Goggle-Eyed Bee

 Had some fresh strawberries and pineapple at home before heading down to the town via some coffees. Went to the house where Diego was borne, which is now a museum which has some rooms that are set up with furniture contemporary to his childhood, some rooms of his paintings and drawings - huge variety of style including early figurative drawings, cubist stuff from when he travelled to France, explorations of what looks like the Aztec codex drawings/murals, and some images by other people inspired by him or with him as the subject. There was also a little contemporary gallery attached with some interesting stuff. Went further down the road - past the university, which is itself a stunningly beautiful building - to the Pueblo museum which had some Leonora Carrington works among other things. Her stuff is wonderful and whimsical. There was also a little skeleton made of churros, haha. Further down the road was alhondiga, a massive edifice which was once a granary, then a barracks, the...

 Beautiful sunny start to the day. Did some washing and hung it out on the terazzo with Chris. Took some pics of the view and also the cute weird flowering cactuses in their pots, complete with morning dew. The spiral staircase is interesting against the lovely blue wall. Not good for anyone who doesnt like heights though - see straight out the metal grid to forever. Went to a cafe and had a macchiato and a small hot chocolate - think, dark, rich, murray and violet would have loved it. Shared a plate of fruit and a teeny cup of yoghurt with Chris - some banana, pear, cantaloupe, pineapple, and a weird tropical, sort of passionfruit-tasting, ripe apple looking... with round seeds in the centre fruit. Walked around the town more, it was a public holiday (day of the virgin Guadalupe or something), marching bands, people dressed up, firecracker noises, bells... Went to the market which is in a big hangar-like building. Reminded me of the one in Budapest, but less grand. Went to a littl...

 Up early for Uber to the bus station. Bus quite nice... fairly big comfy chairs that reclined, had screens, foot rests etc. We didn't get anything to eat though and it was 5 hrs, so by the time we got to Guanajuato we were pretty hungry. Got a weird bag of chipotle chips at the station and then a taxi up to near our airbnb. Place is cute. Lots of tiles and colour, a terazzo with an amazing view. Dropped our stuff off and then went for a walk around the town. It was a bit rainy. Guanajuato is beautiful though. Went to a little cafe whose entrance was over a little bridge (there are lots of parts of the town that feel kind of medieval european... buildings with what look like old guarderobes on the sides. Had ... in salsa verde with salad on top. It was ok but a bit insipid. There is an underground tunnel network for cars because most of the streets are narrow and twisty. 6,233 steps 4.19 km

 We had good intentions to get back to the Anthropological Museum early and do the last two rooms downstairs, and the top floor and then hopefully go to the Palacio National to see some more murals but we got distracted by markets (hey, it's Sunday). Bought some earrings and a necklace by a dude who made fantastic steampunk things, and a necklace and earrings for violet by another stallholder. Then bought some ceramic earrings from another market. Tried on a dress in a very designer shop. Lovely fabric but a bit odd. They had some crazy interesting stuff. Caught the bus towards the museum. Walked through another market couple of markets on the way. Bought some mango, some roasted corn in a cup with mayo and chilli... Did the remaining rooms at the museum. Some of the upstairs bit was closed for upgrade. Big lines for the bus which wasn't arriving to go home so we got an uber (<$10...). Had a chat with murray and violet and then ruth (for her birthday) via video. Had some coc...

 Had breakfast at a new place this morning. They make their own beautiful bread and pastries. I had french toast which was actually just a huge slab of brioche with sweetened cream-type of stuff, fruit, and maple syrup. Chris had a yummy-looking 'Greek' omelette, Pat had 'eggs Ben Addict'. We caught an Uber out to Xochimilco which is the area of Mexico City that still has canals. There are colourful boats with chairs and tables and guys pole you around like the Venetian gondolas. There are other boats that have mariachi bands, food, drinks, etc Creepy doll island that wasn't the actual creepy doll island.  A little lizard caught a ride with us, and we share the cost of the boat with a couple from Toronto. I had a pulque and we shared a michelada. Caught another Uber home via some freeways that felt like rollercoasters with railings. Also saw a very big, rickety-looking roller coaster in the distance. Went to dinner at Broka for the second time. The guy recognised us...

Had coffees at the fancy cheese place and I got a take-away fig and goat cheese pastry which was amazing.  Chapultepec Park - got the bus there, walked through the beautiful park, admired the massive Montezuma Cypress trees, ponds, ducks, squirrels.. We got into the Castle for free (old age, and teacher benefits). Walked up the windy path to the castle at the top of the hill. Fantastic place to visit - grand building, beautiful murals, some museum-type rooms with art and artefacts and Mexican history, then other rooms which were preserved with furniture from the 18th and 19th Century. It was all very beautiful. There was even a beautiful roof garden. Spectacular views across the city. Statues of the 5 youths who defended the city from US invasion... Chapultepec means hill of the grasshopper so there were grasshopper motifs everywhere - stained glass, sculpture, fountains. Super cute. We came home early-ish to avoid horrible bus crowds and had some margaritas and beers and chippies....