Frida

So in a distinct change from last Friday afternoon, this week, after a Japanese lunch we headed off to Coyoacan, a largely residential district in the south of the city.

The reason for us battling the DF traffic and getting 8 miles in an hour?! Friday Kahlo's house.

Frida was one of the most famous and iconic of Mexican painters. She was also married (on and off) to another one of Mexico's famous painters, Diego Rivera. I would say watch the movie ('Frida') to find out more about her, but despite having a fascinating life I found the movie rather dull!

Her house was beautiful. I don't know if it was its current shade when she was a resident, but it is an amazing blue.

It was 80 pesos to get in (about £4) but they then charged you another 60 pesos to take photos without a flash! I know it wasn't a lot of money (just over £2.50) but the principle of paying to take photos annoyed me. Charge everyone 100 pesos for entry and let them all take photos!!!

Anyway rant over. The first couple of rooms had some of hers and Diego's works:

Not one of Frida's but I kinda liked it anyway!

Rivera

Rivera

We then went along to the kitchen, which was very old fashioned but all rather lovely, followed by the studio which was great. You could see how the natural light in the room would inspire both of them:

The bedrooms were a little 'out there', with lots of strange things hanging off the beds. The bedroom where Trotsky stayed (downstairs) was probably the most normal!

The outside space was very large and there was an amazing terrace where I hope they had some amazing parties (Frida was known for her love of wild parties!) There was also a rather large pyramid...Not really sure why that was there...

In the other part of the grounds (which looked like an extension rather than part of the original), Vogue Mexico had put together a small exhibition of some of her clothes, her harnesses (she was left disabled by both Polio as a child, and a horrific tram accident when she was 18) and clothes by modern day designers that were inspired by her. 

It was too dark in there to get truly fab photos, but I did the best I could without a flash!

Some of Frida's dresses

Frida

fabulous necklace in silver

fabulous headress

Frida by Frida

Dresses by Givenchy inspired by Frida

I am glad I went, but as the return journey was 2 hours in DF traffic, it was a rather long way to go! 

Coyoacan itself is very cute. The main square is flanked by cafes selling churros and crepes and a rather impressive church We stopped and got some deep fried goodness with my two finger doughnuts being stuffed with cajeta (like caramel). 

Very sweet but very good, and my first churros in DF!

Ferrero Roche?!!!

So I was lucky enough to visit the Ambassador's Residence here in DF for a reception. 

It is in Lomas, the most chi chi part of town, which is very residential, but also quite a way from the Embassy in the legendary DF traffic. 

With the Embassy being so colonial looking, I was expecting the Residence to be the same. Certainly the Ambassador's residence in Moscow was very traditional looking and rather beautiful.

The residence was not what I was expecting at all! It was very cube like from the outside, rather grey and a bit austere!!!. 

However inside was lovely, with furnishings that made it much warmer. The gardens are fabulous, and the staff there do an amazing job of keeping them tip top. 

Unfortunately the rainy season has started in earnest a week early here, and it rained before we arrived (7ish), and it didn't stop for almost 4 hours...

view from the balcony

view from the ground

So it meant that we were standing under a marquee whilst listening to the speeches and drinking lovely G and Ts. However that didn't dampen the spirits of me, or the many other guests there who were networking and enjoying the DJ's mix of Brit hits ( I could have done with a bit more 'Muse' and a bit less Shirley Bassey personally...)

There were no Ferrero Roche. I am not going to lie to you. I was a little disappointed. However the canapes were rather good:

• Sausage rolls (of course)
• Tuna ceviche on tortilla chips
• Lobster in mini bread rolls
• Chicken empanadas (the winner)
• Mini cheese and cranberry tarts
• Goat cheese mini pizzas
• Some pork things

Dining Room

They were very generous with the canapes, and not matter where we stood, the staff kept coming to us. And how could we resist? (ahem!!!)

Of course this left me rather full for my dinner in Lomas...

We went to a lovely restaurant that was surprisingly busy for a Thursday night.I couldn't spot a bottle of wine under £25, so settled for a glass (or two). I had some kind of white fish from the Pacific that I had not heard of, with capers, black butter, olives and a crushed pots. Lovely! 

A super end to a lovely evening!

More roaming in Roma, and a spot of rain...

So with the weather being as lovely as it is, it's the perfect excuse to go for a walk with the pram.

Where we live, borders the neighbourhood of Roma, so we trotted round the block and joined the leafy streets, old colonial buildings and pavement cafes of this artistic area.

We walked through Place Rio de Janeiro where I caught up with my old friend Dave (or David).
This is a massive statue and looks rather impressive in the beautiful square.

Casa Lamma a rather lovely spot. It is a cultural centre and a restaurant, with Moet umbrellas outside. Alas this was not yet open for lunch (at 12.30pm) so we went back to Rio square for a libation, and my friend some eggy sustinence. 

True to form, The Weather Channel got it right, and at around 6ish we had a thunderstorm. This is the most rain I have seen since I got here 2 months ago! You can also hear some thunder on the video. 

