
Chapter Seven: Exploring Chapultepec Park & Museo Nacional de Antropología
July 27, 2023
Chapter Nine: Conchas, Churros, Crisscrossing & (Near) Catastrophe
August 19, 2023Historical & Hip: Mai Tai Tomás Travels To México City
Chapter Eight – Chapultepec Castle & It’s Another Tequila Sunset
Day Eight – Where’s That Ticket Office?, Not A Bad Walk At All, Magnificent Murals, Stained Glass Hallway, Exploring The Grounds, It’s All Up From Here, Perambulating Polanco, Raindrops Keep Falling On My Head, A Quick Stop In Uruguay, VIP Treatment & Mas Tequila!
After a quick breakfast at our hotel, we got an early start on our walk to Chapultepec Park for a tour of Chapultepec Castle. We momentarily went in the wrong direction, but this building lent a hand in guiding our way.
Inside the Lion’s Gate one more time, we were asked to stay and spend some time with this guy. I told him we were in a hurry to get to the castle, so I said, “In a while crocodile.”
Before heading to Mexico City, I had been forewarned on many sites not to head up the trail to the castle until you purchased your tickets below. For once I heeded that call, and after spending some time attempting to find the elusive ticket office, we got our tickets (free to those over 60 years of age) to head up.
Another online warning was that the walk up to the castle was rather strenuous. It was not. Along the way we took in the city views of Mexico City.
We strolled by a small pond and a statue entitled José María Morelos y Pavón, a “Catholic priest, statesman and military leader who led the Mexican War of Independence” in the early 19th century. He was eventually captured and executed by the royalist army.
Online reports were correct. If you arrive at the castle without a ticket, there is no place to purchase one up top. Looking at what we thought was the castle, we tried to determine where the entrance was located. Since there was a large stairwell, we decided this must be it. As it turned out, we were actually in the old military college that houses Museo Nacional de Historia in the Castillo de Chapultepec. First we entered a gallery with a famed mural (De Porfirismo a la Revolucion) by David Alfaro Siqueiros.
The mural is hard to capture as it spreads across walls of the gallery, which Siqueiros developed. I guess when you run out of wall space, you just create more walls.
You’re just going to have to visit to experience the magnitude of his work.
Speaking of which, as we climbed the staircase before us was another mural. Alegoria de la Revolucion Mexicana by Eduardo Solares Gutierrezis, also something to behold.Looking upward is the mesmerizing dome. Tracy perfectly photographed La Intervención NorteAmerica by Gabriel Flores. It shows one of the Niños Héroes (we saw the memorial in the park the previous day) jumping from the castle clutching the Mexican flag to prevent the invading Americans from capturing it in the 1847 Battle of Castillo de Chapultepec. The horse below carries the American flag. Simply a mind boggling mural.
It so happens that Chapultepec Hill is also where the Aztecs made their last stand against Cortez and his conquistadors.
Upstairs we were green with envy as we entered Malachite Hall. Not knowing what malachite was (I probably should have attended more of my geology class at SDSU), I subsequently learned it is “a green copper carbonate mineral.”
In the room is a stunning door. Emperor Maximilian I and Carlota, who made Chapultepec Castle their home, liked to import numerous pieces of furniture to the castle. By the way, Chapultepec is “the only castle in North America that actually served as a residence for royalty.” The door, along with the flowerpots and fountain in this room, are from the London World’s Fair. They were sent from Czar Nicholas I of Russia.
From my limited Spanish, this painting is of Doña Ignacia Mora y Ozta who was married to Don Miguel Arroyo who was Undersecretary of Relations. Please feel free to insert your own joke here.
Another room was full of Viceroys. In the Hall of the Viceroys, no Winstons or Marlboros allowed here. The Equestrian Portrait of Bernardo de Gálvez is featured.
There wasn’t anything else here, so we figured there had to be more to the castle. We saw someone who looked official because they were dressed much nicer than we were, who pointed us toward the Carriage Hall, which is where we entered the castle. Two murals by Antonio González Orozco stand out. The first is Entrada triunfal de Benito Juárez a Palacio Nacional acompañado de su gabinete (Triumphal entry of Benito Juárez to the National Palace accompanied by his cabinet).
