Historical & Hip: Mai Tai Tomás Travels To México City

Day Seven: Charming Boutique Hotel, Who’s A Lardo?, There’s Trouble Afoot, Monument To Heroes Defending Mexico City, Be Sure To Come Here On A Weekday, Travels Through Mexico’s History, Going Out Of My Head, You Gotta Have Heart,, Hail Montezuma, A Happening Part Of Town and Our Only Restaurant Misstep

It was moving day one more time. Tracy and I zipped back to Condesa at the charming Hotel Villa Condesa (Calle Colima 428 Colonia Roma Norte).

Villa Condesa is a boutique hotel with an onsite restaurant plus a shaded patio that we enjoyed each evening for wine. We checked in during the in-between breakfast and lunch hours, so we headed out into the neighborhood in search of food having not eaten before we departed Centro Histórico. Tracy blurted out, “Hey Lardo!” I knew I had partaken of copious amounts of food on the trip, but I thought that statement was a bit harsh.  It was then I noticed the restaurant sign for Lardo (Agustín Melgar 6, Colonia Condesa).

We shared a Lemon Ricotta Roll (outstanding) followed by scrambled eggs, avocado and parmesan cheese served on a house-made English muffin.  Lardo serves breakfast and lunch and also has a take-out window for house-made pastries and coffee.  Lardo is a very popular restaurant, so expect a wait at lunchtime.

You see, we don’t always drink wine.

From there, it was only about a 15-minute walk to Bosque de Chapultepec (Chapultepec Forest … better known as Chapultepec Park). Knowing Mexico City’s affinity for dogs, it was no surprise when we saw one driving. We prayed for its safety.

Entering Chapultepec Park, panda-monium nearly broke out when this guy nearly made me his sole man. We safely made it through the gate.

It seemed lots of prey were after me.

Next we came upon Monumento a los Niños Héroes, dedicated to six teenage boys who became heroes during the Battle of Chapultepec, which took place during the 1847 U.S. invasion. These young cadets were killed attempting to stave off advancing American troops.One cadet, Juan Escutia, did not want the Mexican flag to fall into enemy hands. He draped himself in the flag and jumped to his death. The boys were eventually buried in Chapultepec Park and their remains were moved to the monument in 1952.

If you don’t want to walk through the park, there are other means of transportation.

On this weekday, the park was uncrowded, unlike the massive amount of people who were here when Tim and Sheila visited on a weekend. We didn’t explore too much, because we were going to meet Stephen to see the most visited museum in all of Mexico. We walked by one the park’s three lakes, which I think was Lago Mayor.

Before traveling to Mexico City, we had been advised not to miss Museo Nacional de Antropología. We’re glad we didn’t.

This anthropology museum is recognized as one of the premier museums of its kind in the world. There are more than 20 rooms but unfortunately many were closed on the day we visited, however the rooms we wanted to see were open. The impressive complex of rooms were constructed in the mid-1960s, upon entering the courtyard we were wowed by El Paragua (the umbrella) fountain.

The first room dealt with the Introduction To Anthropology, and the second and third rooms took us through ancient history.

Although a popular museum, it was fairly quiet on a Thursday, which was great for viewing the artifacts.

Primates were shown in various stages.

I only wish the cave art we saw at Font de Gaume in France was this good. Then Tracy reminded me these were recreations.

A Neanderthal burial is depicted, as well as the grave of homo sapiens.

Although the museum has more than 100 murals, only about 15-20 are displayed at a time. The one below in the Peoples of the Americas Room was completed in 1964 entitled Las Razas y La Cultural.” This mural celebrates diversity where 14 goddesses represent different races of the planet. I’m sure it would not be allowed in Florida.

Hold on to your heart! In the Teotihuacan Collection, a grinning skull caught our immediate attention. It was found in a 1964 excavation very near to the Pyramid of the Sun. There are a number of interpretations of what it depicted, perhaps even of human sacrifices or the Teotihuacan God of Death. Some have even called it the “Disc of Death.” I thought he might have just been laughing at me for sliding down the nearby mini-pyramid on my rear end a few days before.

There were remnants of the Pyramid of the Feathered Serpent.

The Terrestrial Water Goddess, originally resided near the Temple of the Moon.

I met up with my contemporary, The Elderly God of Fire Huehueteotl.

I thought the sculpture on the left might be an ancient surfboard.

I read that this piece called El Creado (The Creator) “represents a kneeling adult, bearded and with fangs. He has two penises that are intermingled with cocoa leaves that go up behind his arms and run down his back until they end in a knot on his chest.” He is said to be linked with fertility. If they had X-rated films back then, El Creado would have been its biggest star.

Before entering the Mexica Room (6), in the hallway we read about something called Mesoamerican ballgame. It is too long to explain, but cutting to the chase, some of the competitors didn’t come home for dinner. A sign read, “When a play was made that went against the movement of the sun, a decapitation was carried out, and the blood vitalized the earth and sun.” I wonder if the term header came from that game.

The Mexica Room was one of the two most interesting rooms in the museum. If you are an (ancient) Aztec fan, this is your room. The first gigantic artifact you come upon is the Ocelotl Cuauhxicalli, a jaguar that was utilized as a “vessel for the hearts from sacrificial victims.”

It was tough living back then. The Jaguar was an important symbol for the Aztecs.

We explored the galleries of ancient sculptures.