Welcome!

Last week Alejandro and I were in Chedraui, a Mexican chain of stores that is similar to Walmart.  We were looking at throw rugs when we saw a door mat that we simply could not resist.  It did not say the typical "Bienvenido" or "Welcome", but rather, well, look for yourself...

In spite of the sarcastic, unwelcoming tone of the mat, we are, in fact, looking forward to visits from our friends North of the Border.

February Dawn

 On Monday morning, while I was at Alejandro's family's house, there was another spectacular dawn, with the volcanoes silhouetted against the sky.

A Double Occasion

Today is Valentine's Day (known in Mexico as the Day of Love and Friendship), but it is also our first wedding anniversary.

Photos taken at a nearby shopping mall

The good thing about having your anniversary on Valentine's Day is that we will never forget the date.  The bad thing is that all the restaurants are going to be jammed today.  So, we celebrated early.  Last Saturday we went out for an anniversary dinner at Angelopolitano.

💞💞💞💞💞💞

Happy Valentine's Day!

 

"Carnaval" at the Doorstep

It's time for "Carnaval", the Latin American equivalent of Mardi Gras.  In Mexico City the celebration is only held in certain neighborhoods, and Alejandro's is one of them.  

Yesterday evening, we could hear the music a "Carnaval" group approaching.  We went outside, and the group was dancing in the street right outside of Alejandro's house.  The neighbors all came out to watch, and a few of them were even dancing to the music.

After performing for a while, they then marched down the street headed to a different part of the neighborhood.

A Long Walk

 As I said at the conclusion of yesterday's post, last Thursday I had a couple of hours to kill after my afternoon dinner, so I took a long walk.  The restaurant where I ate is located on Avenida Revolución, a busy avenue that runs south through the affluent and historic district of San Angel and ends at the Olympic Stadium at the campus of the National University of Mexico. I decided that I would walk one hour down Avenida Revolución and see how far I would get.

There is nothing of great touristic interest along the stretch that I walked, but here are some photos to give you a feel for that bustling avenue...

Heading south on Avenida Revolución

Modern apartment and office buildings

As in many parts of the city, you will find stands selling street food.  The one to the left had "tortas" (Mexican sandwiches) and hamburgers.  The stand to the right was selling fresh juices.

The names of the streets of many of the "colonias" (neighborhoods) have a theme.  Passing through the "colonia" of Nonalco, the streets are named after famous artists.

Occasionally you will come across a plaque on a corner that explains the origin of that street's name.  This plaque on Holbein Street says that the Holbein family were a German painters.  One of them, Hans Holbein the Younger moved to London where he painted portraits of King Henry VIII.

Soriana is a chain of Mexican stores similar to Walmart.  This one is a "Mega Soriana", an especially large store.

Next to the Soriana is a Toks.  Toks is a chain of restaurants.  Of the three major chains of casual dining places in Mexico City... Sanborns, VIPs and Toks... we like Toks the best.  Sanborns and VIPs have gone downhill ever since the pandemic, but Toks still serves good food.  I have never been to this one, but there is a branch closer to the apartment where Alejandro and I frequently go for breakfast on weekends.

You will also find almost all of the U.S. fast food chains in Mexico City.

Many of them even have drive-through windows.

You don't have to go into a store to shop.  There are vendors all along the street.  Here were fruits and vegetables.

Another vendor was selling wooden objects, mainly kitchen utensils.  Those wooden spoons and spatulas are very useful.  I should buy some for my apartment.

A variety of herbs set out on the sidewalk for sale for 10 pesos each.  I recognized the ginger root, chamomile, and cinnamon bark.

A vendor was selling fruit from his truck parked along the street.

I find it interesting that you will sometimes find businesses located under highway overpasses.  This one is a dental clinic called "Sonrisas Mexicanas" (Mexican Smiles).

Here is "Super Naturista", a health food store.  In the background, across the street is a PEMEX gas station.  PEMEX (Petróleos Mexicanos) is the state owned petroleum company.  Until recently, PEMEX had a total monopoly on the sale of gasoline in the country.