The other is the famous Juárez, símbolo de la República contra la Intervención Francesa (Juárez, symbol of the Republic against the French Intervention). Juárez served five terms as Mexico’s president, both before and after the French occupation. So how did the French come to occupy Mexico? Well, to make a long interesting story really, really short, Napoleón III of France was convinced by various advisors that what Mexico needed to unify the country was a monarchy. However, he didn’t want to move to Mexico himself so after much negotiating and many promises, Napoleón III offered the job of puppet emperor to the Austrian archduke Maximilian of Habsburg. Maximilian was the “spare” younger brother of Emperor Franz Joseph of Austria, thereby making Maximilian the original spare heir in North America. (I hope things work out better for Prince Harry. The French occupied Mexico City in 1863, but things didn’t go too well. It turned out the country really wasn’t keen on having an emperor, after all. The French were defeated in 1867, Juárez regained power, and thanks partly to Maximilian’s mom, who didn’t want her disgraced son to return home tarnishing the Habsburg name, old Maximilian was executed along with two of his generals. Thanks mom! (Tracy highly recommends you read The Last Emperor of Mexico by Edward Shawcross to learn more about this fascinating chapter of Mexican history.)
We then discovered why this is called the Carriage Hall. The royal coach of Emperor Maximilian and consort Empress Carlota was made in Milan in the mid-1860s.
There are carved angels, and the side of the coach contains the Imperial Crest.
Also in the room are some famous paintings. The 19th-century Equestrian Portrait of Maximilian of Habsburg is on the left, General Mariano Escobedo (center), while the Portrait of General (and then president) Porfirio Díaz is on the right. President Díaz made the castle his home in the late 19th and early 20th century.
We then headed down the Introductory Hall, which was once utilized as a bowling alley. I assume they spared no expense.
We immediately split outside through a room to one of the terraces where Maximillian liked to read. Or he liked to read in the room. The mezcal on this trip has played tricks with my memory.
Then it was time to see the replicas of the various castle rooms. The Games Room is where Maximilian and guests would play cards and other games. The tapestry displays two guys playing badminton with no net results.
If you’re going to have a Smoking Room, it might as well be a nice one. Lots of urns decorated this room, many of them gifts to the Viceroys.
It had an elegant dining room with a fireplace, and sideboards made of cedar, mahogany, metal and marble. These were ordered by President Díaz. This room reminded us of many of the European palaces we have visited on our journeys.
Next up was the Service Room, which had an adjacent service elevator to bring food up from the basement kitchen. I know Tracy was eyeing those two plates.
From the terrace we glanced at the Vista del paseo de la Reforma with Monumento a los Niños Héroes in the foreground along with the Monumento a la Independencia and Paseo de la Reforma in the distance. One more smaller tower in the middle foreground had me stumped. I found out when I got home that it is the controversial Estela de Luz (Trail of Light), which was inaugurated in 2012 after a series of delays. I guess I’ll learn more on my next trip to CDMX.
The Interior Staircase wound upward. Visitors are not allowed on those stairs.
There were no ghosts in the Salón de los gobelinos (Gobelin’s Room). We saw portraits of Maximilian and Carlota along with Napoleón III and his wife. I believe the two pianos belonged to Maximilian and Carlota.
The French bedroom was purchased by President Manuel González, who believed this to be Carlota’s bedroom. This bedroom is a far cry from when they moved in. Supposedly the castle was in such disrepair and there were so many bedbugs that Maximilian took his cue and slept on a pool table while Carlota slept out on the terrace. They only lived here for two years.
When Maximilian knew the government was headed south, he dismantled his palaces.
Every queen consort needs a beautiful bathroom. This one contains a marble bathtub, which reportedly cost 200 pesos back in the day.
Carlota was only 17 when she married Maximilian, and this became her Sitting Room. Notice the Virgin of Guadalupe who we saw a lot of while in Mexico City and its environs.
In the Agreements Room discussions were held by cabinet members in an effort to solve public affairs, which with government officials were probably many.
Before you could get in to make those agreements, you had to sit in the Waiting Room.
Chapultepec means “Hill of the Grasshopper” in Náhuatl language, which was the language of the Aztecs. So we hopped over to the smiling Grasshopper Fountain. The sculpture turns 100 years old in 2024.
Once again the hero cadets were honored. There are six statues.
