Colonias de Mexico D.F.

On Saturday Jeff and I went to Condesa which is one of the many neighborhoods (called colonias) in Mexico City. Think of it like the Burroughs in NYC. Each colonia has a distinct flavor and some interesting sites. Condesa has some great sidewalk cafes and many restaurants. We ate at an Uruguayan steak house. It was pretty tasty. Those South Americans sure know how to cook up meat. We met up with some of Jeff's friends and spent some time in a cafe then we walked around and went through the park where one of the scenes from "Man on Fire" was filmed. We ended up in a small cantina and had a few cervezas. Condesa has some great old houses and tons of trees and small parks. This would be a nice place to live.

On Sunday Jeff and I went down to Coyoacan and San Angel. They are colonias that are right next to each other and have a ton of character. We started in Coyoacan (which means 'place of the coyotes' in the Aztec language) and mingled with the locals in the central square. Coyoacan is packed on the weekends with all kinds of people and vendors selling various things from clothing, to food to incense, to lucha libre (Mexican wrestling) masks. Coyoacan is also known for its great ice cream. Of course we had to try some. Coyoacan is also home to Cafe El Jarocho which is an extremely popular Cuban coffee place. We were lucky because it was not to crowded when we went. I got a great hot chocolate. By the time we passed by later there must have been 100 people or more in line. We fought the crowds near the cathedral and went inside. It was pretty ornate and well maintained. There were street performers outside and a band playing across the way. We left the central square and made our way to San Angel. It was about a 30 min stroll down cobble stone streets with old houses and ivy covered walls. Very nice indeed. On our way to san Angel we passes another square full of vendors and some carnival type rides. It looked rather poorly maintained so Jeff and I skipped the rides. We continued on to San Angel which has much more charm and less people than Coyoacan. It is filled with old colonial style houses and quiet cobbled streets. We walked around and visited the small church. We stopped in a cantina and had a refresco (soda). We took a taxi back to Coyoacan and had dinner in a restaurant adjacent to the main square. It started to rain just as we sat down. It poured for about 30 min but it did nothing to the crowds and the vendors. After dinner we walked through the crowds and back to the car. All in all a great couple of days.

I went back to school on Monday and found out that my teacher is sick and may not be back all week. That is a bummer because she was great. The sub is not bad but she is a bit quiet and not as fun. Oh well, thems the breaks. That's all from here. I will talk to you all later.