Frida Kahlo's Casa Azul (Blue House) now a museum
The kids' cultural center
A Coyoacán school
A house in the Coyoacán neighborhood
Señorita Klapheke and Frida Kahlo's altar
The view into her bedroom from the garden
The bathroom at Frida's house (the restroom for tourists, not her actual personal bathroom)
Our breakfast nook
Pretending to be a photographer in the plaza
The streets in Coyoacán
Just a door I liked.
The "shops" set out in front of the school.
It's funny to see an American family unit participating as a Mexican family unit. These kids went to immersion school and Gretchen and Kermit spoke only in Spanish in their home, so it wasn't a far cry, likely, from their getting ready routine in California. It was, however, worlds apart from my getting ready routine. I don't speak. I stay in bed until the last possible minute. I throw on clothes and make-up and pick up a fruit for breakfast while running out the door to catch my bus.
As Kermit got the kids ready, Gretchen got her running gear on. Wednesdays are her short days, so she runs in the morning before school and is still home by 2.
We all made our way out of the apartment and through the gigantic parking lot to the sidewalk where we all waited for a microbus. It didn't come and this school is different from mine in so many ways. One important factor is that if you arrive more than 15 minutes late, you are out of luck for the day. I suppose their line of thinking makes sense since that only leaves you with 4 hours and 15 minutes. We hailed a taxi and off we went. After kisses and hugs, the kids made their way and we followed Gretchen to the park to see it. There was a step class going on as well as a playground for adults with work out type activities.
Kermit and I left Gretchen to her Wednesday morning ritual and we headed into Coyoacán (the place of the coyotes, a trendy neighborhoody neighborhood). Kermit took me into the cultural center where Sabine takes dance lessons and Jacob is in a theater class.
We stopped in a café on the main plaza of this area of Coyoacán and had a delicious breakfast with a delicious view. I felt very much in Mexico.
From there, we moseyed to the market, a famous-ish coffee place, and a bookstore. I hit the jackpot! I set aside about 15 books to come back and purchase later in the day. I hadn't brought my backpack, so I didn't want to carry everything around on my site-seeing ventures. I found fairy tales in Spanish with DVD roms for 40 pesos! I got a bunch of those. I found a CD of trabalenguas (tongue twisters) that I have since decided was maybe not as worth the 68 pesos. I picked up a novel about a drug dealin' gal from Culiacán who moved her business to Spain. It came highly recommended by Kermit. I have plenty of free time in the afternoons; I'll let you know what I think.
From there, we meandered our way through some streets in the general direction of Frida Kahlo's blue house, now a museum. We found it. Kermit had been there done that (a phrase Honey loved when we traveled to Europe), so he chilled in the gardens while I took an audiotour. I did the tour in Spanish and it was a very neat house. I was annoyed with the headsets, though. They were automatic, so they changed when you entered a new room. The only issue was that they sometimes changed when you got close to the next room. Then you had to start the previous room all over again! It was a slight headache, but allowed me to hear some details I might've missed.
I really enjoyed seeing all the famous people they knew and corresponded with. I also enjoyed their love letters. Apparently, even once they were married, they continued written correspondence. It was interesting to contrast portraits that Diego Rivera did of Frida with her self-portraits. She was very hard on herself.
She had one bedroom where she painted in her sick days. There was a photo of her in her bed with her painting contraption aiding her. It was neat to see the same room set up in the photograph.
They also still had set up a great Day of the Dead altar for her. I took several pictures to use in a slideshow for my students, including one with me in it. Pictures of things without people in them get old and irrelevant fast!
We had just enough time to waste about 45 minutes before the kids got out of school, so we checked out the local pub where Frida and Diego were said to have hung out. It was closed for service until 1, obviously, so we took a few pics and moved on. I bought my books. While standing there, the soundtrack was playing what seemed to be titled "Hits from Laura's Trip to Spain 2002." I was singing every word to every song...while in Mexico. It was a riot!
We then headed to our original plaza (where we had eaten breakfast) and I walked around the neighborhood, enjoying the cobble streets and the neighborhood feeling. I saw some schools, some pretty flowers, and some neat streets. I felt like I was in a movie.
We picked up the kids and went back over to Gretchen's running park so the kids could play with their friends on the kiddie playground. Kermit and I discussed the safety of the playground and how it likely (er, definitely) would not pass a US inspection. It was so neat seeing the kids thriving in Mexico and in Spanish.
From there, we taxied to a great taco place and I had the tacos al pastor, which is that yummy dripping meat you see outside most meateries in front of the flame that is cooking them.
After heading back to the apartment, Gretchen got home and we discussed the plan for the evening. It was already after 2, and we had to be on the other side of town at 7 for dinner. I still had things I wanted to see, but what they were, I didn't know. We got the kids off to their cultural classes and Gretchen packed. We took a taxi (and my two big suitcases-I had to be prepared for purchases, not to mention I packed my pillows) across town that took almost an hour. DF is huge like NYC. It's dirty like NYC. And it's intriguing like NYC. I have no interest in living there forever, but I must admit it'd be neat for a year or two. I'm going to have to do something about the economy and wages before I can seriously consider it, but it's a neat place.
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