The rainy season normally starts in May, so it is a week early, but as long as the sun remains during the day, I am happy for it to rain for around 10 minutes each night. It makes the place feel fresher, and certainly makes it cooler at night. I only woke up 3 times in the night last night!

Boozy Fridays and a big old roast

So part of the beauty of not working is being able to drink with impunity on a sunny afternoon. As all the afternoon's here are sunny this could end up being pretty lethal. 

However I try and save it just for Sunday Brunches and the odd Friday afternoon.

This Friday a friend took me up to Roma, a lovely neighbourhood just over a mile south west of where I am staying. The plan was to go to Contramar, a rather chi chi Parisien looking restaurant that was absolutely packed by the time we got there (2.30ish - Some Mexicans finish at 2pm on a Friday!)

Neither of us wanted to wait an hour to be seated, so we had a mooch around, and found another pleasant restaurant the other side of the roundabout. The wine was flowing, and my salmon and rice was delish, if a little greasy and not remotely Mexican!

Their desserts didn't tempt us, so we went over to Crepes and Waffles, where they did have a plethora of puddings, AND more importantly 241 on Prosecco for 69 pesos! Brilliant! So I had to have 4 glasses (obviously) 

mini nutella waffles, with my friend's white chocolate crepes in the background, and our Lychee prosecco

Very cute Boxer with an underhung bottom jaw - puddum!

 I then went home and proceeded to drink more alcohol, which was amateurish quite frankly! 

Saturday was spent recovering from Friday's alcohol intake, and making a key lime pie ready for a Sunday roast round a friends.

I have had one Sunday roast since I got to DF at a restaurant. It was nice, but rather small, and limited vegetables. However these guys know how to make a roast! It was help yourselves (bit lethal for me) and I piled my plate with chicken breast, roast potatoes, minted peas, roasted carrots, broccolli and sprouts, cheesy leeks, stuffing and gravy. It was immense!!! So good I went up for more spuds (of course!) and all the crispy bits from the potatoes as well.

We needed a breather before dessert, but my key lime pie went down pretty well, as did the trifle the hosts had made (something else I hadn't had in quite some time).

Started eating it, before realising it needed a photo!

Again the bubbles were flowing, and I went home absolutely stuffed, but very very satisfied!!!

Then onto another gathering upstairs where I met an ex nun, and we had a bit of an earthquake.

Lovely, lovely weekend!

Did the earth move for you?

DF is  is one of the most active areas in the world for seismic activity, or 'earthquakes' as we non geologist foks like to call them!

Apparently small ones (that we don't feel) happen pretty much all the time, but I have felt 3 since I have been here, and in the valley where we are is one of the worst places to be, along with Roma, Condessa and downtown near the Zocolo.

My first a few weeks ago was rather confusing as I wondered if the strong winds were making the couch move. No one else felt anything, so I assumed it was my imagination, before a friend received a text from someone else talking of an earthquake around 5. something!

Then one before Easter weekend. I was watching TV and thought again the wind had picked up, as the blinds had started moving in the flat.  My friend's fiancee came out of their bedroom and asked if I could feel it, and that's when I realised this was another earthquake - again in the 5s. The couch moved again, but it was the fish tank where it could be most noticed.

I barely felt either of them, but that is mainly to do with the excellent way that this very tall building has been designed.

Last night was the biggest so far. I was sat in a friend's apartment, two floors up from where I am currently staying and we were out on their rather large balcony. The lights and music went off in the apartment, and another friend's phone started making an awful racket - turns out he has an app that warns you of impending earthquakes. The balcony then started to sway from side to side. Don't misunderstand me, it wasn't a violent jerk, but a very real, very definite swaying. It went on for a quite a while, around a minute and my motion sickness began to kick in.

Fortunately it stopped, but not soon enough for my balance, as I felt like it was still happeneing for at least 10 minutes after it had stopped. The lights came back on after around 20 odd minutes and all was well with the world again.

I am pleased to say I have had an earthquake experience, but am in no hurry to have another one!!!

Museo Soumaya

The Soumaya had been somewhere I wanted to visit from my last trip to Mexico City.

The silver tiled building in Polanco is beautiful, although it would probably look more dramatic if there weren't two shopping centres flanking its two sides. Built my Carlos Slim, the richest man in the world as a tribute to his wife, Soumaya, who passed away in 1999.

Inside you are greeted by a large white vestibule with wooden floors. This is dominated by a massive version of Rodin's The Thinker and two Rivera murals. 

The wooden floors then lead you up onto a white spiral, which winds it's way up 6 floors. It was the most fluid thing in an otherwise rather strange museum experience. There are no windows other than a sky light on the top floor. 

I started at the vestibule  and slowly walked upwards, saving the best for last as it would turn out.

I read some professional reviews of the place after I had been, and I would have to agree with them . The two main criticisms are 1) the layout: It isn't curated well at all, and it is hard to know where to go next on pretty much every floor. I remember glimpsing a painting of a horse through a gap, thinking 'oh I must go back to that, it looks like a Stubbs', and then not being able to find it again!

