A Day in the City Center

A couple of days ago, we took the subway on our way to the city center and made a rookie mistake…there are pink signs and barriers to show that the first few cars are designated for women and children only. It didn’t take long to realize that Larry was the only male in the car…we got off at the next stop and changed. It is a nice feature of the CDMX Metro.

Women and Children Only

We went to the Palacio de Belles Artes metro stop to see the magnificent structure with an Orange-topped dome. It houses the Museum of Fine Arts, the National Architecture Museum, Ballet Folklorico,  the National Opera and many other cultural offerings.

Palacio de Belles Artes
Palacio de Bellas Artes

Across the street is the Palacio Postal, Mexico City’s main Post Office. It was  designed by an Italian architect and a Mexican engineer.

Palacio Postal- Mexico City

A walk through Alameda Park, which sits behind the arts center…

Alameda Central Park

…led us to the Museo Mural Diego Rivera to see his famous mural titled “Dreams of a Sunday Afternoon in Alameda Central Park.”  The mural painted in 1947-1948 includes images of important historical figures.

The photo from the floor above the mural shows the scope and size:

Rivera Mural from Above

The photo below shows a closeup of just one section of the mural:

Museo Mural Diego Rivera

The close-up shows that Diego painted images of himself in the murals…and also Frida Kahlo (standing next to the skeleton) and Diego (boy with the umbrella.)

Detail…Diego Rivera Mural

…and one more close-up photo of a Diego self-portrait (he’s the boy in the hat eating a sandwich).

Rivera Self-Portrait

Under some shade trees near the museum, men were playing some very serious chess matches with onlookers watching every move.

Serious Chess

Flower stands are abundant and flowers are inexpensive. We see many people making their way home with a big bouquet. It’s a nice touch. Mexico City is full of parks, flower stalls, friendly people and good food.

Grande Bouquet