We wanted to do a bit deeper dive into Oaxaca today. We walked from our loft and headed west, to the Centro and Zocalo section.
Initially, we bypassed the busy tourist area, and visited the Basilica de Nuestra Señora de la Soledad. This is a really large square, with a government building adjacent to the Basilica, which faces a more modest neighborhood church across the plaza.
The plaza itself is really large. It almost looks like music venue, and there are some local food stalls and shops in a smaller, adjacent walled plaza.
We headed towards the Zocalo, and what did we find but a Mayordomo. Darnit. We couldn't resist. This time we got hot chocolates, along with a slightly sweet bread for dipping into the chocolate. Now I don't know if I prefer the cold chocolate or the hot chocolate.
After this little snack, we walked a bit north to visit the Museo de la Filatelia - the stamp museum. I can't way I was terribly excited to visit, as I have less than zero interest I stamps. However, the museum is really cool. Some great art. Amazing display of stamps. Massive cabinets that are labeled, and allow you to pull out glass displays with stamps. Historical letters from Frida Kahlo to her doctor. A great baseball exhibit - including stamps, of course. And even a VW Beetle completely covered in stamps. What a fun surprise to enjoy a stamp museum.
We decided to explore a bit north, so we headed towards the pretty El Llano park. It was full of students who were on a break from class at the nearby school. It is a beautiful day and we decided to sit back and take it in a bit of urban park experience.
We had yet to visit the popular Reforma neighborhood, so we decided to take a stroll through this upscale area. We soon found the restaurant Itanoni. We had read about this place - they feature ancient corn, that they make into delicious tortillas and local specialties. We were enthralled watching the woman grab masa, roll it in her hands, press it with a heavy metal tortilla press, and then delicately place the tortilla on the hot ceramic and stone stove. While it was fun to watch, it was even more fun to eat!
Our AirBnB host suggested we shop at the Reforma Chedraui grocery store, so we walked the few blocks over to get some staples. Nice store, and not too far from our place. On the way home, we noticed that the street north of the cemetery had been completely taken over by a very busy Friday market. I picked up some fresh vegetables from one of the vendors just a couple blocks from our place.
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