Nice place, isn’t it?
We went to Mexico City. But first, a few remaining details about our time in Oaxaca, where we spend two and a half weeks in an apartment with this view:
Rooftop dining is big in Oaxaca.
Not everything is beautiful in Oaxaca. While we were there, there was a garbage strike. Apparently a local politician decided to use the trash hauler’s wage funds to run his political campaign, or something like that. The reaction was predictable.
There are still pay phones on the streets in Oaxaca. We didn’t notice if any actually worked.
Why is traffic reversed? Good question. It’s like this for a few blocks, then it goes back.
The El Camino style ultra compact pickup is making a huge comeback in Mexico. We’ve seen models from VW, Fiat, Ford, and Dodge, possibly others.
Everywhere we’ve been, business are looking for workers.
On November 7, we left Oaxaca and flew to Mexico City (Now CDMX. There is no longer a Distrito Federal.) Someone was celebrating a significant birthday, and we spent a few days enjoying the metropolis. We stayed in the very pleasant Colonia Cuauhtémoc neighborhood, filled with cafes, restaurants, and bars.
A statue of Diana on El paseo de la Reforma near our hotel.
We walked to Mexico City’s massive Bosque de Chapultepec (it’s twice the size of Central Park). Our goal was to visit Chapultepec Castle, which sits on a high hill overlooking the city. We, of course, failed to take any pictures of the castle from below, so you’ll have to imagine it. The castle was started in 1785 as a house for the Spanish viceroy. In 1833 it was converted into a military college for newly independent Mexico.
Here, below the castle, is a monument to students of the military college (Los Niños Héroes you see memorialized all over the country) who died while valiantly defending the hilltop fortress against . . . the United States army. Awkward.
The castle at the top of the hill.
Garden outside the castle.
A view of the city from the garden.
A view down Reforma from the castle. Besides being a military college, the castle also served as palace for Emperor Maximilian and some Presidents of Mexico. This was the view from the residence (skyscrapers obviously more contemporary).
Inside, the former military college section houses the Museum of Mexican history.
In the residential section of the castle, a rooftop garden, and rooms open to patios overlooking the garden on one side and the city below on the other.
Originally built as an observation tower for the college, this tower was later used as an astronomical observatory.
The rooms inside are . . . impressive.
Porfirio Diaz had stained glass windows installed to close in this balcony.
So, we had a few really nice days in the big city, culminating, logically, in a trip to the airport. We stopped for lunch in an oddly specific airport restaurant.
On November 10, we left CDMX for a much different kind of place.
We are in San Cristóbal del las Casas again, a town we previously wrote about extensively in 2016:
More to come.
Our House In... 
Thanks for the lovely pictures.
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Looks like you had a great b’day!
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