Welcome to the Wonderful World of Pinatas........

One of my favourite street sights here in Mexico City are the shops which sell pinatas. These particular tiendas are just around the corner from where I live, and depict all the favourites for children's parties. I especially like the speccy Harry Potter contrasted with the rather muscular and robust Spiderman.......

Of course in addition to the cartoon characters, traditional sputnik-style pinatas are sold and flown all year round - but especially in the approach to Christmas. Here are some soaring above the cobbled streets of Taxco, and my school playground....

Each of the seven spikes represents one of the seven deadly sins, so when you have bashed the life out of gluttony, sloth, anger etc, you are rewarded with the shower of sweeties and goodies....

A word of warning, however, to stand well back when the pinata is being bashed for all its worth. A friend of mine spent her first Mexican Christmas in hospital after being rendered unconscious by an-over enthusiastic blind-folded child wielding the stick like a baseball bat!! I also witnessed a young English child, who hadn't quite got the concept of pinatas, absolutely traumatised by the sight of poor Winnie the Pooh's four limbs sailing off in all four compass directions leaving him quadraplegic and a child sobbing on her first birthday - the joy of cultural exchange totally evading her!!

But aren't they vibrant and beautiful? - their bright colours and shapes are an iconic sight on the streets of Mexico City. For more global glimpses around the world today check out the My World Tuesday postings by clicking here. Enjoy!

Food Cart Culture : From Veracruz to Portland....

Food carts and street stalls are a common sight in Mexico, and a vibrant part of the food scene in the towns and cities as shown by the rather delightful example in Veracruz City above. There are always International Food Fairs on Calle Reforma just round the corner where I live here in Mexico City, and indeed at the school where I work, where regularly I eat my way round the world from Argentina to Zambia. So it was with pleasureable recognition that I recently discovered the parking lot pods of food carts in Portland, Oregon.....

Clustered together in pods, you can choose from tasty dishes in just one parking lot from Bosnia to Ethiopia, Poland to Thailand, Hawaii to El Salvador, Germany to Japan, Greece to Korea - and even the UK is also represented in the form of The Frying Scotsman...

The main difference in such standup outdoor eating in Portland and Mexico is the sheer range and diversity in the Portland parking lots, plus of course the weather. Portland residents are tough, outdoor, hardy types and quite happily settled to eat outside in the pouring rain (and it certainly poured with rain - 72 hours non-stop) even sitting down at table and chairs....

Everyone has their favourite street stall to eat from here in Mexico City, and a common sight during the day pictures Professionals in smart suits crowding round the stalls to order their favourite tacos. These food carts below are typical examples of those wheeled around the streets of Mexico City...

Put them into sepia and you could be turning back the clock to a different century, a different era...one of the most charming aspects of time-warp Mexico City...

Check out other windows on the world by clicking here for My World Tuesday. Enjoy!

Xochimilco - why stay on land??

It looks like a scene from Tarantino's Lord of the Flies or a ghastly reminder from Swine Flu and Face Mask Days, but in fact this is a welcome to one of the most fascinating markets in Mexico City - namely Xochimilco. Most people flock to this far southern barrio to buy plants at the numerous nurseries or go for boat trips on the extensive network of canals, but it is worth staying on land awhile to browse around these particular market stalls. One of my favourite areas is the dried goods with chillis, frijoles, mole, jamaica leaves and all sorts...

Of course it has all the expected glorious displays of fruit and vegetables...

And tasty dishes cooking in giant ceramic pots....

but it is also the market closest to truly wonderful ones in the city of Oaxaca seven hours away...

So if you do venture all the way south to Xochimilco, don't forget to stop awhile and look at the beautiful church and browse the market stalls here before heading to the embarcaderos for the boat trips...

Check out what is happening in the rest of the world this week by clicking here for My World Tuesday postings. Xochimilco is easily reachable by public transport with the tren ligero from Tasquena, but it is a 90 minute journey from the city centre.

Exhaling in Xalapa...

At this time of year before the rains, it can get a little suffocating in Mexico City, so a weekend in the hilltop city of Xalapa proves to be the perfect getaway. It is a university town best known for its fresh air and views, as well as its parks and gardens...

Indeed it is very hard to believe that you are still in the city centre when you visit Parque de los Lagos (Park of Lakes)....

Or the amazing nature park Parque Tecajete which is indeed a slice of subtropical rainforest....

Veracruz is a lush, verdant state where anything grows well, and so of course it is also well known for its rich coffee spawning endless coffeeshops and cafes, as well as its rich produce in the markets....

Culturally, Xalapa also has much to offer the visitor, and one of the undoubted highlights not just of Xalapa, but Mexico as a whole, is the beautiful Anthropological Museum. Laid out in verdant grounds, with descending marble steps, and lush garden display rooms, you can find all of the archaeological treasues of this region of Mexico, starting with the famed giant Olmec stone heads...

The museum is awash with treasures, far too many to display in this post, but the Veracruz smiling female heads always make me smile too, as they are so infectious, and such a contrast to the rather dour expressions on the male stone heads!!

