Truck Art

Every Sunday there is a large "tianguis" or outdoor market held in my neighborhood.  It stretches for blocks along Filadelfia Street.  Some of the vendors arrive with their merchandise in trucks that are parked on the nearby streets.  Some of those trucks have interesting paintings on their sides.  Last Sunday, when I left the apartment early to watch the marathon runners, I saw a couple of trucks that I had not noticed before.

  

Here Comes September

Time to turn the calendar to September.  This month's picture on my calendar which features photographs from my travels to Germany is of the Church of Saints Ulrich and Afra in the city of Augsburg.  

A church has stood on this site since the 8th century.  The current structure dates from the 15th century.  In the 1930s it was given the status of a basilica.  Augsburg straddles the Catholic and Protestant regions of Germany, and the Peace of Augsburg in 1555 established the peaceful coexistence of Catholicism and Lutheranism in Germany.  Thus, it is appropriate that a Protestant church (in the foreground) is attached to the Catholic basilica.

Runners Take Over the City

Usually we see billboards advertising the Mexico City Marathon weeks ahead of time.  This year we didn't see any, so we were surprised to learn just a day ahead of the event that it was being held yesterday.  The course runs from the Olympic Stadium on the campus of UNAM (the National Autonomous University of Mexico) to the city's main plaza, the Zócalo.  As in past years, the route goes along Insurgentes Avenue just a couple blocks from the apartment.  The race began very early in the morning, with the wheel chair competitors starting at 5:45 A.M., the women at 5: 50 and the men at 6:00.  I got up early and was at Insurgentes by 7:00.  The competition was already well under way.  There was a steady stream of runners for as far as the eye could see down the avenue for the entire thirty minutes that I watched.  Around 30,000 people participated this year in the event.  There were men and women; those who are physically fit and others who were not so fit; young, middle aged and some senior citizens.

There were spectators along the avenue, and as you can hear in the videos there was a constant cacophony of cheers, applause, horns and noisemakers.

The list of winners was dominated by participants from Ethiopia.  They took second and third places in the men's competition, and all top three places in the women's competition.  The top spot for the men, however, was won by a Peruvian.  A Mexican won in the wheelchair division.  It was sweet revenge for him because when he competed last year he had an accident due to a pothole in the street.  (To me that seems to be gross negligence on the part of the city government!)

I got a chuckle from the sign that this spectator across the street was holding.

"The last one buys the tacos."

Another Historical Novel

I just finished another book.  This one is another historical novel, "The Coming of the Wolf" by Elizabeth Chadwick.

Chadwick is a British author who writes historical fiction set primarily in the Middle Ages.  The novel is one of her early works although it was not published until later.  It stands as a prequel to her first best-selling novel, "The Wild Hunt".

It is set in England in the years after the Norman Conquest of 1066 when William the Conqueror invaded England.  Although William has taken the crown, his rule is contested by English, Welsh and Norse insurgents.  The main character is young Lady Christen, a member of English minor nobility.  When her husband, who is 30 years her senior, is murdered and the castle pillaged by the Normans, the Norman - Welsh warrior, Miles LeGallois proposes marriage to Christen in return for sparing the life of her rebellious brother.

Chadwick's historical research is excellent, but at times the book feels like a bodice-ripping romantic novel.  It is a bit hard to believe that Christen so quickly forgets her murdered husband and begins to fall in love with Miles after just one night of steamy sex.

It was a fairly enjoyable read, and with a length of only 284 pages, I finished it quickly.  It was not, however, one of the best historical novels that I have read.  

Birthday Shopping

Our nephew attends a public "prepa" (college prep high school) that is affiliated with UNAM (the National Autonomous University of Mexico), the nation's oldest and largest university.  Since his birthday is coming up next month, Alejandro and I decided to drive to the UNAM store to buy his birthday presents.

The store is located on the university's enormous campus on the far south side of the city.  The store is like a giant Walmart that sells everything from clothing to groceries to home furnishings to automotive supplies and more.  We headed to the section selling UNAM clothing.

The university mascot is the puma.

We bought him several UNAM tee-shirts and polo shirts.  We also bought a couple items of winter clothing... a puffy vest with the university coat of arms and a Pumas hoodie... to give to him at Christmas.

There was other UNAM merchandise besides clothing.  One item that caught my attention was a 3-D jigsaw puzzle of the university's Central Library.  There was a sample of the puzzle that had been constructed.  The library is famous for the mosaic murals which cover ten floors of the building on all sides.

Los Dos Amigos

Here's a photo that Alejandro took of the two family dogs, Pepe and Iztac.

A New Place for Breakfast

On weekends we always go out for breakfast.  There are three nearby restaurants that we frequent.  Café C has good food, large portions and very friendly staff.  De Costa a Costa is a seafood restaurant, but they serve very good breakfasts also.  A slightly longer walk takes us to El Bajío, which serves hearty, traditional Mexican breakfasts.  Our favorite used to be El Cardenal, although we would have to wait for a table unless we got there early.  But the last time we were there with visitors, the portions had became so small, that we no longer consider it good value for the relatively high prices.  (El Cardenal is part of a chain, and I don't know if the other branches have become so stingy with their portions.)

There are of course many other places that serve breakfast, but those three are our mainstays.  Some of the neighborhood restaurants don't have very interesting or extensive menu choices.  There was one that we crossed off our list because they charge for each refill of coffee.

I was happy to see that a new restaurant called Giornale opened on Insurgentes Avenue a short walk away.  We tried the place out last Saturday, and we are adding it to our trio of breakfast spots.  It is a very attractive place, and, although it was busy, there was no wait for a table. The menu is very extensive, both for breakfast and dinner.  In spite of the Italian-sounding name, the choices are very international with a number of dishes that seemed to be of Middle Eastern and Asian influence.

Alejandro had something called a "Bowl Campirano" with scrambled eggs, avocado, asparagus, broccoli and mushrooms.

I ordered the "Deli Eggs"...scrambled eggs mixed with corned beef, bagels and cream cheese.

I guess that it's hard to find good bagels in Mexico City.  A New Yorker would surely turn his nose up at them.  However, the eggs with corned beef were delicious.

The restaurant passed the final test.  The waiter came around with free refills of coffee.

We will definitely return!