The day began with another scrumptious bagel, with its outside toasted to a crisp, the inside remaining soft, smothered with full fat cream cheese and washed down with a fresh glass of orange juice. Mom let me know that while she and dad have to leave at 7:40 AM tomorrow to make their flight, I can stay in the hotel room until 2:00 PM. I think I may have to be physically removed from the hotel tomorrow! The bed is entirely too comfortable and the wireless Internet entirely too convenient.
For the third day in a row, my parents bravely went two floors underground to board the metro’s orange line. Today, we disembarked at Barranca del Muerto, the last stop on the line’s south end, and continued by taxi to Plaza Jacinto, in the heart of San Angel. San Angel is very similar to Coyoacán for its colonial charm. On Saturdays, artists display their paintings, sculpture and other works throughout the plaza. I fell in love with one artist’s paintings of Mexican kitchens that are brightly colored and extremely detailed, even using miniature tiles to accent the counters – I bought two for $300 pesos total. Then I gravitated towards some vibrant oil paintings of vases full of flowers. I held off the first time I passed them by; I had a hard time picturing something so nice in an apartment. When I returned a bit later, I just couldn’t resist. The artist asked how much I wanted to pay, why do people ask that? He escorted me to the ATM to “protect” me and I forked over $1100 pesos and quickly owed an incredible piece of art – I don’t even currently have a home in which I can put it.
Next, we ventured over to an outdoor market area, with all of the stalls covered by white tents. At those stands you can find ANYTHING: flower pots, rock gardens, wood puzzles, jewelry, trinkets and items for The Day of the Dead and there’s even a stand with old cameras and an oxygen mask. I bought two flowerpots for my mom, to add to the two she bought the other day. They are magnificent, shiny royal blue ceramic pots with sunflowers on one and calla lilies on the other.
Next we were lured across the street from Plaza Jacinto, to the Bazar Sábado – one of the finest art and craft markets in Mexico set in a 17th-century red stone building. The two-story building is divided into little shop areas, with handcrafted items like jewelry, pottery, leather and clothing. The interior of the building is an open courtyard patio that looks like a relaxing spot for a snack.
Just before two o’clock we journeyed across the cobblestone streets to meet up with Andi and enjoy an exquisite lunch at San Angel Inn. This restaurant has one of the most interesting histories: built in the 17th century as a lavish Carmelite monastery, later home to Spanish viceroys – and, briefly, Emperor Maximilian and his wife Carlota. Guests of the Inn have included, during the Revolution, Emiliano Zapata and Pancho Villa. Today it’s a restaurant only, whose food is of the highest quality. Andi and I were probably most excited about the plate of vegetables on the table, carrots, celery, cucumbers, oh my! We don’t often have vegetables; rather, fruit is so readily available that we consume it multiple times a day. Besides the vegetables, we devoured lobster bisque, my dad had the sopa Azteca (tortilla soup), then both my mom and dad enjoyed whole red snappers, I had the Arrachera and Andi had an interesting shrimp dish.
After a truly enjoyable lunch, we crossed the street to go to the Museo Estudio Diego Rivera. This is where Rivera lived and worked and did so for a while with his wife Frida Kahlo. The first floor featured a temporary exhibit of the photography of a friend of Rivera’s, Beatrice Kolko. The photos are revealing and moving, showing daily life throughout Mexico, when they were taken during the 1960s. The upper floor is arranged as it might have looked when Rivera was still living there, complete with unfinished paintings on easels and his shirt lying on his bed. It was so cool remembering scenes from the movie Frida (staring Salma Hayek) that took place in this house. It was fascinating to see the walkway connecting Diego and Frida’s separate parts of the house. Most striking was the modernity of the house, built in 1928, set in a neighborhood of cobblestone streets and mansions dating back centuries.
