Our Last Day in Mexico City!

   

After our very energetic cooking class yesterday, we figured we earned some rest today – but first, R wanted me to compare the two cooking classes we took for the blog.  And honestly, it’s difficult and I’m not really sure what to say!  They were both excellent, and yet very different!  Emilio’s first class, with Casa Jacaranda, was in a larger space – three separate rooms, but there really wasn’t as much “hands-on” work as at Aura Cocina, yesterday.  That space was much smaller, although the facilities were very comparable; just not quite as fancy.  I’d say honestly, if I was to recommend one over the other, I’d say Aura Cocina – just be sure of the correct street address first, because the address that comes up on Uber is incorrect, but we found that out the hard way!

 

Or, you could always do what we did – and take both, and then you don’t have to choose!  Both schools have multiple teachers, so whether you’d get the incredibly energetic Emilio (who, as Robert says, never stops talking – evidenced by the fact that of all the photos R took of him, his mouth was never closed!) – or the fun and vivacious Pame who loved taking photos on her cell phone, who knows?  But I’m sure all of the instructors are great from the reviews that we’ve read.

 

Secondly, R wanted me to write about “milpas” – the Mexican small farmers way of farming, which is very interesting.  From the small amount I know about farming in the U.S., there are fields of one crop or another, occasionally rotated to keep the soil nutritious.  Here in Mexico, however, small farmers plant “milpa” or “three sisters.” That means that more than one crop is planted in the same place, and they all have meaning.  For instance, they always start with corn, which grows tall and on stalks.  Around the base of the corn stalks are planted the beans, which need something to grow on and around.  Then, next to that are planted the squash, which can “sunburn” literally, unless they are protected by the stalks and shoots of the corn plants.  It’s truly an incredible system, which seems to work really well, because it also keeps continually renewing the soil with the necessary nutrients for the three plants to continue to grow over time.  Smart people, these Mesoamerican farmers, yes?! 

 

So, for today.  Up about 7:30 am.  The museum we most wanted to see – Diego Rivera’s Museo Anahuacalli, is on the far side of town, and doesn’t open until 11 am.  However, our Casa Azul – the museum of Frida Kahlo’s art - tickets weren’t until 4:45 pm this afternoon, which is really late for us.  So, we decided that instead of having a big dinner tonight, we would have brunch/early lunch and see how things worked out that way.

 

About 11 am we headed to Restaurant Testal, where it turns out they don’t serve lunch until noon.  However, their brunch menu was really lovely, and we were more than happy to make due!  R started with a croissant and coffee, and I had an excellent pain au chocolat and hot chocolate – Mexican style, which was mixed right at the table in a large painted jug, which was fun!  For brunch, R ordered their chilaquiles with steak and red sauce, and orange juice.  I had three enchiladas stuffed with chicken in a dark brown (but not black!) mole.  They were amazing, but unfortunately, I could only eat about 1½ as I don’t eat as much as I used to! 

 

 

R's croissant

 

R's chilaquillas with steak

My chicken enchiladas with mole!

My pan au chocolat and hot chocolate!

After brunch, we Ubered to the Anahuacalli Museum and had a good look around.  It’s a large place and took several hours, but it has the disadvantage of being built out of volcanic rock – the rock that was actually found on-site – and small window openings.  Diego Rivera was a life-long collector of pre-Columbian and early Mesoamerican artifacts, and needed someplace to put everything.  His second wife indicated that he continually explored all over Teotihuacan searching the grounds everywhere for “little bits and pieces” which he added to his collection, apparently acquiring over 40,000 pieces by his death!  The Anahuacalli currently displays around 2,000 pieces which are deemed to be the most representative of the numerous Mexican artistic heritages.

 

 

Main building of the Anahuacalli

Entrance ceiling mosaic

 

 

 

There is also a very large gallery on the second floor that displays Rivera’s drafts for murals that he either went on to create elsewhere (such as the Rockefeller Man at the Crossroads mural that was destroyed, as Rockefeller didn’t like it …) or never completed.

 

 

Rivera sketch for mural

The museum, initially designed by Rivera, was begun in 1942, but he ran out of the money needed to complete it.  When he died, in 1957, his daughter, Ruth Rivera, together with the architects Juan O’Gorman and Heriberto Pagelson, finished the project with the financial support of Dolores Olmedo, in 1963.  The museum opened to the public in 1964.  It is dedicated as follows: “I return to the people what I was able to rescue from the artistic heritage of their ancestors.  Diego Rivera”.

 

 

 

Loved the pigeon's egg on the outside sill!

Man carrying heavy load!

 

Beautiful jade mask

Ceiling panels with animals

 

Floor mosaic of hammer and sickle

Another stunning ceiling mosaic

The Anahuacalli contains some truly beautiful pieces, and Rivera enhanced the construction by designing unique ceiling mosaics in each room, integrating pre-Hispanic mythology like serpents, jaguars, and frogs, with modern communist symbols like the hammer and sickle, using colorful volcanic stones and creating a blend of ancient and contemporary worlds within the pyramid-like structure.  The unfortunate thing is that with such small windows, they are definitely difficult to photograph!  It is really dark in there!

 

By this time, it was after 2 pm, but still our reservation to see Frida Kahlo wasn’t until 4:45 pm, and I’m afraid we were just getting worn out.  So, unfortunately, that visit will have to wait for our next visit to Mexico City.  Instead, we Ubered back via the Uber-Driver-From-Rome, who scared even me to death, a couple of times, as he lopped off 14 minutes from our projected return time, which is really saying something! 

 

So, back in the apartment about 3, R napping on the couch, and I’m doing a final load of laundry!  Packing up in the morning and heading to the airport at 9 am for our noon flight to Veracruz!

 

So, more later!

m

xxx