You will now see other gas stations besides PEMEX, although, I believe that they are required to buy their gasoline from PEMEX.

This convenience store is advertising "jochos", the Mexican word for hot dogs.

The most popular chain of convenience stores is OXXO.  You see them everywhere.

A tempting array of pastries in the window of La Esperanza Bakery

I looked at Google Maps for the name of this church...  a big church with a long name...

the Parish of the Purification of Our Lady la Candelaria.

I crossed a busy street with a rather gruesome name... "Barranca del Muerto" (Ravine of the Dead Man).

By the way, there's another Toks in the background.

Although I had never been to Barranca del Muerto, I was familiar with the name.  It is the final stop on one of the subway lines that I use.  (Hmmm... that's an ominous combination.... "end of the line" and "Ravine of the Dead Man".)

I was able to research the origin of the name on the internet.  The "barranca" was the scene of fighting between opposing forces in the Mexican Revolution, and the ravine was used as a mass grave.  No bodies have been disinterred, but residents claim that the area is haunted.

Wherever there is a subway station, you can count on there being street food stalls nearby.

 

More construction work... something you see throughout the city

An organ grinder on the sidewalk posed for a photo (after a small donation, of course).

I came to a shiny, shopping mall called "Portal de San Angel" (Gate of San Angel).  Checking Google Maps later, I found that I was not yet in the picturesque neighborhood of San Angel, although I was getting close.  However, I had been walking for an hour, and it was time for me to head back to the apartment.

Rather than walk back along the same route, I decided to cut over to familiar territory... Insurgentes Avenue.  It was easy to find my way.  All I had to do was head toward Torre Manacar, one of the landmark skyscrapers along Insurgentes.

By the time I reached the apartment, my cleaning lady was gone.

  

Out for Lunch

As I have mentioned before, Thursday afternoon is when my cleaning lady comes to clean the apartment and do the laundry.  I always leave the apartment for several hours to get out of her way.  Last Thursday I walked to the neighboring district of San Pedro de los Pinos for afternoon dinner at a place called Villa Casona.

 Alejandro and I have eaten there a couple times, and we like the food.  It advertises itself as serving "gourmet Mexican cuisine".  I would classify it as a mid-range, white tablecloth restaurant that serves solid Mexican food.  Its customers seem to be largely an older, upper middle-class crowd that likes good quality, traditional cooking.  I guess I fit into that category.

As a starter I ordered "grandma's spaghetti"... pasta with "serrano" ham and a cheese sauce.

This is what in Mexico is called a "sopa seca"... a dry soup... a pasta or rice dish that is served before the main course.  What we consider a soup is called a "sopa aguada"... a wet soup... although if it is a cream soup, it is called a "crema".  This spaghetti dish was very tasty.

For my main course I ordered deboned chicken thighs served with green "mole"... also very tasty.

It was accompanied by rice and refried beans served in a crisp tortilla cup.

I indulged in dessert.  I had a slice of carrot cake.  It was a bit different from what we are used to, but it was good.

By the time I was finished, I still had a couple of hours to kill before my cleaning lady would be gone.  So, I decided to burn a few of those calories and take a long walk.

In Financial News...

Passing by a newsstand, I saw on the front page of a Mexico City newspaper a story that I had heard on the radio.

In 2023, Mexico surpassed China as the number one exporter of goods to the United States. For 21 years the U.S. imported more from China than from any other country.  But last year Mexican exports rose 4.6% while China sold 20% less to the U.S.

Hurrah!  For years I have tried, whenever I can, not to buy anything made in China.  If I'm shopping for clothes, if it's made in China, I put it back on the rack.  A couple years ago I needed to buy a new blender.  Everything on the store shelf was made in China... except for the Oster, the brand my mother had for decades.  Made in Mexico!  Sold!  That blender in now sitting in the kitchen in my apartment in Mexico City.

Here in Mexico, there is plenty of merchandise in the stores that is made in China.  Alejandro is like I am.  He looks to see where a product is made, and if it is from China, it goes back on the shelf.  We are always pleased when we see items "hecho en México¨.