Thursday, August 11, 2005
Faye arrived on Thursday morning – at 5:55 a.m.! We had lunch at Casa de los Azulejos (House of Tiles –colonial mansion built in the 16th century and covered with blue Talavera tile from the State of Puebla in the mid-18th Century) in the Centro Histórico – Historical Center. Casa de los Azulejos was the original Sanborns, which is now a chain that is almost as common throughout Mexico as Starbucks is throughout the U.S. Besides a restaurant, Sanborns have a retail store with departments offering books, magazines, games, sweets and baked goods, jewelry, audio and video equipment, and much more. I always feel as if I’m in the 1950s when I’m in a Sanborns. Also, their customer service is so superb, I feel as if I have a personal shopper with me.
Afterwards, we took in the panoramic views from the 42nd floor of the Torre Latinoamericana, the tallest building in the downtown area. We then walked all around the city and made our way to the Zócalo, the second-largest public plaza in the world after Red Square in Moscow. In the center there is a massive Mexican flag that is raised (in the morning) and lowered (at sunset) each day by guards in full battle gear. It takes 12 soldiers 15 minutes to fold the gigantic flag. Since the end of the 18th Century the plaza has surrounded by the Catedral Metropolitana (the cathedral that is as impressive for its size as for the gold that serves as its interior), Palacio Nacional (official residence of the Mexican president, where several of Diego Rivera’s murals are on the walls and ceilings here), the Palacio del Ayuntamiento (City Hall) and merchants’ arcades.
Rather than all of these attractions capturing Faye’s attention and enthusiasm, it was when I showed her how she needs to cross the street as fast as possible that she couldn’t stop talking and laughing about. I play a serious game of Red Rover when it comes to crossing the streets before a car hits me – and I looked as if I was doing the Truffle Shuffle (from the movie Goonies).
As the afternoon rain began we hopped on a tour bus that took us out of the Historic Center and all the way across the city to Chapultepec Park. Because of the infamous Mexico City traffic, Faye and I started singing “This is the ‘tour’ that never ends . . .” as it took 3 hours just to make it halfway around the tour’s loop. Once we reached Condesa, we hopped off to have dinner. Condesa, an “art deco neighborhood” has a restaurant and café zone, and a Starbucks!
