Day 3.

After a good sleep in and another run around Alameda Central Park, I caught the elevator down from the hotel with a couple of Polícia, ready for another day in Mexico City.


Today's plan was a food tour through Centro Histórico, so I opted for a light breakfast at Café Emir. The headline on the local newspaper was about how the White House had blocked several news organizations from a press briefing.


Just before 11am I met up for the start of the food tour at Restaurante Oaxaca en Mexico. Carina, our guide today, was born and bred in Chicago but had moved to Mexico City about 10 years ago and had now become a naturalised citizen. Also on the tour was a couple from Australia and some Americans from Miami, Texas and New York.


Restaurante Oaxaca en Mexico specialised in food from the Mexican State of Oaxaca (pronounced Wa-ha-ka).

Our first tasting of the day was an enmolada filled with shredded chicken and covered with mole sauce and served with rice. One of the (many) ingredients of the mole was chocolate and made for a very interesting flavour along with the chillies, garlic and other ingredients.


We then went for a walk down the street and stopped near Mercado de San Juan, which I had visited briefly the day before, and Carina went through some of the history of the area with us.


And inside the market, which specializes in gourmet and exotic foods, including fresh meat from iguanas, skunks and even farmed lions!


Pescador.


And our second tasting of the day, some very flavourful Queso de puerco made with tongue with Oaxacan cheese and some Spanish red wine at Delicatesen La Jersey Gourmet.


Our next stop was to sample some of the more interesting delicacies in the market.


Chapulines (grasshoppers), hormigas (ants) and alacránes (scorpions)!


Sampling an ant first. Fried in garlic so actually not too bad. At 2000 pesos or ~$100 a kg, a not particularly cheap source of protein either!


Next were dried maguey worms, or also known as chilocuiles, chinicuiles or tecoles.


And finally alacránes, enough to give you nightmares!


Yellow, red and green peppers.


Dried chillies and fish.


Our food tour continued in Mercado de San Juan to El Gran Cazador. El Gran Cazador specialised in pre-Hispanic foods and exotic meats. We were then served some mixiote, a dish that consists of seasoned meat that is then wrapped and cooked in the semi-transparent outer skin of the leaves of the maguey or century plant. Our mixiote contained a stewed mysterious meat and Carina gave us a list of possible animals while we were all eating away. Someone finally guessed the right answer; wild boar. Quite tasty, extremely tender and very delicious.


At our final stop in Mercado de San Juan, Rosse Gourmet, that specialised in edible organic flowers, herbs, roots and vegetables.


Kim, the proprietors daughter, was helping her mum during the weekend and offered us a variety of different flowers and fresh herbs to taste.


To finish we were each were treated to a cup of fresh strawberries, raspberries and ice cream.


And a big smile from Kim as we said farewell and headed on to our next culinary experience.


We headed out of the market and headed east along Ayuntamiento Street for a fix of Mexican street food at El Caguamo.


Adding some lime to some seafood soup to start.


For almosy 40 years the Tamariz family has been selling tasty shellfish and seafood at El Caguamo from the sidewalk of Ayuntamiento Street.


The very tasty cerviche tostada and console de camaron, a prawn ceviche served on top of a crunchy tostada with onion, lime juice and avocado. It certainly tasted as good as it looked!


After the mouthwatering seafood, we headed to Iglesia de Nuestra Señora de Guadalupe (Church of Our Lady of Guadalupe) where a baptism was underway.


Our next stop on the tour, at Cantina La Mascota, a bar in Centro Histórico that was visited by Anthony Bourdain on No Reservations.


We were entitled to one drink as part of the tour, so I opted for a margarita made with 100 Anos tequila.


The great thing about Cantina La Mascota was that as long as you were imbibing, all the food was for free! I opted for the Tortilla de cerdo and some juicy caracoles (snails).


A roving musician playing for us for only 20 pesos / $1 a song.


After the great atmosphere, drinks and food at Cantina La Mascota we headed out again to continue our walk through Centro Histórico.


Walking along the cobbled streets.


Esto.


In the lobby of Gran Hotel Ciudad de México, situated in the Old Portal de Mercaderes and next to the Zócalo. Originally a department store that was built in 1899, it was later converted into a hotel.


Walking past La Casa del Pavo (the House of Turkey), famous for its pulled turkey tortas.


At our second to last stop of the tour, at La Bipo Pasagüero, a contemporary cantina in Centro Histórico. Quite a modern and hip joint specialising in exquisite modern Mexican food.


And about to enjoy the Quesadilla de Jamaica y some de cochinita pibil.


We then carried on to a very sweet finish for the tour at Dulcería de Celaya


Dulcería de Celaya is a 140 year old family-owned sweets shop near the Zócalo.


And the sweet end to our food tour, the Picon de fresa, a strawberry flavoured sugary dumpling.


A great finish to the just over five hour food tour through Centro Histórico and we definitely didn't go hungry! I said farewell and thanked Carina for the amazing Mexican culinary extravaganza.


I then made haste to the nearest metro station to try and get to the Frida Kahlo Museum in Coyoacán before it closed for the day.


