Mar 102018
 


At the recommendation of my friend Daniel, I had booked a “Historical Center Food Tour” with Sabores de Mexico Food Tours. I figured that using my one full day to walk around the historic center while eating at a variety of places that were largely unknown to tourists sounded like just my thing – and I couldn’t have been happier with the experience.

At 11:30 I met my guide, Liz, at Oaxaca en México, a restaurant that specialized in authentic cuisine from the state of Oaxaca. I learned here that there were only two of us booked on the tour today, so we could pretty much go at whatever pace we wanted. Fantastic!

Unfortunately times had gotten mixed up, so the other lady doing the tour with us didn’t show up until almost noon. Not a problem though, since I tend to move at a quicker pace normally anyways. Our first dish would be a delicious chicken tortilla with molé and some rice with local Oaxacan herbs. It was absolutely delicious, and I’m pretty sure that I licked up every drop of the delicious sauce.

After finishing the mole, we headed off for a short walk of maybe 15 minutes until we got to the large covered Mercado de San Juan. One of the older markets in Mexico City, it started out as a place to get more “exotic” and fancier foods that couldn’t be found elsewhere. We entered through the seafood section of the market:

Our first stop inside the market was at Delicatessen La Jersey Gourmet where we had some local cheeses and beats on baguette which were served with a variety of jams….and all the wine we wanted. I loved that the plates were covered with plastic covers, presumably to re-use them without washing. Environmentally terrible..

From there we moved on to another part of the market – the “exotic animals” section. Here we stopped at El Gran Cazador – or “the Great Hunter.” First up? Grasshoppers fried up in either garlic or chilis….very crunchy, but other than that the chili and garlic flavours really overpowered the insect.

Next up? A local ant that only comes out of its burrows for a couple weeks a year, which is the dedicated harvest season and as many of them are gathered up during this time as possible. Not much taste to these either… note the grasshoppers closeup underneath…

Pigeons anyone?

Decorative corns in the market…and I can’t help but see this and remember Lisa Simpson saying “or, as the Indians call it….maize!”

Next up we stopped at another stand of El Gran Cazador, where they cooked up wild boar for us….with grasshopper sauce naturally!

To fortify for the long day ahead, we stopped for a coffee from a stand reputed to have the best coffee in the area. It was pretty tasty, and the proprietor was clearly very proud of his coffee.

Final stop in the market was Rosse Gourmet, which was a fruit and vegetable stand. Here, we got a great discussion of the produce – especially tomatoes, from the very energetic Claudia who was clearly incredibly proud of the quality of her produce. Here she is explaining the difference between tomatoes and tomatillos to us:

Look at the colour of those peppers!

Claudia also surprised us with a homemade cheesecake with fresh fruits and a passionfruit sauce…which was absolutely delicious!

Now THOSE are leeks! …and look at the size of the cauliflower!

Next stop was actually at a food truck/cart with a couple of barstools on the side called El Caguamo where we were treated to a tortilla with octopus and prawn ceviche with fresh avocado. Absolutely delicious, but I was a bit nervous eating street food ceviche given that some of the worst food poisoning I ever had was from ceviche. Fortunately, no issues this time!

We were getting a bit parched by this point, so fortunately the next stop was an old school traditional cantina called La Mascota. It was like other traditional cantinas in that you pay for a (often overpriced) drink, and then you get to eat anything on the menu for free – as much as you want! The place was absolutely packed with locals chowing down, so it was a really fun and lively atmosphere.

A mezcal margarita…and yes, it’s as big as it looks. Fortunately, it was pretty watered down so wasn’t that strong. The chicken tortilla was one of the options on the food menu, and was just meh. You clearly come here for the atmosphere, not for the food and drink which was of very average quality at best.

They even had an old compact disk jukebox!

As we continued our walk, we passed a building where some of the stucco had fallen off the day before during the earthquake:

Next up we stopped at a “new school” cantina (to contrast with the previous stop) called Pasagüero. We had an empanada and a small tapas dish which were both tasty. It was absolutely packed with young people and families, and open to the street so had a very lively atmosphere. I’d definitely come back here for afternoon drinks and people watching.

It was nearly 4pm at this point, and we had one last stop – the Dulcería de Celaya – one of the oldest traditional candy stores in Mexico City – dating back over 100 years. Some tasty local treats.

