Another day in Mexico City, another day exploring. Today's first stop was a long metro ride down to Universidad to visit UNAM. Sure, we wanted to walk the campus and see what daily life looks like at a University, but we were here to see the Central Library.
The campus is sprawling and quite diverse. The entry to the campus from the metro is a bit overwhelming, with fences and razor wire everywhere. However, once you get to the main campus area, it is open and really nice.
The campus has an enormous grassy quad area, and the Central Library is is on the northwest corner. This 10-story building dominates the area, and is famous for its stone mural covering every inch of the exterior.
There are so many representations and stories told on this massive mural.
After lots of walking around the campus, we were ready for lunch. Thankfully, we were only a couple metro stops away from Coyoacan, and its famous Mercado.
The Coyoacan Mercado was really busy, with people shopping for produce, meat, fish, and more. There are loads of stalls selling food, so we picked one, sat at the counter, and ordered the specials of the day - enchiladas verde and enchiladas mole. Delicious! It came with a fruit juice drink, and was made right in front of us.
From the Mercado, we walked around the Coyoacan neighborhood, through some beautiful parks, and made our way back to the metro station to head towards Centro.
We have visited the famous Belles Artes building many times, but we had never actually stepped inside. Outside, it is bustling with artists, singers, booths selling food and snacks, and vendors selling everything from jewelry to sneakers. But inside, its a different world. An Art Deco masterpiece, with a uniquely Mexican flair.
There are permanent exhibits of art including murals by Diego Rivera and other famous Mexican artists.
There was also a temporary exhibit from artist Federico Silva.
Very happy to have finally made it inside this beautiful building, we were up for another very unique Mexico experience. Pulque. A pre-cursor to alcohol and an ancient beverage, pulque can be found at several specialty bars around town called pulquerias. We found a pulqueria nearby, grabbed two seats, ordered two Blackberry pulques, and tried to take in the experience. It was packed, with loud music, first provided by a mariachi band, then by music from the speakers. People were drinking all different kinds of pulque, with different flavors. How to describe pulque? It is thick, a bit viscous, with an odd flavor and a disconcerting texture. Glad we tried it, but this will be a one-and-done experience. We loved the decor of the place, as the ceilings and walls were covered with art.
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