Here’s why we like Mexico City

Here we are again in Mexico City. It’s one of our favourite places to visit for a few good reasons:

Firstly, it’s now familiar to us as we’ve been here several times in recent years and we know a good, reasonable place to stay in Roma Norte.

Actually this time we got the best room of this old home converted to a Bed and Breakfast. We’re

in the former dining room complete with chandelier and stained glass windows.

Secondly, it’s so easy to get around using the Metro and the Metro Bus. The Metro was our go-to transit method until this trip. There are currently 12 lines, most of them underground that quickly and easily get you around—just as long as you between 10 am and 3 pm when it’s less crowded. But this time we’re using the Metro Bus. These bright red articulated buses run on dedicated bus lanes. Line 1 opened in 2016 and there are now seven lines. The cost is about 50 cents and you can tap in with a card. So easy.  And fun to bypass lanes of stalled cars in the bus lane.

Thirdly, there’s the food.  From street tacos (choose your vendor from those where people are lining up) to elegant high end restaurants with finger bowls, to trendy eateries, it’s all here. Mexicans love seafood and it’s trucked in fresh each day. Yesterday I had a sizzling pan full of prawns, lobster, crab, mussels and fish in a delicious saffron sauce. The cost worked out to about 15 dollars, less than you can pay for a hamburger at home. The photo above is our lunch yesterday in a very trendy Roma restaurant. Equally a bargain.

That leads me to the fourth reason:  It a bargain. From food to taxis to accommodation, everything seems very reasonable by Canadian standards.  

And of course, the fifth and biggest reason is the immense number of things to see and do. There are over 100 museums in the city, many of them free of charge. Mexico excels with design and flair. A mix of upscale and indigenous crafts makes everything interesting. Plus there’s a strong hipster vibe in the neighbourhoods we’ve been visiting.

More pics from the free museum

Harry and I posing at the bottom of some very uneven stairs. This museum was full of ancient paintings and sacred sculptures collected by the owner.

Yesterday we went to the Casa Guillermo Tovar de Teresa, an old home just around the corner of where we’re staying a beautiful private garden and art pieces and living spaces. The previous owner passed away at an advanced age and the Casa was purchased by Carlos Slim and in now part of the Museo Soumayo. 

I’m trying blogging on my iPad and having some difficulty. Can’t really format it the way I’d like to. So I’ll add just a few more photos and call it a day.

These photos were taken in Roma and Condesa. We’ll be exploring these two neighbourhoods again tomorrow.

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Collage explorations

I went to a one-day collage course today at the Vancouver Island School of Art.  It was a super fun and kind of a revelation of different ways to move with my painting.  I now see there are lots of ways to add texture and subtlety to my painting. 







































The instructor Tony Bounsall did a great job of introducing many different approaches and techniques. All materials were provided and we used acrylic paints plus india ink plus gesso plus acrylic mediums plus tissue papers and deli papers to create the finished product. To start he had us choose a letter and create two simple designs.  I chose "A" and "e" and Im quite pleased with what emerged. These are on 11x14 inch hardboard.








































If it weren't for the fact that I just packed away my studio for our trip to Mexico I would be setting up to do an entire series of letters.  As it is though, I'll have to put it on hold until we return in early January.

Turning the corner on recovery

It's now approaching eleven weeks since my total knee replacement surgery--and I'm happy to say that I'm starting to feel like myself again. I turned the corner about a week ago when I was finally able to sleep through the night without pain waking me up. My surgeon is happy with the results, especially the fact that my right leg, which was quite bowed before, is now straight. That pleases me too because it gives me hope that better alignment will improve my walking and my other joints. I have pretty good range of motion in my knee and I'm told that it will continue to improve over the next year or so. Apparently it takes up to two years before the new knee starts feeling and moving like it's part of your body. They didn't tell me that beforehand, but maybe that's a good thing.


So onward and upward. I'm still doing exercises for range of motion, strength and flexibility and looking forward to getting back to Pilates and some of the Aging Backwards classes that I enjoyed a year ago. 

I'm now able to stand and paint at the easel for up to an hour at a time and I'm really happy to be able to do that. We've rigged up a stool with a cushion so I can paint on the high table too. I've started to work in a larger format and it's a different process.

Here's my latest painting. It's 24x36 and Im quite pleased with it. I'm working towards a group show in February at the Gage Artists Collective Gallery where I'm a member. And a solo show (yikes!) in late May.

Meanwhile we're planning another trip to Mexico in December. This time we're going with family--my brother and his wife and 16 year old daughter, plus my sister. We'll be in Oaxaca at Christmas time. Apparently it's the centre for some big fiestas then. I'm hoping that I'll be able to walk better with my new knee by then.

Last look at Guanajuato: colourful walls, an old centro, a big market, and an ex-hacienda

The painted walls of the buildings in Guanajuato cover all the colours of the spectrum but there's more to the city than that.

It also features a very typical old market building in the centre of town.  This woman is obviously there on a shopping trip.

And this woman is one of the many vendors.

The array of fruits and vegetables on display is amazing. This woman looks like a queen among her produce.

But my favourite market photo is the one of these two sisters who were sitting at a counter inside the market having a snack.

The central part of town is really lovely with an elaborate opera house complete with statuary,
and a gorgeous old church, plus some lovely winding streets to wander behind it all.

On our last day there we took a taxi to edge of town to visit an old hacienda that is now open to visitors and events.  It was a really peaceful place to wander around in late winter sunshine. 

