We wanted to stay close to our Apartment, so today we headed north, through the San Rafael neighborhood, across San Cosme, and up to Alameda de Santa Maria La Ribera, the beautiful park that houses that amazing gazebo. The last time we visited this beautiful park, it was packed with dog walkers, food hawkers, couples strolling hand-in-hand, and families enjoying the beautiful day. What a difference a weekday makes!
We arrived to a very quiet park, with quite possibly more dogs than people. There was a photographer taking photos at the gazebo in the center.
One of the places we wanted to visit was the Museum of Geology. No, we are not huge fans of geology. We just read that it is an amazing building with some cool sights. And sure enough, it was! The museum fronts the park, and is in a purpose-built building. The details are amazing, and the architectural features are phenomenal - particularly the 3D stained glass window.
Inside were some pretty cool displays. Obviously, lots of rocks. But some unique ones, like parts of meteors that had landed throughout Mexico. There were also some cool dinosaur fossils.
After strolling through the Museum, we walked through the park, and headed north. This time, we were headed towards the Torre Insignia - one of the world's largest carillons.
Along the way, we came across these three rascals looking for a bit of attention.
You can see the Torre Insignia for miles, and it is a cool architectural building. The triangular prism shape is so unique, and the open top houses the collection of carillon bells that was given to Mexico as a gift from Belgium. Unfortunately, the carillon is not currently played, as it seems that the only carillon player in Mexico passed away. As a rather stark comparison, across the street from the Torre is a very old, very local church, painted in simple white with bright red details.
It was time for lunch, and we needed a change of pace. We walked down the incredibly Avenue Insurgentes and found the Forum Buenavista. While we saw a massive parking garage and some signs, we really didn't know what it is. We walked in the lower level to find the ticket agency for the intercity train station. Long, steep escalators bring scores of people up to the modern, and very nice, shopping mall. We walked through the mall, seeing loads of familiar, and lots of new and interesting stores. For lunch, we hit the food court for some Chinese food. Heck, everyone needs a bit of a break from tacos now and then. . .
Earlier in January, we had visited the Biblioteca Vasconselas. It was unfortunately closed. Having read a bit more about it, we really wanted to visit. So, we made this our last stop of the day. And it was INCREDIBLE. This is simply the coolest, most amazing, wild, fantastic, breathtaking library we have ever seen. It defies description.
The stacks are suspended, seemingly hanging in thin air, with loads of books accessible by frosted glass walkways. Not for the faint of heart or for those afraid of heights. Unfortunately, my wife is deathly afraid of heights and was terrified for the entire visit.
There are glass walls along the north and south walls, with amazing views. And along the east and west walls, there are several open-air balconies, that allow you to enjoy city and mountain views (thanks to the slightly better air quality levels today).
Not only is this the coolest library I have ever seen, it may the coolest building I have been in all of Mexico City, and that says a lot! I am SO glad we returned to this library to have a look around. Anyone visiting this city should put this library on their must-do list.
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