It was about 4pm at this point, and I had booked tickets to see the Frida Kahlo Museum which came highly recommended and had pre-booked at 5pm entrance so after thanking Liz quickly rushed to the metro to find my way across the city to the museum. The other lady on the tour decided to come with me, and together we figured out how to buy metro tickets, went about 10 stops, and then hopped in a taxi to the museum. Much easier than it sounds.

Frida was a Mexican artist early in the 20th century, and was actually close friends with Trotsky. After he was exiled to Mexico they became close friends, and Trotsky actually lived with her for a period. Frida had polio as a child, and a terrible car accident in her teens, and this combination left her more or less confined to the house as she was not overly mobile…and she spent a lot of her time involved in political causes an artwork.

Some of the art in the museum, also known as the “Blue House”:

The gardens:

The blue walls of the house:

From the street outside:

Went for a bit of a walk after the museum, and found an amazing church:

Grabbed an uber back to the area near my hotel, and caught this great shot of the Angel de la Independencia monument all lit up at night:

I was only a little hungry at this point, so decided to head to a local brewpub which had a rather impressive beer list:

The people watching at this sidewalk bar was lots of fun. This guy might be a little proud of his country:

With that it was time to walk back to the hotel (about a 15 minute walk) and catch some zzzzs. I was feeling exhausted from having been ill the previous week and a long week of work, so definitely wanted to make sure to grab some sleep before flying home!

May 212016
 

Arriving Paris early afternoon, I was looking forward to getting to my hotel and resting a bit. Of course, the trains had something completely different in mind for me. Back in January when I was in Paris, after an annoying hour waiting for passport control I ended up having major drama with the trains due to some track problems that took over three hours to get into the city from the airport. Unfortunately, this trip was to prove to have even worse drama.

The walk from terminal 2A where British Airways has its gates to the RER station is relatively long, but not too bad and was nice to have the exercise after spending all night on a plane. Got to the train station, bought my ticket, and then there was an announcement. I only began to hear it because people started yelling and the station flooded with heavily armed police. I decided the wise thing to do was follow the panicking crowds back up the escalators in the direction the police were yelling and pointing.

When I got to the top of the station and started walking back towards the terminal the announcement was much clearer: please evacuate the station due to a suspicious package. Seriously, that’s all? It seems to happen pretty frequently in the D.C. metro these days, so was surprised at the level of panic. After waiting over an hour, we were finally allowed back into the station. I headed towards the platform for the RER, and was directed back again by the police. Seems now, the Terminal 2 RER station was closed due to track problems. Please head over to Terminal 3 and get the train from there. Seriously, ugh.

Took the inter-terminal shuttle train over to the Terminal 3 train station, only to find out with a bunch of other passengers, that trains were now suspended all the way to Aulnay-sous-Bois about six stations down the line. Oh, did I mention it was also pouring rain at this point? Instead of getting on the shuttle bus towards Aulnay, I decided to wait it out for 15 minutes in the station. At this point, they still had no idea when the line might reopen, so I resigned myself to the shuttle bus, which took nearly an hour to Aulnay after stopping off at every station along the way to pick up more passengers. Fortunately, I’d managed to get a seat because the bus ended up packed with soaking wet uncomfortable people. It was NOT a pleasant experience.

Fortunately, once I got to Aulnay the ticket I’d purchased at CDG still worked for the trip into Paris (it better since it’s a shorter trip!) and I made it the rest of the way to the hotel in less than 45 minutes. As an added bonus, it was now only misting out so the five minute walk to my hotel from the Metro station wasn’t bad at all. By this point, it was nearly 5pm and all of the afternoon had been lost. Fortunately, this time of year it stays light until nearly 21:30 in Paris, so was able to go out and grab some drinks with friends still.

Got back to the hotel around 9pm, and was ready to collapse. The restaurant I’d wanted to eat at was completely packed and couldn’t promise a seat until after 10, so I pulled up TripAdvisor and decided to see what else was within a short walk since it was nearly 21:30 at this point. Of all things, there was a Thai restaurant that was highly recommended just around the corner.

Communication was an interesting experience. Their accents were incredibly difficult in French, so we made due with some Thai-French-English blend which resulted in me getting my Pad Thai just as I wanted it – no fish, extra chicken, and very spicy. Ironic to get Pad Thai after I’d just been in Thailand a few days prior, but hey, that’s Globalization for you!

