the problem of sinking up to 20 cm a year. 
In fact, in just the past 100 years, D.F. has sunk about 10 meters. 
Mexicans assure us, and from all the new construction, I take it to be true, that they have it all in hand.

Where we live: Linda and I have rented a place near “Paseo de la Reforma”. It is central, in that in this huge city of 2,000 neighborhoods, we can get almost anywhere either on foot or by Metro.  Should you be curious, you can see our digs at:

https://www.flipkey.com/mexico-city-condo-rentals/p696725/

Don't mind the pictures of the naked women.  We've become house-blind so no longer see them. The price information is irrelevant as well.

The apartment hasn't been lived in for about a year.  Unwittingly but necessarily, we ended up helping the property manager get the place back up to snuff.  It was win-win for sure.

To get around, Linda and I use the following means of transportation in this order: our own two feet, the Metro, and Taxis.

This city has to be one of the cleanest we have ever been in.  Smokers and litterers are few and far between.  The sweeping and cleaning never ends...all done by hand to create employment.  These folk are hard-working people.

The Metro here is very functional, clean, and busy....and the cars are the same vintage and make as those you find in the Montreal subway system.
Why you ask?  Why, they're all made by Bombardier....good Canadian technology.

Over the past while, we've been blessed with some wonderful visitors, including Goyo, an amazing Arts teacher...

.... Jennifer, our daughter, whose currently working in Querétaro, a city three hours North-West of here.  In a short while, we'll be visiting a fascinating city called Puebla together. We will, of course, be visiting her in Querétaro in a month or so too...

....and long-time friends, Jim and Beth Bissell.

We'll have more on their visits later.

Bye for now.

Remember to look for the next blog. The Pope is dropping in.

In the interim, enjoy some pictures of the wonderful sites of this amazing city.

Monument to the Revolution

Chapultepec Park - a 15 minute walk

Chapultepec Park

Catedral Metropolotina

Linda loves this church near Zocalo,

which like many is sinking.

Two of my favourite pics

Linda's favorite outdoor piece in this city of art.

Dog walkers are few and far between. 

Not like Buenos Aires.

Oh, the weather!!!

Yes, that is a helicopter on top of someone's condo.

The hardest workers in this very clean city.

Wait for it!!!

Ain't love grand!!!!

On the left, the most unique bookstore I have ever seen in my life.  On the right, guess who with guess who.

Chinese New Year in D.F.

Reflection from Starbucks

Linda and Jennifer at a market.

Our new favorite contemporary artist:

Jimenez Deredia

By, for now! Get along little donkey.

Mendoza - Land of good sun and good wine

Blog VIII 

It was a glorious morning when we left Buenos Aires that day...

....lifting off from the beautiful Jorge Newbery, airport, right on the River Plata.

The goal?....To leave early and hit the ground running once we made it to...you know....

....M-e-n-d-o-z-a. But were we surprised!

Surprise #1: Sure... earthquakes...but this?

I thought that we might only have to worry about earthquakes...possibly a fire, but....

Rain????

Mendoza sits the eastern side of the Andes, not far from the Chilean border, in what they call a “rain shadow”, a desert where, supposedly only 200 ml. of rain fall annually.

Question: Did we get it all???

Surprise #2: Send in the Ark!

A break in the weather gave us the courage to head out to eat. That was a mistake!! 

The Argentinians eat late and long and by the time supper was over, it was teeming again....and the streets were like rivers.

Standing on the sidewalk and 8 blocks from home, we had to cross the “Rubicon” ... “ford” the street....so to speak.

An oasis....

With its many parks and fountains...

...and all the trees, that tower up on both sides of every street, keeping everyone cool,.....

....Mendoza looks like an oasis city!  
But, is it only a mirage?

In fact, it is all very real...., but there's a b-u-t:

....but only thanks to the Mendoza and Tunuyán rivers,

...which bring melt waters from the perennial snows of the Andes....

...and an immense complex of irrigation canals and ditches ferries the life-giving water daily to all those beautiful parks, shade trees, and of course, Mendoza's vineyards. 

The Bodega, Alta Vista, with the Andes in the background. 

And the clouds lifted.....

When the clouds disappeared, the blue skies, the mountainous background....

....and the “bodegas” (wineries) were a picture to behold...and a beautiful sight for sore eyes!

What about the Wineries?

More than 1,500 wineries or “bodegas” are concentrated in Mendoza's three main wine regions...

....Maipu, 

....Lujan de Cuyo, and

....Valle de Uco. 

Time now being of the essence,...

.... we decided to focus on Maipu, which is closest to the city and....

.... Lujan, which has the greatest number of wineries in the region (as if we could drink that much....) 

Valle de Uco, a beautiful high range valley,...

.......somewhere up in those mountains, would be for another time.

At the wineries, the big surprise was not the quality of the wines,.....

.......something that had already long been well established....

......but rather the winery architecture...

.....with one bodega seemingly trying to outdo its neighbor. 

And, turning to the wine!

When you think of Mendoza's wine, you might suspect that Spanish and Italian influences would have the upper hand.

After all, both its population and culinary table come from these two countries. 

And that was once true.

However, today the focus is on quality rather than on quantity.  

And to peruse any wine store, it can't escape you. 

 It's definitely the French grape varieties that take the limelight....

....be it Merlot or Chardonnay, 

.....Cabernet Sauvignon, or Argentina’s beloved celebrity, Malbec.....

French wines are the wines of choice.

And that's because it's not only about grapes. 

French know-how and passion for wine have come into play too. 

Thanks to investment and migration, the French were able to bring “savoir-faire” and...

....a real passion for marrying aspects of soil composition, altitude and...

.....the qualities of their grapes, to create world renowned wines from Argentina. 

Being here in this, their first week of "Fall",...

.... and well into the harvest (la cosecha), has been a fantastic experience for us! 

 Mendoza, we want to come back!!

Back in B.A.,  we found an invitation to a music festival in which our condo owner,...

...Pablo Hopenhayn, a music prodigy as it turns out, was playing in a festival.

A great way to drive away the nostalgia that was already setting in.

Well, everyone.  This being our last blog, I'd like to thank you .....and say: 

Adios and Farewell to Argentina.