2) the collection: there are some super pieces in here, but mainly it is lesser works by fabulous artists. There were approximately 12- 15 Renoirs and I didn't recognise one of them (although I hasten to add that I am not an art expert by any stretch of the imagination!)

 Some floors I skimmed over as they didn't massively interest me: the coins and artefacts floor, the religious paintings and crucifixes, and the Mexican floor (mainly with artefacts that are much better at the Museum of Anthropology). 

However the top floor is worth the visit alone! You are rewarded for shlepping all the way up that spiral with literally a plethora of Rodin and Dali statues. I spent almost an hour up here and 1.5 hours on the other 5 floors! There were some really great statues, particularly from Dali of whom I am a big fan. I got a bit carried away with the old camera...

I have been to much better art galleries around the world, but I am glad I visited and hey it was free!

I had worked up quite an appetite after all this art appreciation and went downstairs where they have a Samborns cafe. Samborns is a department store here, and their cafes are pretty darn good. The cafe in the museum was white, with bright orange and white chairs. It looked like the space station waiting room in 2001: A Space Odyssey.

I bravely ordered my first enchiladas of the trip. And they were delish!!! Chicken in corn tortillas with a green sauce and melted cheese. Washed down with a Coca Cola Light, I was very proud of myself for ordering and paying in Spanish.

Observations and things I have learnt

So I have been here a fair few weeks now, and there are some things that are just accepted as being Mexican, but that we might find pretty unusual. Here are some of the things I think I can help solve:

Traffic:

The driving here is appalling. 4 million accidents are registered here every year (millions more will go unregistered) and that is out of about 22 million cars, which are generally 15 years or younger.It is in the top ten countries for motoring accidents despite having a much smaller population than all of the other countries on the list. 
In an attempt to get rid of corruption the only people allowed to give out anything to do with traffic violations are the traffic police. This means you can basically do what you want in front of the normal police, and they don't give a monkeys. They can't get any money from it, and they like to drive as badly as the rest of the city it would seem. People jump red lights ALL the time and if there is a highway code here I am not sure anyone has read it. Roundabouts are hilarious. People don't treat them like a roundabout as we know it, more a large traffic island, that you can chose to go round anyway you want to. Reversing up a one way street is seen as ok...

The beginnings of a traffic jam...

My traffic solutions: 

• No member of Police can collect cash from a member of the public. Issue tickets by all means, but it all has to be paid in cash, cheque, over the phone or online to a central traffic violation collection agency. Therefore any member of the Police force can hand out tickets for the terrible driving, of which there are thousands of examples every minute. They would earn a fortune, and slowly the city would start to drive better. I am sure part of the problem with the traffic jams is actually people's ability (or lack thereof) to drive properly. 
• Each state should make drivers pass a test. This test would be the same throughout the country (NB people signing a piece of paper to say they can drive is not considered a test...)
• All Police in cars are sent on advanced driving courses and lead by example in terms of driving well.
• There should be cameras at all major traffic junctions so automated tickets could be issued by people who jump red lights.
• Roundabouts should be treated as such and are ONE WAY. Massive white arrows should be painted on them so the Mexicans know which way is the right way. 

Buses:

Buses are a great way to get around the city. They are more expensive than the metro system and are therefore seen as a better way to travel. Unfortunately the large clean buses only cover a few routes across the capital. Unlicensed presumably uninsured minibuses operate throughout the city. I could buy a bus tomorrow and start running my own bus route...scary aye?

My Bus Solution:

• All bus service providers have to run licensed, well maintained, fully insured vehicles on  routes that serve all of the city. The giving of these routes will be agreed by members of a bus committee (including members of the public) who are no open to bribery (not sure how this bit works yet) 
• Buses not to have people hanging out of the doors whilst travelling.
• Flat rates for fares.

Demonstrations:

People like to march all the time when they feel they are aggrieved.  I have seen on average 1 a week since I have been here. These range in numbers from around 80 - 1000. This makes for hellish traffic on Reforma and surrounding roads. 

My Demonstration Solutions:

I'm all for people having the right to march, even though I think 99% of the time it doesn't make a jot of difference. I also think the amount the Mexicans march devalues the symbolism of it. But they can march if it makes them feel better! However all demonstrations should be held between 10am - 4pm, to minimise the traffic chaos on the rest of the city.

Lunchtimes and hours:

Mexicans have a late lunch from 2pm to 4pm. As this is quite a long time after breakfast, they have their elevenses at 12 noon. It does mean they often leave later at night than we do.  They also subscribe to the ridiculous notion that if you are in the office for 12 hours then you are working the hardest...

My lunchtime solutions:

Don't go the way of the UK and force people to eat a sandwich at their desk in 15 minutes. However 2 hours for lunch every day if you aren't having a siesta (which you aren't as you live 30 miles away from where you work) is excessive. Particularly if you are stopping for 20 - 30 mins for your elevenses (at 12). Lunchtimes limited to 1 hour and people can go home at a reasonable hour. Performance is based on how well you do your job, not how long you are in the office...