On Tuesday, we went to Chapultepec Castle, which for many years served as the residence for the kings and presidents who ruled Mexico.
It was also an important site for the Aztecs.
The rooms were admittedly very ornate.
As advertised, the ‘vibe’ was definitely Versailles. It was fun to think about Donald Trump spending billions redesigning the White House and being ‘pwned’ by Mexico City at his own game.
So much of our history has been plagued by the whims and machinations of the very rich.
Here, there were beautiful testaments to their downfall.
Perhaps even more thrillingly, history has also featured hot gay statuary, some of which was on display here.
These statues date all the way back to the 1980s, when vogueing became popular among gay men.
There were lesbians at this party, too.
That night, we walked around our neighborhood and admired its many non-Amazon shops, including this feminist bookstore-slash-coffeeshop-slash-bar-slash-takeout deli (?) It was impossible to imagine such an establishment in New York City, where the rents are too punishing. Mexico City is pulsing with capitalism, but relatively little of it seems to be corporate. (Thinking emoji.)
On our final day in the city, we went to Panderia Rosetta, which someone — accurately, as it turned out — had described to us as ‘the best bakery in the world.’
Walking back to our hotel, I admired the dedicated bus lanes.
So often, New Yorkers act like our problems are unique and intractable, ignoring the fact that other cities have already addressed them.
Mexico City’s version of Amsterdam Avenue is much nicer than ours.
Ours could be redesigned, however, with Mexico City in mind.
We finally managed to get to both Frida Kahlo museums, which I’m glad I saw but I felt did not feature enough of her artwork. I did feel a bit like a rodent being led through a maze with the gazillions of other tourists who wanted to learn about the artist (and her extended family, who featured quite prominently). I also got yelled at for taking a picture of a video. I thought that the rule was against taking videos, not taking pictures of videos. Copyright law is extreme everywhere, it seems.
But I left with this quote, which I’ve thought about many times since returning from Mexico City, and which like most things I found there makes we want to go back.