And here's your cute dog photo to round things out.  We are planning another trip to Mexico in December. Heading off to Oaxaca with family over Christmas and then visiting a couple more cities and towns that we haven't yet explored. Mexico is a continual source of fascination.

Querétero and Guanajuato -- two lovely cities in Central Mexico

This post follows up on my promise to show some of what we saw during our February trip to Central Mexico. Both Querétero and Guanajuato are north of Mexico City and easily accessible by bus. And a bus ride in Mexico is pretty pleasant if you go first class. You get comfortable seats with lots of leg room, snacks and drinks and your own screen with entertainment. Some of them even have internet. Three hours later we had arrived and taken a taxi ride to our Air B&B on a street just a few blocks from the historic centre of town. This is the courtyard of the pretty spot we stayed on a street just a couple of blocks from the historic centre of town.

The centro contains lots of plazas and pedestrian walkways with restaurants, galleries and coffee shops, not to mention churches and museums and upscale hotels with outdoor bars and restaurants.  It was easy to while away a few days exploring here, plus we got to connect with our friend Natalia and her husband who we met for lunch.


Here's a few photos to show the area. It's very Colonial and pleasant to wander around, poking into old churches and museums. This area is a UNESCO heritage site and well worth exploring.

Walking down the quiet residential streets rewards you with views of centuries-old doors and window boxes.

The most prominent feature of the centro is its enormous aqueduct, consisting of 74 arches, built between 1726 and 1738 at the request of the nuns of Santa Clara convent to bring water to the residents of the city.

It's really special place to visit because it's very pedestrian friendly and clean. The city is prosperous and many residents come to the historic centre to stroll the plazas and walkways and eat at the many good restaurants.  Despite this it's not really touristy at all.  

I didn't take as many photos as I might have liked but this is one of the fountains in one of the main plazas. I like the dog face and the fishes.

The next city, Guanajuato (Pronounced: Gwana-wato) is just a short bus ride away and another world altogether. Guanajuato was built in a narrow valley and the streets are winding and narrow. Many streets are inaccessible to cars, with lots of stairs. Others go beneath the city in tunnels. The historic centre has many small plazas and Colonial buildings. The growth of this city resulted from abundant minerals (mainly silver and gold) mined in the surrounding mountains. Now its wealth comes from visitors who come throughout the year.

You can see how the city is built up the hillsides with houses painted brilliant colours that only work in a place like Mexico..

This is the view from our little balcony above a street above a sweet little plaza. And the green window was just beside it.  And below a couple more street scenes featuring saturated colours. Our street was one that was traversed by wandering minstrels at night singing traditional songs.  There's a lot to experience in this city.

Here's one of the subterranean tunnels. There are actually sidewalks in these that go for about a mile underneath with stop signs and crossings too.  It was ok for driving through but I don't think walking would appeal, even though they have exhaust fans working

Some streets were very steep and narrow. There's even one called the alley of the kiss because it's supposed to be possible to reach across balconies to windows and kiss someone on the other side. We didn't find that one but the one here on right is pretty tight. That's Harry walking through it back into our plaza.

You can see that it's a great place to explore on foot.

I will do one more post on Guanajuato because I want to show the lovely market and central zocalo plus a lovely ex-hacienda that we visited.

Expanding my world slowly

It's now been more than a month since my knee surgery and there have been definite hills and valleys in my recovery. What I know now is that it is a long road and the progress cannot be rushed. In the first three weeks I gradually left the narcotic drugs behind--with a sigh of relief. I'm now just taking Tylenol for pain and most of the time it works just fine. But when I push too hard with the exercises or spend too much time on my feet the pain comes back to remind me that this is a long process.

Last weekend I was so happy that Harry drove me out to Sidney to have lunch and then go to see an art show by a friend of mine, Anita Boyd, who is a very cool abstract painter.

On the left is one of her paintings from the show called Portal that was shared with another abstract artist, Marilyn Chapman.  One of her recent works is on the right. You can see how these two women's work would sing together in an exhibition.

It was great to be able to walk around with just my cane and feel somewhat like a normal person again.

We had a lovely outing but on Monday morning when it was time for my physiotherapy appointment I could not walk without pain.  My physio confirmed that I had overdone it and recommended cutting back on the exercises and and upright activities.  By Wednesday I was feeling well enough to set up my art studio (actually the bay window in the living room that can tuck away under a table covered by a tablecloth when I'm not working there).  What a joy to pull some paints out and start messing around after more than a month of inactivity.










But alas, time slipped by and before I knew it, I'd been standing for well over an hour. Way too much for my knee.  So once again I'm back to sitting or lying in bed or on the couch icing my knee and working on range of motion exercises. It's a fine balance between pushing hard enough to have an effect and pushing too hard. I am still learning this balance.



Meanwhile I have a companion to snuggle with me. Little Pippa is here staying with us while stepson Ben and his partner Kande head off to Barcelona along with Ben's mom Heather. I know they'll have a fabulous trip. But equally, Harry and will be enjoying the company of this darling 7 pound Havanese bundle of cuddles.

I am hoping that by Sunday I'll feel well enough to attend some of the opening reception for the most recent group show at the Gage Gallery. The show is called Freefall and features the work of ten of the gallery artists. My submission is a triptych. I'm quite pleased with the way it looks in the gallery.

Stop by to see it on Sunday and meet some of the artists. Or else Tuesday through Saturday 11 to 5.