Breakfast

I went out early to get myself a Tlacoyo from the same stand I had gone to the day before. I watched the old woman make the Tlacoyo. She rolled masa into a ball then flattened the ball. Filled the flat piece with a dollop of refried beans, then stretched the masa over the beans so it’s back into a ball, then flattened it once again. She put the the now football shaped creation onto the griddle and brushed both sides with fat from a plastic jar. Once it’s chared her helper took the tlacoyo off the griddle and topped it with pickled cactus and salsa, then wrapped it to go for me. I grabbed one for Lizy as well and brought both back to the condo to eat with everyone else. Delicious as always. I finished the meal with a taste of this armadillo looking fruit we had bought at the market. It tasted like citrusy milk.

Coyocan Walking Tour

We went on a guided walking tour of Coyocan, where we were our first day in Mexico City. We started in Frida Kahlo Park, then went back to the square with the coyotes, then the artizans bazaar, and finally we finished at the museum. Our tour guide, Gabby, was a Mexico City native, who was a tour guide and a ballet teacher. She was warm and descriptive. She gave some background details on Frida Kahlo so we could better appreciate the museum.

Also on our tour was a group of three early 30’s siblings with one of their partners. They were all wearing matching black and green clothing. There was an albanian couple with a small child and three female friends that had met at McGill, my alma matter. I tried to make small talk with the girls about our shared school experience, but they were reticent to say anything. Later Elizabeth said to me, “You were just trying to be nice but some people are just not nice. That’s the way the world is.”

Frida Kahlo Museum

The Frida Kahlo museum was housed in the her childhood home. She lived there later in life with her husband as well. In the museum they had photos from her early life, a handful of her paintings, and knickknacks her and Diego, her husband, had collected. Among the knickknacks were pre-hispanic crafts, paintings, and sculptures.

The museum was very crowded and walking in the house was part of a procession of people. It reminded me of how the haunted houses at Canada’s wonderland felt like giant lines, they were so crowded with people.

At the back of the museum in a separate building there was an exhibition of the closing Frida Kahlo would wear.

Conclusion

We ended the day by going back to the taco restaurant for dinner. It was a great trip overall. We all learned a lot about Mexico City and also about general Mexican history. My two highlights were spending quality time with Lizy and her parents and the breakfast Tlacoyos. Lizy’s highlight was the fancy brunch in San Angel with her mom and I.