When Ian suggested a trip to Mexico I have to admit that I wasn’t convinced. Yes. I like a holiday or two but this was different. It was Mexico and the plan was that we would be away for nearly three weeks. He was also planning we visit three places in that time. Stay in Air BNB or similar and for one journey travel north from Mexico City on a bus. For 5.5 hrs. Friends didn’t believe the bus bit.

People kept saying to me before we went. Be careful. Ian kept saying be careful with your camera. Not conducive to calming my anxieties.

What I didn’t expect that this was probably to be our last trip for quite sometime.

But ……..

Hola Mexico City.

We arrived early evening to a glorious welcome from the sky as we approached the airport. Early thoughts on what I saw. It’s a bloody massive city. By massive I mean massive. Getting through immigration was easy. Finding a cab to take us the first accommodation was easy. But I don’t think I have ever seen so many cars in my life. The road out of the airport was a car park. But the cabbie was friendly. Chatty. Thankfully Ian and his Spanish was a huge help for the whole trip. I added a bit here and there but it was Ian who did most of the talking. That in itself is a huge role change. Me. I usually talk and talk. Mostly about nothing at all.

I hadn’t looked at the accommodation that had been booked in ages. The trip was planned late last year and I had little idea where we were staying. I’m not sure if that was intentional because I was unsure. But apartment number 1 was great. I say apartment but it was a cross between an apartment and an art gallery. Up on the 14th floor of a building with 24 hour concierge service we were met by the owner and the property manager and shown around. A small but beautiful apartment. Small balcony with views over the city.

We were then shown the art room which was unexpected. The room furnished with art and sculptures by local artists. It took my breath away. For a lot of reasons. .

I didn’t know what to expect from Mexico City. Ian had done the homework. Had a list of places to visit. Museums. Art galleries. Parks. Even pyramids. Who knew that Mexico had pyramids. I didn’t.

One of the places on our list was Casa Azul. The house where artist Frida Kahlo and Diego Rivera lived. I didn’t know much about either of them before we left but a number of friends had mentioned them and said that it was a must see.

I think I could see why it was called Casa Azul when we approached it. It certainly was blue. Very blue. It became even clearer when we entered that Ian had received the email. You know. The one saying today’s the day your shirt should match the paint colour.

He definitely merged into the background. He made me take the photo quickly as he kept saying. Quick. People are looking at me.

The house was beautiful ~ you know one of those houses you say without hesitation. I could live here. I didnt know that at that one point Leon Trotsky had stayed there before he bought his own house just around the corner. A house visit and a history lesson all in one.

It certainly was a colourful house. A stunning studio and a lovely peaceful shaded garden.

The studio was a beautiful light space and you could imagine the artists painting here.

I loved the brugamasia against the blue wall with the colours of the strelitzia in the garden. Both striking and looking that they had been planted for the special effect.

Leon Trotsky’s house was a short walk away and totally unassuming from the outside. In fact the inside was pretty basic. What you did notice were the high walls surrounding the house. Not surprising really. It was here that an attempt on his life was made resulting in his death.

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Two very different houses. Two very different gardens. Casa Azul brightly coloured. Shaded. Trotsky’s open with a birds eye view of the high walls. Yet peaceful.

Did I mention pyramids. Who knew they had pyramids in Mexico. I didn’t. To be fair if I knew then what I know now I may have just avoided them. Yes. They were fabulous but worth nearly having a coronary? To be fair. Probably.

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Teotihuacan is 40 km out of Mexico City,and is the site of the most important pre Colombian city in Mexico. Building began around 200 BC and at its peak was believed to house 200;000 people. The main pyramids are the Sun and the moon and unlike Egypt’s pyramids are solid.

We climbed the Sun pyramid. I say we climbed it. Ian managed to get to the top. I managed half to three quarters of the way. Stopped as I thought I was going to die and went back down. Going down was even worse to be fair ~ I never knew I had a heart ~ but something was beating so hard that it nearly popped out of my chest. Talk about being dizzy. A little bit sick and terrified. It is after all 143 ft high. Up dodgy uneven steps. At an altitude of 7,000 feet.

I know it mind sound stupid but I hadn’t even thought about altitude. Not until the tour guide mentioned it!

We stumbled upon a tourist fair in the main square on Sunday. A square is an underestimate. Another massive area ~ called Constitution Square or Zocolo you could imagine huge armies marching and great ceremonial events being held here. Our visit had none of these. They must have missed the email saying we were arriving. What we got were a huge amount of stalls with each area of Mexico represented!

And dancing.

The colours were fabulous ~ this group was from Oaxaca which was stop no 3 on the trip.

What a difference a couple of hundred yards makes. Just off the square and next to the Cathedral. You don’t expect to walk out of the cathedral and into groups of exotic looking dancers with scary masks and headdresses. Called Conchero dancers with an interesting history of Aztec and Christian mix.

Next stop. A museum. I hadn’t heard of this one but it was on Ian’s list. A collection of 66,000 pieces donated by a Mexican billionaire Carlos Slim and housed in a fabulous space The Soumaya named after his late wife. A beautiful building and in the inside a bit like New York’s Guggenheim. All circular walks up to each floor. An amazing collection of art and statues with the largest collection of Rodin outside of France. It was breathtaking in its simplicity and beauty. The building itself looking like a twisted top hat.

One of the things that struck me about Mexico City was just how green it was. Chapultepec Park is huge and it received the International Large Urban Parks Gold Award and was named the best urban forest in the world.

Covering 1,695 acres it includes Chapultepec Castle which overlooks the park, the Botanical gardens and huge swathes of trees. The views from the castle are pretty amazing as you look out over the city and see a sea of green. The roads have planting on the sidewalks and many have planting along central reservations.

Another lovely building is the Palacio de Belle Artes which houses one of Diego Rivera’s most famous murals ~ Man at the Crossroads. This was commissioned by Rockerfeller but when Rivera refused to omit Lenin from the artwork it was painted over. I have to say the Mexican mural art really fascinated me. It was recreated for this museum. There is an interesting back story to the whole fiasco.

There were other pieces by Mexican moralists which I found fascinating. One I really liked ~ David Siqueiros was involved in a failed assassination attempt on Leon Trotsky. Another fact I learnt!

Mexico City was fabulous. A real surprise and full of amazing museums , friendly and polite people. There were so many photo opportunities.

Having survived the big city our next trip was the five and a half hour bus ride to Guanajuato, a smaller and courful town north of Mexico. Tickets bought. Bags packed. Taxi booked.