Diary / Scrapbook

quick notes, impressions, memories…

Monday 5.1

[plane thoughts!] Thinking vaguely about ideas for small and fun yet delightful and maybe even useful little things I might make or share. Not ambitious artworks or products or experiences or written artifacts but tiny polished gems that hint at all the above and punch above their modest weight. I imagine the experience of reading a very short poem that strongly resonates. Of encountering a short yet excellent annotated bibliography that probes intellectual grounds one didn't know existed. Of scanning a delightful list that seems to be the fruit of real wit and wisdom and expertise, even if just hinted at or outlined…

Tuesday 5.2

The big thing we did today was go to the Museo Nacional de Antropologia, which was very big and cool. It took several hours to see even most of the museum at a fairly quick pace; I started to get bored til J roped me into her "lil guy quest", and indeed we found quite a number of extremely dope lil guys from a range of prehispanic cultures across Mexico. It was also just a cool building with a nice central fountain and surrounding gardens.

Wednesday 5.3

Thursday 5.4

We met G, who runs the English language bookshop Under the Volcano Books, which happens to be located just a couple blocks from where we're staying. He invited us to a Sunday speakeasy event a friend runs but we're not sure if we'll go. One observation: the used books were considerably more expensive than expected! It sounds like sourcing books is a challenge…now I'm curious about ebook pricing here too :)

Today we explored Coyoacan, most notably Casa Azul, home and studio of Frida Kahlo. It was cooler than I expected and not as crowded as we thought. Amazing home and garden and great to see her studio and library and other parts of the home. Also a great neighborhood; we walked around and had some lunch and visited the artisanal market, but I also enjoyed just walking around and seeing a big sports field with guys playing soccer. Jinjin took photos inside the house (paid add-on). After we visited the big national film archive / cinema center, very cool building, fun to hang for a bit, then home for some thunderstorming…rainy season starting up!

Otherwise a chill day, mostly walking around and eating here and there, e.g. elotes and paletas and some great tacos for dinner.

Friday 5.5

Pretty chill day, though lots of walking. Going slow because J wasn't feeling great (I had a headache the previous day), but a nice time eating nearby then walking across Condesa to the park. Saw from below but did not tour the castle. 

Saturday 5.6

On our way to Xochimilco for the one tour we booked on this trip! Great reviews and seems like a much better way to see the area than the touristy party boat thing. Our guide S is great. Spending the ~45 min drive down filling in some gaps in this little travel diary…

Breakfast at a fancy-ish spot, busy and decent food though not great seats. Good fish and shrimp tacos for lunch later. I went out and got very basic but yummy takeout dinner (burritas). Some good reading and an early night.

Back to describe the Xochimilco tour, which was quite nice! Our guide was lovely and the best part was how he knew just about everyone in the town we visited next to the farms we walked through. Started with some historical cultural background and a walk through the market where we had some good food and procured goods for lunch. Then walking through the floating farms starting from an alley just a block away from town. Walked though many farms, starting with oldest and highest, layers on layers, growing flowers and kale and lettuces and more. Turning and crossing small walkway bridges and finally reaching a farm of a host family who took us on a boat tour through widening canals (12 year old and 1.5 year old along for the ride!) then walking a bit along a nature preserve between canal and lake, then back to a nice lunch of tacos from market supplies and a bit of mezcal. Finally waylaid a bit by a parade and back through traffic to get back a bit late and tired!

Sunday 5.7

We got up early and walked to the famous cafe with famous guava pastries that definitely did not disappoint (ate in the park), went to a small museum "of the object" which was fun if nothing special, walked more, had lunch at a corn themed restaurant where I accidentally ordered ice cream that came in a corn husk lol.

Monday 5.8

Then my favorite part of the day: walked to this amazing library downtown, not the big new modern one that's written up a bunch, but a cool one sited in a former jail with some amazing open spaces that are covered but with big high windows that make it feel like an open air plaza. The coolest part is a series of five reading rooms that were each collections of important literary figures, and each with a distinct architectural style, and most or all with stairs and second levels, very fun to explore and take photos! Never seen a library quite like it — wonderful.

We had breakfast at a great cafe, Sonambulo, which had amazing mugs with open and closed eyes, which I wish were available to buy. We walked around quite a bit and went to two bookstores, one with a cafe, one at a larger academic cultural center; bought a classic (Pedro Paramo) and a children's art book at the former; the latter had a pretty remarkable education and pedagogy section, several shelves, more than any English language bookstore I can remember! For lunch we went to the more casual El Pujol outpost (Molinera) and enjoyed several dishes but most memorably big spirals of the most delicate churros ever. More walking and exploring; a nice sunset walk as well.

Then to the folk art museum, which had a pretty nice collection though I was starting to get tired and it was a lot to get through. Then through the central plaza to the very weird palacio de bellas artes I think it was, cool murals inside but so dark and unwelcoming generally; thought about seeing the ballet folklorico (already missed the morning show) but tired and didn't want to stay late, so back home and then I went back out and got pizza from Nosferatu which took a long time but I chatted with an American living for a few months in cdmx and then picked up paletas and got back with the pizza and it was excellent. Long couple days!

Tuesday 5.9

A mostly easy day, breakfast and then museums Sumaya and Jumex, in an odd rich dense part of town, and Sumaya especially a deeply weird and fairly bad museum, though an interesting experience. Like wandering the closet of a billionaire, winding around the corridors of a knockoff Guggenheim, wishing for more light. Jumex was better as a museum though the exhibits weren't all great. It rained and we came home and then got a very early dinner of tacos and more and a second smaller dinner of leftovers later.

Wednesday 5.10

On our flight home right now. Working backwards to fill in the past few days. To our right, out the window by the empty seat beside us, dark blue grey sky and a smattering of city lights. To our left the window frames the tail end of sunset, from bottom to top deep purple to dark magenta to orange to yellow to clouds with pale halo and finally a still-blue sky.

I just finished The Last Samurai, by Helen Dewitt, and it's a marvel. An interesting structure, both hodgepodge and tightly constructed, meandering and meticulous. Brilliant and self-aware and a bit absurd yet also deeply earnest. A main character that could easily verge into parody or at least caricature but somehow feeling true. It took a while for the structure to reveal itself but ended up being fun and delightful, full of stories in stories, somewhat like Hyperion, mirrored by Kurosawa, interludes like gemstones, satisfying to the end. Not-so-obliquely about education and parenting and all that. Will be on my list to recommend for sure. At least in part hitting all three of my great novel criteria, and strangely something more.