Outside the museum after speed walking the one mile walk from the metro station. I had gotten there at 4:45pm and there was still a long queue down the street. I had bought my ticket online though so could skip the queue and make it inside before they closed admittance for the day.


The museum is set in the former residence of Frida Kahlo and her husband, Diego Rivera. It is also known as the Blue House (La Casa Azul) for the cobalt-blue walls.


Some of Frida's dresses on display. Her husband, Diego Rivera, insisted that she not wear Western clothing as he believed that Mexican women should only wear Mexican dresses.


In September 1925 at the age of 18, a bus that Frida was riding on collided with a streetcar. An iron handrail impaled through her pelvis, fracturing the bone. She also fractured several ribs, her legs, her collarbone and displaced three vertebrae. The near fatal accident caused her great pain and illness for the rest of her life.

Some of the her corsets on display she had to wear due to her spinal problems. They varied from steel and leather to plaster.


Frida collected over 6,000 photographs and she would show her affection by inscribing them, clipping out figures or even defacing them. She also used some of them as references in her own artwork.


Many of Frida's paintings focused on anatomy and her own infertility. As several of Kahlo’s internal organs, including her uterus, were severely damaged during the bus accident, Kahlo had several miscarriages and underwent therapeutic abortions.


Long Live life.


Frida and Photography. Frida's father was an official government photographer of Mexican architecture and monuments. Because he suffered from epilepsy, Frida would accompany him in the darkroom as a girl to help out as necessary.


Understanding the artistic value of photography, Frida learned from an early age how to pose for the camera and made photography a part of her life and artistic legacy.


Some of her paints in La Casa Azul.


Frida's wheelchair and easel that was given to her by Nelson Rockefeller, and one of her still life paintings from her final years.


Frida's death mask lying on her bed. On the night of July 12, 1954, Frida passed away after overdosing on painkillers.


After the very interesting and insightful visit to La Casa Azul, I walked through the tree-lined streets of Coyoacán. I was still quite full from the food tour, so opted for a churro from Churrería de Coyoacán as an evening snack instead of dinner.


I then walked down to Plaza Hidalgo with my hot churro to enjoy the spring weekend evening with the locals.


Back at Coyoacán metro station to catch the train ride north.


And in the city again at the end of a very enjoyable last day in Mexico City.



Day 4.

About to catch a ride in the hotel Chevrolet Tahoe at 6am for the ride back to the airport. It was only 280 pesos for the 30 minute ride so very reasoanable.


And outside Mexico City International Airport, ready to check in for my 9am flight to Tijuana. As there were no direct San Diego flights and to avoid having to make a connection in LAX, I instead opted to fly to Tijuana International Airport and then cross over the border to San Diego.


After using the check in kiosks to print my boarding pass, I then dropped off my suitcase at the bag drop.


Aeroméxico Boeing 737's lined up along the terminal.


A sandwich and apple cake for breakfast from one of the airport shops.


And after boarding ontime for the flight to Tijuana. The seats were relatively roomy with IFE also.


A snack and drink served on the 3.5 hour flight.


And arriving on time at Tijuana International Airport where there had been a recent shower of rain.


Following the signs to the Cross Border Xpress.


Tijuana Airport is situated right on the Mexican-USA border. In December 2015 a bridge was opened across the border between the two countries, along with a terminal on the US side of the border connecting to Tijuana Airport. Named the Cross Border Xpress, it allows passengers to travel to and from the US via Tijuana Airport.


After collecting my suitcase, I headed right to the border bridge and back into the USA, formally bringing to an end my trip to Mexico.


US immigration was again a non-event and I was simply asked if I was bringing anything back from Mexico.

Madone59 had graciously offered to make the 20 minute ride out to the Cross Border Xpress Terminal and pick me up for a ride into the city.

We then drove over to Coronado. Looking over from Coronado to the San Diego city skyline. On the far right is one of the yellow Dole ships, unloading banana's from the weekly shipment from South America.


Next stop was to Point Loma where we stopped at Phil's BBQ for some lunch.


The place was super busy with a quite a long queue out the door for entry into the main restaurant. Madone59 had a trick up his sleeve though and we entered via the side door and were quickly seated in the bar area instead.

Some seriously tasty ribs and I was glad to get my fingers covered in them!


We then continued on to Cabrillo National Monument, passing a fallout shelter on the way.


Cabrillo National Monument is situated at the southern tip of the Point Loma Peninsula and is a US National Park. It commemorates the landing of Juan Rodríguez Cabrillo at San Diego Bay in 1542, the first time a European had set foot on what would later become the West Coast of the United States.

After parking the car, we walked along the path to see some of the rock pools and rugged coastline. Also visible in the distance was the USS Zumwalt, the futuristic and stealthy $4 billion guided missile destroyer of the US Navy.


The statue of Juan Rodríguez Cabrillo with Coronado in the background.


Looking over to Naval Air Station North Island. San Diego is the primary homeport for the Pacific Fleet of the US Navy and is homeport to the Nimitz-class aircraft carriers USS Carl Vinson and USS Theodore Roosevelt.


Madone59 then dropped me off at the Omni San Diego Hotel, where I checked in and reluctantly switched into work-mode, ready for a busy week across the road at the San Diego Conference Centre after the fun and eventful three days in Mexico City!