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!

Return to Another Garden

As I wrote previously, the Floating Garden of Tlallipan is a wonderful project, but I have my doubts as to whether or not it will be maintained.  It made me think about another linear park, the Ecoducto, which runs between the lanes of a busy freeway, the Miguel Alemán Viaduct.

A park in the middle of the freeway

The park follows the course of the Piedad River.  The river was polluted and a flood risk, so it was enclosed in pipes when the freeway was built in the 1950s.  The Ecoducto was opened in 2017 on top of the tubes which carry the river.  The recycled river water is used to irrigate the gardens of the park.  Even though the Ecoducto is a short walk from my apartment, I had not walked along it for quite a while.  Last week I decided to see how well it has been maintained over the years.

I walked a short distance up Insurgentes to the park entrance on the west side of the avenue. The park continues on the other side of Insurgentes, and its total length is almost a mile. 

Along the avenue is this new addition... a sculpture of a bicyclist created from plants.

 

The sign at the entrance, which explained the park, is defaced with graffiti and completely illegible.  Not a good first impression.  The letters above the frame say, "Un río pasa aquí." (A river runs here.)

This sign has also been defaced.  Ironically, it says, "Take care of your park".

I enter the park.

A group of city workers was tending to the gardens and sweeping the walkway.

The lady in the photo above has a regular broom, but most workers use brooms made from twigs tied to a pole.

The gardens on either side of the walkway were, for the most part, attractive and well-tended.

The freeway is now almost hidden from sight by the flowering vines that were planted by the fences on either side.

This bench with the initials used for Mexico City is looking rather shabby and is also marred with graffiti.

A gaping hole in the sidewalk

So, how would I rate the Ecoduct nine years after its opening?

I am happy to see that the plants are generally well cared for, and that the park is free of litter.  However, due to the ugly graffiti and some other defects, I would give it a grade of B-.

Street Art from the Floating Garden

Yesterday I wrote about the Floating Garden of Tlallipan, an elevated, lineal park that is above the tracks of a Metro Line.

While walking the length of the park there were many examples of street art visible on nearby buildings.  Some of the art was obviously the work of the city government that went on a painting binge prior to the World Cup this summer.  "Capital de la Tranformación" (Capital of Transformation) is the government's slogan for the city.

But there were other pieces of art that were probably done by private artists.  I wonder if they were already there, or if they were painted especially for the World Cup and the opening of the Floating Garden.

The New Floating Garden

Many visitors to Mexico City are familiar with the so-called "Floating Gardens of Xochimilco", a network of canals and islands on the far south side of the city.  They are a remnant of the "chinampa" system of agriculture used by the Aztecs in which man-made islands would be created for farming in the shallow waters of the lake which once covered most of the Valley of Mexico.

Today however, the city boasts a newly-opened elevated, lineal park called the Floating Garden of  Tlallipan.  It runs a little over a mile from the southern edge of the Historic District south to the Chabacano Metro Station.  Line 2 of the Metro emerges from underground, and the Floating Garden is built above the Metro tracks.  The name comes from the fact that the route follows that of the pre-Hispanic causeway which ran from the Aztecs' island capital of Tenochtitlan to the lakeshore town of Tlalpan.

I wanted to check out this new project.  I took the subway to the Pino Suárez station.  Exiting the station I then walked a short distance outside and then climbed a flight of stairs which led to the beginning of the Floating Garden.

Work is still continuing on the project, and there were crews of gardeners planting more plants.

The gardens on either side of the walkway are quite attractive with a variety of flowers and other plants.

Dahlias, the national flower of Mexico

A cactus in bloom

There are several fountains which are enclosed in capsules to prevent evaporation.

The gardens are decorated with figures of animals that are native to Mexico.

The axolotl, the salamander-like animal that inhabits the canals of Xochimilco and which has become a trademark of Mexico City.

A soccer-playing axolotl

The xoloitzcuintle (xolo for short) is a breed of dog that was venerated by the Aztecs.

We know it as the Mexican hairless.

The Tlaloc frog, named after the Aztec rain god, is an endangered species.

(It doesn't really wear a pre-Hispanic headdress.)

A hummingbird

Another hummingbird, formed from succulent plants

A cocomixtle, an animal similar to a small racoon

A teporingo, a tiny rabbit-like animal which inhabits the volcanic slopes of Mexico

There are also a large number of figures of dogs, among them the rescue dogs Proteo and Frida who gained the status of heroes for their work in finding survivors in the wreckage of earthquakes in Mexico and around the world.

The gardens include playground areas for the children, stands selling organic vegetables, and even tables for playing chess.

The path passes right through an upper level of the San Antonio Abad Metro station.

After more than a mile, the park comes to an end at the Chabacano Metro station.

The Chabacano station is very large and busy.  Three Metro lines intersect here, two of them above ground and one below ground.  One of the stops on the underground line is within walking distance of the apartment, so returning home was very easy.

The station has been completely renovated.

I was very impressed with the Floating Garden.  I think it will be a very nice asset for the city IF... (and given the way things work in Mexico City, it's a big if)... IF the park is maintained and not allowed to fall into disrepair.  Fingers crossed.