Wandering and browsing the streets of Xalapa is also pleasureable in its own right, as there are colourful streets of colonial architecture to admire....

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.as well as the more official sightseeing of grand public buildings such as the Palacio Municipal, the Palacio Gobierno, not to mention the bright canary yellow Cathedral and Parque Juarez which acts as the rather delightful zocalo full of gardens, balloon sellers, shoeshine stands, stalls, outdoor cafes, and more gardens still......

Xalapa is five hours away from Mexico City, easily reachable by bus or car, in the state of Veracruz. For more windows on the world this week, don't hesitate to check out My World Tuesday postings. Enjoy!

Browsing the bookshops on Calle Donceles....

I spent my formative teenage years hopping the train from Eltham to Central London and trawling the secondhand bookshops on the Charing Cross Road. I would spend hours there browsing the shelves, deliciously lost in a world of literature. Sadly most of these treasure troves have all but disappeared, but here in Mexico City there is Calle Donceles in the Centro Historico, home to second hand bookshops extraordinaire........

They are the very best kind with untidy piles spread all over the floor and stepladders to reach the highest shelves - Heaven indeed!! Like many old cities, the Centro Historico has streets specialising in different wares - Donceles for books, Dolores for lighting (and Chinese food ), Madera for gold jewellery, Tacuba for perfume, Santo Domingo for printed stationery (and scribes for the illiterate) and so on... Here is a flavour of the colonial architecture along Calle Donceles when you stroll from bookshop to bookshop......

..until you reach this beautiful building which was a former hospital for the female insane (present company excluded I hope...) Then you know you have reached the end of Calle Donceles and you are back on the busy Lazaro Cardenas.....

Interestingly, Calle Donceles has also begun to acquire a literary history all of its own. In Roberto Bolano's "Savage Detectives" his hapless and impoverished poets from the Visceral Realist movement are always stealing books from the shops on this street, and who can forget the chilling little advertisment which begins Carlos Fuentes' haunting tale "Aura" - "Donceles 815. Acuda en persona. No hay telefono." (Apply in person. There is no phone.) If only the protagonist had ignored that sign and walked on by!! To walk around other parts of the world this week, click here for My World Tuesday postings.... Where is your favourite secondhand bookshop??

Saturdays in San Angel.....

One of my favourite ways to spend a Saturday here in Mexico City is to go down to San Angel, an old neighbourhood in the south of the city, to visit the art market and Bazaar Sabado (which is currently celebrating its 50th anniversary). The tour starts in Plaza del Carmen where the art market begins...

Then it is on to the larger part of the art market in Plaza San Jacinto where there are even more stalls, and here too you can buy original artworks for very reasonable prices....

There is a great variety of different styles to suit most tastes.... I have bought from 6 or 7 of the artists here such as Jag Sanchez and Victor Uhthoff whose vibrant works now adorn my apartment walls......




















When you get a little weary of browsing, there are infinite cafes, restaurants and street stalls to enjoy a snack or meal. After snacking on the very best of quesadillas inside Bazaar Sabado, one of my favourite places to get some refreshment is a tiny tea place called "La Esquina de Te"....

Many of the restaurants have live music on a saturday which could be salsa, marimba or mariachi.... and this saturday there was also tango music and dancing in Plaza San Jacinto...

As well as original artwork from local artists, you can also buy a huge range of other craft wares including these gorgeous textiles...




















In addition you can buy jewellery, folk art, mirrors, ceramics, papercuts, basketry - indeed it is the perfect place for present shopping in the city... (for others or more likely yourself...)

San Angel is also worth exploring beyond the markets, as it is a quiet neighbourhood with gorgeous colonial architecture and tranquil cobbled streets...

Plus there are some interesting churches to explore with peaceful gardens....such as El Convento del Carmen...

After San Angel, I always walk down three of my favourite streets, Avenida de Paz, Calle Arenal, and Calle Francisco Sosa to reach the delightful neighbourhood of Coyacan... but that is the second part of the Saturday Tour which will continue next week.... In the meantime Feliz Cumpleanos Bazaar Sabado....

To see what else is happening around the world this week, check out My World Tuesday posts by clicking here.... Enjoy! What is your favourite way to spend saturday in the city where you live??

Food Festival on Reforma......

Mexico certainly is the Land of Fiesta and one of my favourite festivals is taking place right now on Reforma - La Feria de las Culturas Amigas...

Promoting first and foremost friendship between all the different cultures to be found here in Mexico City, everyone goes first and foremost for the food.....

With over 80 stalls from more than 50 different countries, it is perfectly possible to eat your way non-stop around the world from Argentina to Vietnam all in a few short hours!!

And likewise you will also meet colourful characters from all over the world...

The atmosphere is fun, festive, and friendly....

As well as the food and the people, the festival also celebrates art work from a wide variety of cultures such as these paintings by Bolivian artist Vargas...

..and there is a wealth of craft work for sale too...

...plus of course a fair smattering of music and dancing...

If you are lucky enough to live in Mexico City than this Festival runs right through next weekend as well (May 22nd/23rd)...if not then travel through the virtual world of My World Tuesday postings by clicking here....Have Fun!!