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On our second day in Mexico city, Paul who was sick before we started our trip and I chilled in bed at Miguel’s house. Our friend, Miguel, a former politicos’ son, lives in one of the upper class neighborhoods, Lomas de Chapultepec; a beautiful residential area full of embassies, massive homes and a lot of security on each corner. It’s where we have been privileged to stay each time we have been to our southern neighbor. With that said, there are many residential in the 573 miles of Mexico that are equivalent. (It is an American notion that Mexico is poor. Like many second world nations, it has its poverty, but in truth, it can be quite wealthy and many of the districts exemplify this.)

Thus, Paul and I started our day with eggs, ham and rajas (sautéed and roasted green peppers with olive oil and garlic) prepared by his cook, Dulce, as well as spending a little time with Miguel before we went out to explore the vastness which is makes up Mexico City.

Penny and Tim came to pick us up and to meet Miguel before we started off on our journey throughout the Distrito Federal. Of course, they loved his apartment which is a penthouse overlooking the Lomas de Chapuletepec, an area close to the main park of Cuidad de Mexico (it looks close but it’s really not. Everything in Mexico City seems close, but in actuality it’s about a 30 minute walk or about a 15 peso cab ride.)

After a little coffee, we went to Frida Kahlo’s House which is essentially a historical monument and not really a museum to the Mexican people. With that said, it’s not that interesting. Let me qualify that as a fan of Kahlo’s work; I was expecting how to see how she lived, not how Mexican people lived which I can observe at any number of museums. (Supposedly, there are more museums in Mexico City then in Paris and I believe that. There seems to be one on every corner; at least, something of historical significance. )

I don’t want to discount the museum as one of the highlights of the trip were the photographs of Diego Rivera and Frida Kahlo in the house’s garden and also seeing two of the body casts that she painted whle bed-ridden, but I didn’t really need to read a Mole Poblano recipe when I viewed the kitchen. It didn’t make sense and wasn’t really necessary.

Regardless, it was nice to see and then, off to San Angel Inn, a long time institution of Mexican eating. Housed in an old Carmelite monastery, San Miguel Inn is just a restaurant that was formerly an inn and now serves middle and upper middle class Mexicans what is perceived to be an international menu. Truly, it is a place to see and be-seen, an establishment where Mexicans of high-profile come to dine for lunch or dinner in their Prada and Izods.

After we were seated and we had both an three English menus and one Spanish, the latter so that we could practice the language, we opted for margaritas to start with followed by a bottle of wine that needed to be chilled. In the large ice bucket, just like in any restaurant around the world, the Mexican Sauvignon Blanc that we ordered, sat chilling, while we sat and sipped our margaritas-up. All four of us ordered them for lunch —we were on vacation, after all — served to us in a silver pitcher, place in individual ice buckets. The only way to serve a drink up!

Then, it was followed by a series of soups…for Penny, Paul and Tim, tortilla soup, a spicy concoction with strips of fried tortillas, shredded chicken, and olives. Dished up tableside and then waiters came around with the hot chicken broth, avocado, cotija cheese and epazote ( called “the Mexican basil”, a prevalent herb in Mexico) to complete the serving; I ordered, for Penny and Tim specifically huitlacoche enchiladas. (Huitlacoche is a corn fungus, or more prettily, a corn mushroom that grows underneath the husk; however, it is a dark aberration with a pronounced corn flavor than the kernels that it grows between. It’s a Mexican delicacy and can be found in the produce section of Spanish markets north of the border.)

More margaritas and a bottle of wine (it was a vacation) and off to the Diego Rivera museum which was located directly across the street. With a cactus fence and two buildings, the incredibly modern enclave is an interesting look into both Diego Rivera and Frida Kahlo’s life, far more than the latter’s on home (that’s in my own opinion). The first building, Diego’s own, with the entire enclave, fenced in by a towering cacti fence and painted in bright hues of blue and red. There is an outdoor staircase that would lead to his living space and to his studio. His workroom featured many of the oversized paper maiche figures that he created later on in life and before his death. Pretty much left intact, there were pastels in a box of every color as well as Spanish text art books throughout. On the next level, was a small built in bureau along with his original bed and a small room that had a bridge that extended to Frida’s studio.

Frida’s second home consisted of a bright studio and a separate room and was also on three floors but was as interesting as it didn’t really house all the artwork, dresses, clothing or furniture that was originally there. (There was a small exhibition on the art that Diego assisted with from children at a local school.