That’s the approximate number of tombstones at Arlington National Cemetery. Our 2nd day of touring ended there but I’m getting ahead of myself. I’ll tell you how it started – with breakfast! Continue reading “260,000…..”
260,000…..
If you can read this, thank a Teacher….If you can read this in English thank a Veteran
This slogan was on the back of t-shirts worn by veterans of WWII and the Korean War from Dayton, Ohio who were sitting front and center at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier at Arlington National Cemetery. This is just a slice of what we just experienced in Washington, DC over Memorial Day weekend. Continue reading “If you can read this, thank a Teacher….If you can read this in English thank a Veteran”
Final Thoughts on Mexico
Well, we loved Mexico. It’s not like we’ve never been there before. But we hadn’t been to Mexico City and Zihau. We were blown away by Mexico City’s beauty, the art everywhere you look, the history, the sophistication of it, the friendliness of the people and the great restaurants! As I’ve said before we have a history with the country. We got married there and have a soft spot for it. Continue reading “Final Thoughts on Mexico”
La Barra de Potosi
What’ s the worst sound you want to hear when you’re on vacation in a beach town? Rain on the roof! I woke up on our last day in Zihau to pounding rain along with thunder and lightning. The lights flickered, went out for a few minutes and came back on. Rain is basically unheard of in Zihua at this time of year but like everywhere else on the planet the weather is weird. I went out onto the patio; it was heavily overcast and showering with no sign of a sunrise. Continue reading “La Barra de Potosi”
Downtown Zihau
There’s nothing like a Mercado (market). It’s the heartbeat of a city. In Zihau the market takes up blocks. Inside the market, stall after stall, packed tight selling anything you can imagine, from flowers to kitchen utensils and everything in between. People shop and stop to eat at their favorite food stall. Everyone has their favorite vendors. Everything is fresh. There are no chickens in plastic styrofoam cartons. No shrink wrapped cheese. You can smell the tomatoes and squeeze the melons. Outside on the streets surrounding the Mercado there are more vendors selling everything from cheeses to chickens. Continue reading “Downtown Zihau”
Zihau
Ixtapa/Zihautenjo share an airport. That’s where the similarity ends. Ixtapa is a resort designed by the Mexican government, think Cancun. Big hotels, manicured boulevards, shopping malls, restaurants, secure condominums. Zihautenejo or Zihau as it’s called is a which grew from 8,000 to 80,000 when people came to work at the Ixtapa hotels and restaurants. It was just a sleepy fishing village and the fisherman still bring their catch in every day. It’s got personality and the most beautiful beach Playa Ropa. This is where we spent the last few days of our vacation.
Zihau
Ixtapa/Zihautanejo share an airport. That’s where the similarity ends. Ixtapa is a resort designed by the Mexican government, think Cancun. Big hotels, manicured boulevards, strip malls, restaurants, secure condominiums. Zihautanejo or Zihau as it’s called by the locals is a town which grew from 8,000 to 80,000 when people came to work at the Ixtapa hotels and restaurants. It was just a sleepy fishing village and the fishermen still bring their catch in every day. It’s got personality and the most beautiful beach, Playa Ropa. Zihau is more our style and its where we spent the last few days of our vacation.
Day 3 in the DF
Monday, a holiday in Mexico City. That means no museums are open. But that’s okay there’s plenty to do.
We have a time slot scheduled at the Luis Barragan house. He is an influential architect of the 20th century, the Frank Lloyd Wright of Mexico, a Pritzker prize winner. His house is in a working class neighborhood of Mexico City and looks like all the other houses on the street but inside it’s a different story. He loves the play of color and light and is famous for his staircase that looks like it is not supported. On his patio, no furniture. On the tour with us were architectural students from around the world.
Day 2 in the DF
I have a new passion – it’s name is Concha which is a pan dulce bread and the Conchita which is a muffin. A sweet bun on the bottom and a crunchy scallop shell shaped topping of cocoa and cinnamon-totally awesome. I discovered these breakfast treats in my pastry basket on Sunday morning. I’ve never had one before – they are heavenly. Those of you who know me know that I rarely will eat a muffin but hey, I’m on vacation!
Day 2 in the DF started at 8:30A meeting Alvaro in the lobby of the hotel. It’s not really a lobby but more like a sitting area out of Architectural Digest. Alvaro mapped out the day and off we went. First by taxi to the Paseo de la Reforma, a large boulevard reminescent of the Champs Elysee which cuts across Mexico City. It’s home to many embassies including the American Embassy, shops, hotels and on Sunday it is closed to cars. Only bikes, pedestrians and running clubs, lots of running clubs.
Ciudad Mexico – Day One….
Mexico City, Ciudad Mexico, the DF – all names for the 5th largest city in the world with 22 million people and counting and sitting at over 7,000 feet above sea level. People wondered why go there? Well, why not. We decided to combine Mexico City with Zihautenejo or “Zihau” as the locals calls it. A big, big city combined with the beach.
We arrived in Mexico City and checked into a 35 room uber-trendy boutique hotel called Las Alcobas located in the Polanco neighborhood. The Polanco is full of boutiques, restaurants, art galleries, and home to the sophisticated residents of Mexico City. We immediately unpacked and headed out to begin our adventure and of course eat! We were directed to a casual neighborhood restaurant specializing in a type of taco called the “Al Pastor” (also the name of the restaurant) — marinated pork cooked on a vertical rotating spit, like gyros. That’s the Lebanese influence in Mexico City. Six different salsas were served with the tacos and we also ordered some guacamole and a couple of beers to wash it all down!