Back inside we walked to the Lions Staircase, constructed from white Carrara marble. Two marble lions lay at the base of the staircase. They are miniature copies of Antonio Canova’s 1792 sculptures for the tomb of Pope Clement XIII at St. Peter’s Basilica. I think this guy’s favorite song is The Lion Sleeps Tonight.
Tracy asked where the stained glass windows were located.
As we ascended the the staircase, I chirped, “Patience grasshopper.”
From up the terrace we looked out on the statues.
On this terrace we gazed upon the garden and the Watchtower of the Alcázar of Chapultepec. The tower was constructed in 1842 and in 1877 and it even became an observatory for a short time. I started singing out “I found my thrill on Grasshopper hill,” but was cut off quickly by an embarrassed spouse. Stephen was suddenly nowhere to be found.
While in this area we spied some scantily clad women painted on the wall, who looked like they were having quite a good time. These ladies were called Bacchants, who were priestesses of one of my favorite guys, the Roman god of vino … Bacchus. One lady was sauntering next to a lioness while another one stopped to smell the flowers (there are six in all). The murals were painted in 1865.
More rooms! This is President Porfiro Diaz’s bedroom.
A widower at age 51, the then Minister of development married 17-year-old Carmen Romero Rubio y Castelló (there seems to be a theme of young wives in this castle). This is her bedroom.
It was now time for the most spectacular part of the castle in my opinion.
Diaz commissioned a stained glass gallery around 1900 that “show the elegant figure of five (Greco-Roman) goddesses that embody the feminine attributes in mythology.”
They are Pomona, goddess of the fruit harvest; and Flora, goddess that favors the fruit harvest.
Next we have Hebe, carrier of divine eternal youth; and Diana, goddess of the hunt, fertility and childbirth. She’s a busy girl.
Finally we see Ceres, goddess of agriculture, grain crops and the love of a mother for their children. Obviously she wasn’t much influence on Maximilian’s mom.
The final room was the Ambassador’s Room, a French-inspired room where diplomats from foreign countries met with Diaz to discuss relationships.
El Jardin del Alcázar is where Maximilian dictated correspondence. He once stated, “Building castles with gardens in the midst of terraces” is the definition of happiness.
We spent about 90 minutes on our self-guided tour. Before we started the walk back down we checked out another garden with a statue, I think, representing Aztec warriors.
After the 15-minute walk down we wandered over to the Obilisk to los Niños Héroes.
It was about 11:45. While early for Mexico City residents to even contemplate lunch, these three gringos were getting hungry. We decided to walk to Polanco and try the restaurant that Tim and Sheila had ambianced to earlier in the week. It was yet another very hot day in Mexico City, which had been experiencing a drought similar to what we had suffered through in Southern California. We started walking and thankfully there was lots of shade as we headed up the tree-lined Paseo de la Reforma.
Well, most of it was tree-lined.
After about 45 minutes (it seemed longer), we happened upon the Jardín Winston Churchill. The statue was given to Mexico City by the United Kingdom in 1974.
Fortunately after a few more minutes we arrived at El Bajio (Alejandro Dumas 7 Colonia Polanco). As you can see by its lovely interior, we were very early for lunch.
Lunch was very good as were a couple of cold Bohemias.
Tracy enjoyed chicken enchiladas verde, I burned my lips off with the beef ribs in a delectable spicy thick tortilla, and Stephen liked his Barbacoa Beef. We spent a long time savoring our meal and taking a load off our weary feet.
We now had enough energy to carry on. We walked past the spacious homes of Polanco, which seemed like the “Beverly Hills of Mexico City.”
Soon we were at Polanco’s Parque Lincoln. There is so much green space in Mexico City that at seemingly every turn you are engulfed with gorgeous plants, flowers and trees. The park was opened in 1938 and has, among other things, an open-air theater, an aviary and two reflection pools. The reflecting pool wasn’t reflecting very much, because out of the blue came clouds and a sudden rain shower.
Not surprisingly there is a statue of Honest Abe.
Across the street is the statue of Martin Luther King, who had an unwelcome visitor.
The rain started pelting down fairly hard, so we took refuge at (shock) a a shop selling gelato.
The rain stopped as quickly as it had started and we continued along the green space trend until we arrived at Plaza Uruguay. I had read that it was known for a “brutalist fountain,” which is “characterized by simple, block-like forms and raw concrete construction.” That about says it all about the fountain.