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Slept a solid 10 hours which was awesome with the big time zone shift the night before, and headed out in the morning to get some coffee. After coffee I felt like going for a walk, so just decided to start wandering. About 15 minutes later I was at the Louvre, which was absolutely packed with tourists. After taking pictures for three different Russian weddings and a group of loud Midwesterners (seriously the only people in the area without selfie sticks – which are EVERYWHERE in Paris these days) I snapped a quick photo for myself:

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The day was the perfect amount of overcast – just enough to keep things cool for a long walk, but the sun poked through just enough times to keep things warm as well. Headed out of the Louvre past the Place du Carrousel:

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Kept walking through the Jardin des Tuileries and stopped for a bit at one of the fountains to people watch, and watch some baby ducks splashing around:

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Past the statue of Julius Ceasar:

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To another small pool, where I sat for a bit to take enjoy the view of the Grande Roue de Paris:

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This is where things got a little weird. A tour group of Americans came by and their French leader asked them to get themselves arranged to take an end of tour photo. I wasn’t really paying attention – just zoning out and enjoying the view – and he came up to me and asked “excuse me sir, can I bother you a moment?” My tired brain wasn’t registering at the moment, and he sounded like another trinket seller trying to get me to buy something, so I asked him to please go away. He persisted and asked “no, I just want you to take a picture please.” This is when I’d realized I’d been a little rude, and of course agreed to take the photo.

He got the group together, I gave them the “1-2-3 Cheese” and then “one more” and went back to sitting down and enjoying the view. He switched back to English with his group and said “yes, they’re good! sorry about that, it’s those kind of people who give us Parisians a bad name with tourists!” Never in my life has my terrible French been mistaken for Parisian, so I guess – in a way – it was a compliment!

Statue at the Place de la Concorde:

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The Obelisk of Luxor:

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Love this kinda artsy shot of one of the fountains…ruined only by a Calvin Klein ad in the background:

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Took a nice leisurely stroll up the Champs-Élysées stopping once at the park and another time in the middle for some coffee and people watching, and finally got to the Arc de Triomphe:

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I could only have so much playing tourist, so didn’t bother going up to the top for the view, plus the lines were absolutely insane! Instead, since my “short walk” had already taken me so far, I decided why not keep going. Wandered down some side streets I’d never found before, which appeared to be through a bit of an Embassy district. Also found a little sign of home:

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Kept walking until I got to the Trocadero Gardens, and finally got a great view from across the Seine of the Eiffel Tower:

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Kept walking along the Left Bank, and eventually the pedestrian Passerelle Debilly:

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By this point, I’d had enough of walking. I considered walking up the Left Bank all the way to the Musée d’Orsay and Notre Dame, but it was already mid-afternoon at this point, and I was getting pretty tired out. So, I caught the RER and decided to get off at Bastille, since I hadn’t wandered through that area in several years:

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By this point, I realized I was starving since I hadn’t eaten in over six hours and had just had a few coffees during the long walk. I picked a café at random that looked just local and busy enough, and grabbed a seat for some people watching. Relatively friendly service for Paris, efficient, and a tasty glass of Médoc and a Croque Madame for a tasty late lunch:

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With that, I ended up meeting some friends out for evening drinks and passing out early. The long day of walking had worn me out but it was nice to just take in the city without any plans or itinerary. Was a great way to spend a full day and enjoy Paris without being too touristy. Drinks with local fiends and just taking in the city and people watching made for a very nice trip.

Fortunately, my flight out the next morning wasn’t too early, so I also got to sleep in just a little bit. Next up, quick stop in London!

Sep 222014
 

Plan was to wake up early in order to have a nice casual drive to Barcelona. However, jetlag was starting to catch up to me, and I just couldn’t do it. Finally made it up around 9am, and headed down to the hotel restaurant for a quick breakfast. Hard boiled eggs, baguettes with Nutella, and some good strong coffee. What’s not to love? The very nice dining room of the Casa Canut:

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After breakfast, I wanted to mail a few postcards, so wandered the town trying to find the local post office to mail them. I’d purchased postcards and stamps the night before and wrote the out over breakfast. The walk was a nice wake-up, and I got another good view of the ferris wheel in daylight:

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Then, it was time to drive. Checked out of the hotel around 10:30, and the doorman brought Pépé the Smart Car around for me.  First stop was Llívia, a small Spanish enclave completely surrounded by France. The route highlighted on the map below is the route I took into Andorra from Spain. I was planning to go out the east side on the yellow road you see, and head down the E9 highway to Llívia. This border of Andorra was supposed to be much, much more mountainous, and a very scenic drive.

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Total travel time was forecast at one hour and 13 minutes, so I was expecting 1:30 to 2 hours with stops along the way for photos:

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Leaving Andorra la Vella, some amazing views:

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