Buenos dias...... from the Wandering Berkmans!
We're 5 weeks into our 7 week Mexico visit and once again Mexico City does not disappoint! Zach has been our guide extraordinario, taking us to places off the beaten path (take a look on his TikTok page for advice on how to be a responsible visitor to Mexico City ) and introducing us (especially Don!) to culinary loveliness. Here's a photo drop of some highlights, admittedly food and architecture-heavy! Want more information? Click on the links below and go down that internet worm hole that, if you click the first link on every subsequent Wiki page, will eventually (97% of the time) lead you to the Wiki article on "philosophy". (it's true, David B-- try it!)
The house/now Mac store below this large office building was moved in its entirety to dig the foundation of the building and then moved back to now reside just outside the building lobby
A tranquil respite from the larger Parque España, this Audiorama has a meditation soundtrack and perfect swinging chairs for napping
One of the many, many murals Diego Rivera painted in the interior of the Ministry of Education building
Fascinating outdoor art aplenty in Guadalajara- this, a horse made of wooden planks, still under construction
Tetetlan is a former stable, a book store, art space, a restaurant and overall just a really cool place with a glass floor that shows off the volcanic rock below. Sample the tacos with roasted huitlacoche, a corn fungus, and you'll change your mind about fungus 
No surprise to anyone who knows him, Zach knows all the delish places to eat. Our first lunch together had Don swooning over his tacos. And to anyone who knows Don, this was a surprise indeed!
Zach and his boyfriend Tavo offered to make us dinner as long as we picked up the ingredients. Don played pack mule for the occasion at the local market. The meal--- a salt-encrusted fish- was a hit! 
We took in a futbol match between UNAM (a local university) and Leon. The chants were terrific and the commentary from the guy behind us even better. Case in point, he to the referee-- "And that's why no one loves you!"
Bosque de Chapultepec is twice the size of Central Park and has some features we'd love to see in the US. The poles installed near the lake on which you can string up your hammock-- yes, please! 
Some of the houses in the Polanco section of Mexico City have us wowed
We're told a Mexican kitchen isn't complete without a comal. We're slowly branching out from the toast featured above-- today I grilled nopales-- cactus!
Not every meal is a winner. Sometimes it's a couple of days of electrolytes and saltines
A chill afternoon at the Monet and Friends Immersion Experience had us initially thinking of the Soylent Green rooms (the story takes place in 2022! whaaaaattt??) but it was relaxing and memorable in the end. Bring on the crackers! 
The Museo del Juguete Antiguo is the premiere toy museum for the Barbie and Lucha Libre fan, and pretty much every other toy you've ever heard of. But if you have a fear of baby dolls and clowns (you know who you are- Happy Birthday!) stay away--it's nightmare inducing. Alternatively, this bathroom makes me want to take up knitting again
This magnificent kiosk in Santa Maria de la Ribera was designed for the 1884 World's Fair Want more? Follow us on our Insta accounts to see pictures of said wanderings on a regular basis. Ok, we're not super diligent about regular postings and they're mostly on the "History" part of our page (the little circles on top) but it's something!
https://www.instagram.com/monberkman/
https://www.instagram.com/larliveabroadreviews/
Our last post brought on more questions, these from Gail of Travel Weekly fame!
"My question is: between the two of you, how many different languages do you speak? And with that in mind, in what country was it the hardest to communicate?"
Not sure how many of you know but Don and I met in French class in college (insert "ooo la la!" here). So to your question, Gail, I speak fair to middling French. Don remembers "ooo la la" hahaha. And strangely, up until recently he would tend towards French in countries where Spanish is spoken and vice versa, making him sound worldly where ever he was. Now that we've been in Mexico for some weeks, the Spanish that Don has been studying diligently for the past year and a half is coming along! He's the optimal student-- not afraid to make mistakes and is charming and self deprecating all the way. Everybody loves him! No surprise there (:
So between my Spanish and French, Don's emerging Spanish and his exemplary Yiddish (his bar mitzvah was not just a fluke!), we have a good many countries covered. We try to study the language of the next place we're going to (a little Portuguese here, very basic Croatian there) so that we can get the basics over the net and be good tourists. Every hello, please, thanks and goodbye in the native language goes a long way. And when in doubt, Google Translate is our crutch.
Which country was the hardest in which to communicate?
Good question! When we travel with the kids, they always prepare a cheat sheet ahead of time so Korean, Japanese, and Vietnamese weren't too challenging for the short times we were there. Funny enough, Portuguese was more challenging than I anticipated because the pronunciation of words that look very Spanish is so very different. It took a bit to get used to it. But honestly, native english speakers are lucky that in the larger cities of many countries there is a fair amount of English spoken.
Easiest places? Athens and Split, Croatia! Seemed like everyone under the age of 40 spoke English, largely we were told because English is taught to everyone in school and in Croatia in particular, movies and television shows in English aren't dubbed, they just have subtitles. Cartoon Network, apparently, is credited for many a fluent Croatian english speaker!
One day as we were asking yet another family member to help us out with one thing or another in the US, we felt the least we could do is compile a list to thank all of you who have helped us along the way! It takes a village to live the way we do!
To all the friends/family we mootched on before… in no particular order although if you find yourself high on the list feel free to claim bragging rights--- thanks so much!!
To....
Dr. "Jones"- for supplying us with plenty of undated prescriptions, especially for antibiotics. They've already come in handy on this trip!
The Kothes- for housing our bikes and a box of our colder weather clothes in their garage. And for letting us use their better bikes!
The Wornings - for free rent for a month and for being our amazing guides in Denmark!
Kris and Budd - for dealing with our mail that subverts our mail forwarding service and still comes to their house (which is also our official mailing address)!
Patsy Tran-for storing more of our stuff in her closet and for her DirecTV password!
The Sethnas - for their Xfinity password! (we're seeing a trend here...)
Sean our Tucson landlord- for storing yet another box for us! (another trend...)
Ata- for holding on to some Wisconsin-ready winter clothes for us! (see above!)
The Varelas- for fielding the mail we end up sending to Wisconsin to retrieve on upcoming visits! (Way too much toiletries being sent there-- my brother now calls me "high maintenance")
The Hacketts- for a free stay in LA and an open invite for the future!
Beth S- for being such an amazing cat mom to little Madi. We are forever grateful!!
Amy our realtor- for being there to finalize our house sale (and clear out what was left in the house) while we were in Lisbon!
Ron G.- for agreeing to more meetings than any client previous, now and most likely in the future, always with a smile!
Mary/Bob/Cece/Toke/Ida- for taking our good dishes and glassware so that we can enjoy them again when we visit the fam!
Our kids- for always being our “free” and fantastic tour guides when we travel with them or visit them!
We couldn't do what we're doing without you all! ¡Muchisimas gracias!
(BTW if you don't see your name on the list- we have a number of exciting opportunities available. Contact us at your earliest convenience.)
We leave you with this Slice of Life from our day at the futbol pitch-- chant along!
As always, your experiences are amazing and inspire me to explore more of the world. Love you guys!! Keep them coming!!
ReplyDeleteA wonderful recount. So many great details and stories, and above all - the enjoyment you share. All my love guys and yes - keep'em coming!
ReplyDeleteAs always, after reading your post, I'm hungry.
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