Its other notable feature besides its parklike setting is a statue of Uruguayan independence leader General José Artigas.
While here, Tracy met a cute dog who inadvertently slipped her the tongue as she petted it. We were glad Remi was not here to see it.
We decided it was time to head back. Speaking of brutal, Stephen told us it would be a little less than an hour to walk back to our hotel. Looking at her phone, Tracy noticed we had walked a little more than six miles by this point, which, judging by her not-so-friendly glare at me, meant I would be joining her in an Uber on the way home. Stephen sucked it up and walked home, if only to beat us at steps for the day (not that we’re competitive).
A late afternoon glass of wine at the hotel, and we were off for dinner. The evening showed off a spectacular sky as we drove (well, we were passengers) to dinner. We passed by Estela de Luz.
Saks Polanco (11560 Campos Eliseos, Lamartine 133, Chapultepec Morales) had been recommended by friends, and this turned out to be quite an unusual, fun and informative evening. The patio area was bustling …
… and we were seated inside the large, attractive dining room, which filled up quickly (we are usually the earlybirds).
Our server, who spoke about as much English as we spoke Spanish, seemed confused by our drink order. Of course, when it comes to the three of us, even English-speaking servers are confused by us. I decided to head over to the bar to ask the bartender what was his favorite Mezcal cocktail. A very official, well-dressed gentleman with a tiny microphone attached to his lapel approached. This usually means I’m in trouble, but quite the contrary, Ramon (who I assumed was the big boss) asked me what I wanted and took us under his wing for the rest of the evening. He appointed Jonathan, who also had a microphone, to serve us for the evening. Jonathan worked in Hawaii for seven years and was quite descriptive as he told us about the food and drinks. We had the A-Team working for us. Jonathan brought over the table-side bar cart and mixed up a mean Gin and Tonic for Stephen, while Tracy sipped some wine and I enjoyed a mezcal drink whose name is forgotten to what little memory I have left.
Jonathan described how the restaurant has a room with a very large collection of fine tequilas that he’d show us after dinner. We started with a bread basket that disappeared before anyone could even attempt a photo. So did the guacamole with fried tortillas. For her entrée, Tracy ordered Vegetables Baked in a Puff Pastry Wrap; zucchini blossoms, cheese, mushrooms and spinach, served over a light chili poblano sauce.
Stephen enjoyed his Green Chile Enchiladas, while I had a special enchilada dish that I wish I was having as I write this.
As good as the meal was, our dessert we (sorta) shared was out of this world. Tracy called this “the lightest cheesecake in history.” The photo does not do it justice.
We were not through at this point. Tracy looked on as Jonathan recommended Stephen and I try a couple of shots of tequila. He brought over his little friend and our meal concluded with some smooth-tasting tequila.
True to his word, Jonathan showed us Saks Polanco’s wonderful world of tequila including a two million peso bottle of tequila. Stunned, we forgot to photograph it.
It contains quite an array of various tequilas.
We thought about having another shot, but we were probably at that happy point, so we went no further.
The restaurant was buzzing even more when we left with music playing at just the right decibel for a perfect evening of dining. There are a number of Saks around Mexico City, and we might try the one in the San Angél neighborhood next time. It will be a hard act to follow.
Sadly, tomorrow would be our last full day in Mexico City. We’d start with a sweet breakfast (the best conchas in the world courtesy of Eva Longoria’s Searching for Mexico travel show) at a Condesa pastry shop.
Then we would walk nearly ten miles discovering other parts of the city we had not explored yet. It was all going perfectly until I insisted on walking to one last monument where I literally came inches from a tumble that would have sent me home in the cargo hold. On a brighter note, we’d end the afternoon with the absolute best food item we ate on our entire trip.
Chapter Nine: Crisscrossing Mexico City and A Near Monument-al Fall
Day Nine & Ten: Condesa Conchas, Exploring Roma Norte, Murals Murals & More Murals, Taco Shut Out, The McDonald’s Of Tacos?, Walk To We (Almost) Drop, Escaping Disaster Yet Again, A Churro Made In Heaven, Einstein Finally Appears, Worthless Slip Of Paper and Saying Adios To Magical Mexico City