Mexico City

There was a good (to me) bookstore on that street - it's where I got my book on Cuevas by Fuentes. (I'm recently trying to decipher a Fuentes essay on Zurich, from a short story travel book via Salon, and that one is in english).

"A book on Cuevas by Fuentes"
Osso, that's soooooo Zona Rosa 1960s!

A challenging stance from which to shoot a bow, but a fetching pose. Defiantely a fetching pose.

Just north of Colonia Juárez, we find Colonia Roma, whose first buildings are from 1902.

Colonia Roma used to be posh, now it's middle and lower-middle class. It is an easy place to be overlooked. No tourist attractions, except for some night life.
But there is so much to look at (and a lot to buy).

I think I read about art galleries and restaurants there too, but I may be mixing it up with another area.

Yes, art galleries (which I honestly care little about) and some very good restaurants too.

An abandoned old mansion in Colonia Roma:



The promenade on Alvaro Obregón St., Colonia Roma



The "Witches' House", an apartment building:

Love that architecture.

If Colonia Roma is mostly Art Noveau, neighboring Colonia Condesa is mostly Art Decó.

Unlike somewhat deteriorated Colonia Roma, Colonia Condesa in "in" nowadays, populated by yuppies and hipsters. Lots of dining places, art galleries & alternative stores:

Colonia Condesa was built around a former horserace track. In fact, the original name was "Colonia Hipódromo de la Condesa" (The Countess's horserace track).



In the middle of the former track lies Parque México.

I suppose art galleries can be vile.
On the other hand, they are a voice.

What kind of trees are the purple trees?

Jacarandas.

Ahhh, thanks. They are very pretty.

This whole city looks like it's full of beautiful things, from the architecture to the nature. We have nothing so lush or "baroque" in the US (at least that I'm aware of).

Many many beautiful things, but some very stark constrasts, as we'll see later on.

I so agree. We have jacarandas in the Los Angeles area, I love them so, but we don't have that architecture.

That that is a middle or middle lower class neighborhood..
hey, can I live in a closet? Very beautiful.

Condesa is a middle class neighborhood that has gone expensive. Newcomers are upper-middle class.

I have posted pre-thought. Back anon.

We walk back from Condesa to Reforma, cross the avenue and arrive at Colonia Cuauhtémoc, probably the most cosmopolitan neighborhood in the city.
My wife says Colonia Cuauhtémoc is the new Zona Rosa. I differ. Though it probably is quite dense in writers and painters, the only thing it has in common with the old Zona Rosa is the abbundance of good eateries and bars.

This is one of my favorites:



And this posh restaurant, loved also by georgeob1, is excellent:



A highlight in Colonia Cuauhtémoc is formar revolucionary president Carranza's house, now a museum:

At the end of Colonia Cuauhtémoc we find a park, Jardín del Arte (Garden of Art) it is called. You can see why:





(I personally think most of what they sell is overpriced amateurish stuff).

At a corner of the park a strange monument. The Monument to Mothers.



Don't know about you. I find it quite ugly. A combination of Mexican Nationalism and Socialist Realism.