We started the day in one direction and ended up in another…there are so many things to do here, it’s easy to get overwhelmed. After a short bus trip in the wrong direction, we summoned an Uber and headed to Chapultepec Park (Bosque de Chapultepec).
The park stretches over 1,600 acres, making it larger than Central Park. Below is a view of the park (and the city) from the hilltop:
We walked a steep incline (stopping along the way to catch our breath) to Chapultepec Castle, at the top of a hill.
The castle has been an Aztec palace, a military college, and the residence of emperor Maximilian and his wife Carlotta. The museum is filled with important artifacts relating to the history of Mexico.
We were especially impressed by murals by O’Gorman, Orozco, and Siqueiros. In you’re curious, copy and paste the website address below to see the murals:
https://mnh.inah.gob.mx/murals
Outside the Castle are colorful gardens and wonderful views of the city.
Back downhill, we grabbed a sandwich in the outdoor cafe of the Museum of Modern Art. There is an outdoor sculpture garden with this work titled Hombres hacia el Espacio plus many others.
Inside, wonderful works by Frida Kahlo;
And Diego Rivera.
We spent at least two hours in this wonderful museum with an excellent collection of Mexican modern art. By then, it was rush hour traffic time in Mexico City but it was an easy walk back to our apartment about 30 minutes away.
Prior to travel, we sign up for U.S. State Department alerts in case there is anything we need to be aware of while traveling. Yesterday morning we received an alert about the location of a planned protest and that some social media posts included anti-American sentiment. We avoided the area of the protest but later in the day while we were in line at a popular taco stand a young disheveled-looking man yelled at us to “Go Home!” A bit disturbing, but that is the first time we have encountered this type of sentiment. We chalked it up to the guy being revved up after the rally and we were easy targets.
In spite of this, we had a wonderful day!