Turibus here we come!

When I was in el DF (day EFF-fay) in November for our Fulbright reunion/midterm check-up, I had wanted to go on the Turibus.  Alma (Mabel's sister who is a dancer in the ballet- not the folklórico) had raved about it and said it was a must-do.  

In November, I stayed with another Fulbright family in the southern part of the city.  I took Kermit (the dad) up on his offer to show me around this quaint, hippie-esque area of DF.  That pretty much eliminated my possibility for the Turibus.  But with two suitcases and a dinner meeting that night in the northern part of town, it was pretty much impossible anyway.  

I wasn't sure that I would be back to DF, but boy am I glad I was!

So Monday morning, Ashley and I got up and at em around 8:30 I think.  The Turibus started at 9, but we figured making sure we were there by 10 would leave enough time for the day.  Little did we know how much we would have to see!  The first section of the ride took us to our already favored part of town: el centro histórico.  We got off again at the Alameda to see if we had missed anything.  We had read about lots of fountains and statues and important things, but hadn't seen them.  We still didn't see them.  Oh, well.

We also go to see the super old, but still functioning Post Office (though I should use the term functioning loosely considering my mail woes!).  We were just mesmerized by it.  It also has a museum during the week, but like most cool things in this city is closed on Mondays.
Don't worry; this isn't real mail.  I'm afraid it wouldn't get where it was going!

From the post office, after our ridiculous photo shoot (I spared you the details and extra photos!), we went to another building called La Casa Azulejos.  The Tile House.  It was also in our book and was GORGEOUS.

It turns out it is now a Sanborne's store, which means this location was mostly restaurant, but also part gift shop and pharmacy.  Of course there was a history to the building and some interesting stories from its past, but again, I've forgotten them due to the time lapse.
As you can see from the pictures, it's no ordinary department store or restaurant.  It was quite the site.  I could've taken pictures all day in there!  The prices were semi-ridiculous for Mexico for a meal.  However, it's like NYC I suppose.  The prices will be more expensive in that city than in Nashville even at a chain.  And add to that it's located in a historic building.  You get what you pay for I guess...
We took as many pictures as we could and headed back to our bus stop.  It was already in motion, but we used our best flagging down skills since the next one was not likely to pass for another 30 minutes or so.

The bus then went through our regular stompin' grounds to the Zócalo (see picture below) counting down to the Bicentennial of Mexican Independence.  It's not until the fall of 2010, but they're ready with their countdown!  We had pretty much seen all there was to see there, so we stayed on the bus listening.  
Listening, that is, until they mentioned tamales and hot chocolate.  Now, being a hot-natured beast, one would think I would stay away from hot chocolate while touring around a hot city in the middle of the day.  However, when it's recommended, it's recommended.  We missed the next stop because we were trying to decide if our timing was good enough to go ahead and eat.  So at the following stop, we got off and back tracked to Café de Tacuba.  This is actually the name of a group that Beto and Chori (Shania's cousin) introduced me to back in November.
This place was absolutely adorable.  We each got a "sweet tamal" and another meaty one.  I don't remember the specifics, but they were for sure good.  My hot chocolate was divine, too.  I just needed a bottle of water to wash it down!
We loved the place for its charm as well as its good food.  And while we hadn't been on the tourist trail too much that day, it's always good to sit down at a meal.  The day before had essentially worn us out, so it was a great break.


From there, we trekked back to the bus stop and waited for at least 45 minutes.  We were getting annoyed, but dealt with it.  We rode and rode and listened and listened.  We had seen Zara bags all morning (and had actually googled Zara to try to figure out where their stores were in DF.  It was not helpful since it only gave the street names.  Streets in Mexico City, by the way, are super long.  Well, while on the bus, listening to how we were basically on the Rodeo Drive of Mexico City,
Ashley spotted a Zara sign.  We made our way to the front of the bus and got off.  All I could think as we were doing that was the looks we were probably getting (there go those rich American girls to shop).  We were way out of our league with Louis Vuitton and Burberry.  We did stop in the Puma store.  But in Zara, we were disappointed.  There wasn't a ton that was cute, but what there was was very expensive.  We left disappointed, but we loved the area we were in.  It looked very Chicago.  Or maybe very Soho?  Who knows.  It was cute and upscale, so we meandered.
It didn't take us long to find something that fit right and was in our price range...  Ice Cream!

There are many signs I've been in Mexico too long.  Several "fashion" things that I like that are simply inexcusable is example number one.  Number two is my reaction to a 14 peso 1.5-liter bottle of water as too expensive.  Number three is my new choice in ice cream.  Whenever I get ice cream, part of it must be chocolate.  Pretty much whenever I get dessert.  It's a Gabhart curse.  At least the sweet part.  I'm not sure where the chocolate comes in, but I know Andy and I are both chocoholics.  I think Patrick is more in control of his sweet tooth.
While Ashley ordered her Mexican staple of agua de fresa (and I must admit, I'm a believer) and some ice cream (the flavor has left me, but I think it included chocolate), I asked for a scoop of mango and a scoop of lemon.  Who am I?!  
I must admit that the lemon was very refreshing.  The mango was quite possibly the best thing I put in my mouth that day.  Absolutely delicious.  I didn't want it to end!

But it did.

We got back on the bus and unfortunately got rained on a bit as we finished the circuit for Monday.  We had bought a two day pass "just in case" we didn't finish in one day.  If you get off the bus, there is no humanly possible way to see the whole city on those buses.  I think if you get on first thing in the morning, don't get off and just see from your seat what there is to see, you could do it in a day.  But we needed some adventure and some up close and personal!

Our last stop for the day was to see the Castle at Chapultepec.  It was rainy, but not raining if that makes sense, so we decided to be brave and get off.  The bus stop was right by where the ballet had been.

We got a bit turned around, and it started to sprinkle.  You can imagine what a happy camper I was!  We made our way to a gate and asked an official looking man where the entrance was to the castle.  He told us about a half a block away, but that on normal days you had to be there before 5 pm (it was 5:30) and that on Mondays it was closed.

Awesome.

We waited around for the next Turibus and made it back to our home away from home (from home for me).