Somebody stinks! Plus facebook...

The way taxis work in DF, at least from public transportation places, is that you buy your ticket in advance at a ticket window, based on how far you're going.  Then you give that ticket to the driver.  This is the "safe" way to take taxis.  Apparently about ten years ago, uncertified taxis were causing major problems (and major crimes) for foreign visitors.  Things have settled and I've had really good luck even on the streets of DF (always with someone else), but from bus stations and airports, I always go with the pre-paid.

We got our taxi, and bless his heart, he let out an audible "Uf" when he loaded our suitcases.  What all had we even bought at this point?  

Our drive was a quiet one.  And a stinky one I imagine.

I think you could hear the angels singing when we rolled up to Hotel Emporio.  We love that place, and it welcomed us back with open arms.

We checked in and our bellboy (without an "Uf") took our suitcases up.  Our room this time was still viewless, but it was bigger.  The bellboy obviously didn't remember us (or better yet didn't recognize us in our disheveled state), because he went into all the amenities of the room.  We nodded, smiled, passed on his tip, and closed the door.  I umped in the shower first while Ashley caught up on internet things, including informing the worrisome Vicki of our whereabouts and safety.  Had we been thinking, she would've gone first, because when I came out, her response was, "Thank goodness!  I don't know if I can stand smelling myself anymore!"

Again, thankful for the lack of satisfactory olfactory performance.

While she was in the shower, I did my internet things, including facebook.

Before long, Paloma was chatting me and we caught up on the week, etc.  He asked when we would arrive on Friday, and I informed him that in fact we were already there!  He was already making plans.  What had we seen?  What was left to be seen?  I didn't know what was left to be seen because I felt like we had seen all the touristy stuff.

After a bit of brainstorming, he came up with The Lions' Desert.  It was on the outskirts of town, and he would pick us up after work.  Since it was Friday, he would/could get off at 3, putting him at our hotel around 4.

Done.

We made the plan for Friday: no plan.  Sleep in until we wake up.  Go see Diego Rivera's mural that was near the Zócalo that we somehow missed each time we were there.  See if we could find the artisans' (there we go again!) market.  Eat something yummy for lunch.  Wait for Paloma.  It seemed like a laid-back enough day for our last day in a city we LOVED!

We got into bed and were thankful for the air conditioning and bug-free environment.  The hotel life, especially a 5 star hotel on a 2 star budget, is something that one could certainly get used to.  (Dragging the luggage around, not so much.)

It can be a thousand degrees and my mind still needs me to be wrapped up in covers.  Ashley thought it was hilarious, so she documented it.

It was a good night's sleep!