Trekking Down Insurgentes Avenue (Part Two)

In my previous post I began describing my three mile walk down a portion of Mexico City's Insurgentes Avenue.  Let's continue...

I am now in the neighborhood of Roma Norte, and it's time for lunch.  This is territory with which I am very familiar since on several previous trips I rented an apartment not far from here.

I head for a little hole-in-the-wall place just off of Insurgentes called X'nic.  I have eaten there numerous times, and their "cochinita pibil" (Yucatecan shredded pork) is very good.  However, the tables are all taken, and people are waiting in line.  I am glad to see it's doing good business, but I do not want to wait.  I head to a taco joint where I have eaten before, but it appears to be closed down.  A few doors away is a place that I had noticed on earlier trips.  It obviously has pretentions of trendiness since on the sign it calls itself a "Gastro Haus", and they call their meal of the day an "executive menu".  At 120 pesos (about $7 US), it may seem cheap to us, but it is expensive for a meal of the day. (And a beverage isn't even included.)

I started with the cream of lentil soup which was quite tasty.  For my main course, I had chicken with mushrooms and mustard sauce.  The sauce was interesting, but the chicken was overdone.  For dessert I had guava cheesecake... which was still slightly frozen.  It wasn't a bad meal, but I will not make a return visit.

This is a typical Metrobus stop in the middle of the avenue.  The Metrobus fleet is made up of multi-car, articulated buses.  They have their own separate lane, and there are bus stops every few blocks.

This is the stop which I used to use when I was renting an apartment close by.

From time to time I would go to this flower stand and buy a bouquet for the apartment.

Beyond this point, as you head south down Insurgentes, the neighborhood of Condesa is to your right while Roma Sur is to your left.  Insurgentes is not particularly beautiful along this stretch, but the leafy side streets to the right lead into the heart of Condesa, perhaps the greenest of all of the city's neighborhoods.

I always feel sad when I see this derelict apartment building located on the Roma Sur side of the avenue. 

I actually found a video about this place on YouTube.  This building used to be one of the most beautiful and exclusive apartment high-rises in the city.  Then it sustained structural damage in the 1985 earthquake.  The top floors are completely abandoned, but there are still people living on some of the lower floors.  (Squatters?  Or are they actually paying rent to live in this dilapidated building?)

I have frequently been to this shopping mall, Plaza Insurgentes.  It includes a Cinemex movie theater, a Sears department store, and one of the ubiquitous Sanborns restaurants.

A couple blocks away is this Woolworths where I frequently shop.  Not only do I like the low prices on the official team soccer shirts there, but I guess it brings back memories of when Woolworths were all over the United States, including one just down the street from my home in Ohio.

This building has seen better days, but it is still an interesting example of art deco architecture.

Something was torn down, because a new apartment building is going up on the Condesa side of the avenue.

Shoes anyone?  With all the Mexican shoe stores that are down here, I am surprised that Florsheim is here.

Whenever you approach a subway station, the number of sidewalk stalls selling street food and cheap merchandise multiples dramatically.  At busy times of day, it can be very difficult walking down the sidewalks with this informal commerce taking up so much room.  Here we are near the Chilpancingo subway station.

This bakery shop is enormous!  Fortunately I had lunch, or else I would have been very tempted to go inside and buy some pastries.

Insurgentes now crosses over the always busy "Viaducto Miguel Aleman".

After crossing the "Viaducto" we are now in the neighborhood of Nápoles with loads of office towers and apartment buildings... and more being built.

With all the U.S. chains that you see, you have to keep reminding yourself that you are in Mexico!

Throughout Nápoles the sidewalks are being torn up.  In many places there are barricades placed on the avenue so that pedestrians can walk in the street.

The paving stones that they are putting down will look nice.  However, I wonder how long it will be before they become buckled from the roots of the trees that line the avenue.

Well, there it is... the World Trade Center.  I am almost back to my apartment.  I hope that you enjoyed your walk!