Text: Peter Johansson
Editing: Christer Lundstedt
Photos: Christer Lundstedt, Peter Johansson
Videos: Christer Lundstedt
Friday 14th of July
08.33 We have woken up in Canada and Mexico City. Canadá is the name of the hotel and Mexico City is another capital that we now have slept in. In a dark and cool room with no windows to the outside world, you sleep well. Soon we set out to first have breakfast and then experience this big city. In the Wimbledon tennis tournament, Novak Djokovic is one set away from reaching the final.
09.45 The lift had a problem so we took the stairs up to floor 7 for today's breakfast. From the breakfast room there was a beautiful view of the cathedral and the surrounding area. We were given a small note where there were different options to choose from for breakfast. Gelatin cubes, coffee and two hot cakes (American pancakes) were served. We opted out of eggs and enchiladas. In the Wimbledon tennis, Novak Djokovic progressed as expected.
10.25 It is even for the second final place in Wimbledon. We ourselves are ready to take on yet another world city. Mexico City or Ciudad de México as it is called here in Mexico has a population of 9,209,944 inhabitants but in the entire metropolitan area there are over 22 million people.
10.46 We are back on the Madero pedestrian street and follow it west. We are not exactly alone out on the streets.
10.58 We have seen various Chinese symbols and decorations at the Barrio Chino quarter. It's not a big area, just three streets wide.
11.17 We have seen fountains, street organs and lots of people in motion. We are now in the Alameda Central park, a large green lung in the heart of the city. Some seem to be having their clothes and bodies washed in one of the fountains. Are they perhaps homeless or lack good washing facilities at home?
11.39 We have walked on to the Palacio de Bellas Artes, which is an impressive building to say the least. It is the largest cultural center in the country and is dedicated to the fine arts in all their forms. There is an art museum, concert hall and theater activities here. UNESCO designated it an artistic monument in 1987.
12.07 Here we are again. We plan and think about what we want to eat for lunch and where it will take place. There are plenty of different options. Think how easy it would have been if we didn't have to eat. But think how boring it would have been if we didn't get to try different types of food.
15.45 It is a large and beautiful cathedral we are sitting in. It is exactly as cathedrals usually are. There are beautiful ornaments and plenty of holy figures, all in statue form. The cathedral was built in stages between the years 1573 and 1813. It is built on top of the former Aztec temple area at the Great Temple (Templo Mayor).
20.01 A short distance from our hotel on Avenida 5 de Mayo, we found the table and chairs for dinner at La Capilla Restaurante & Bar, which is part of Hotel Gillow. When your own hotel lacks a restaurant, you can eat at another hotel without feeling guilt.
Saturday 15th of July
Breakfast on the seventh floor of Hotel Canadá.
Nice view from the breakfast room.
Back on Madero pedestrian street (Avenida Francisco I. Madero).
Barrio Chino, a small Chinese quarter.
Hemiciclo a Benito Juárez, a monument dedicated to the national hero.
In the Alameda Central park.
Palacio de Bellas Artes, Mexico City.
Torre Latinoamericana, Mexico City.
Peter eats his lunch at Café El Popular.
The Zócalo square is the city's most central place.
Palacio Nacional with the government offices.
Christer at Zócalo, Mexico City.
CD MX - Ciudad de México.
Catedral Metropolitana de la Ciudad de México.
Mexico City was built on the same site as the Aztec city of Tenochtitlán.
Inside the Catedral Metropolitana.
Altar del perdón, the altar of forgiveness, was built in the 18th century.
We will have dinner at La Capilla.
08.26 There was no burning of any Jewish holy scripture (Torah) or Christian holy scripture (Bible) at home in Sweden. He who applied for it has regretted it. In the women's final of the Wimbledon tennis tournament, Czech player Marketa Vondrousova has just defeated Ons Jabeur from Tunisia 2-0 in sets. Marketa is the first ever unseeded woman to win at Wimbledon.
09.02 We have new breakfast plans this day. Even though we have a hotel breakfast included in the price, we go to another hotel to have breakfast. We will return to the La Capilla restaurant. We need something more hearty in our stomachs than small pancakes and fluttering gelatin. 09.21 We have both ordered breakfast option 1. This just feels good. Sometimes we think wisely. 09.51 That was significantly more filling than what we ate yesterday. Now we have energy to get through this day well. 10.07 After the solid start to the day, we have done what we can to prepare for today. Sunscreen has been smeared on the bodies and we have water with us to be ready when thirst sets in. 10.32 We have walked to the west side of the cathedral we visited yesterday. Various tour buses that drive around the city or on longer tours start there. We have bought tickets with Turibus, a tour bus that runs three different loops through Mexico City. The price for the tour was 210 pesos. Now we are sitting on the upper level and waiting for the bus to start. 10.49 Our bus has stopped at a large intersection at the Fuente de la República fountain. There is also a large yellow horse here, the sculpture Torre Caballito. 10.54 We have rolled up to the Plaza de la República and the monument Monumento a la Revolución which remembers the Mexican Revolution. Here there is, among other things, a revolution museum.
We chose to eat a better breakfast at La Capilla.
We have sat down on the Turibus tour bus.
There are large intersections in Mexico City.
Fuente de la República, Mexico City.
The bus passes the Monumento a la Revolución.
The last Aztec emperor Cuauhtémoc stands in the middle of Paseo de la Reforma avenue.
11.02 The Independence Monument with its golden angel (El Ángel de la Independencia) is next to us. Unfortunately, the headphones we received do not work so we do not get any audio information in anything other than Spanish. We have to rely a lot on the brochure that shows the bus route.
11.08 We just saw Torre Reforma, one of the most earthquake-proof buildings in the world. The house is 246 meters high. 11.23 The bus trip has reached the halfway point. The bus makes a stop at the Audiotorio Nacional, which today is used for various cultural events. It was built in 1952 and has been the center of various events. In 1954, the volleyball and basketball in the Central American and Caribbean championships were played here. In 1958, the San Francisco Ballet and the New York Philharmonic came to visit. During the 1968 Olympics, gymnastics was held here. 12.40 The bus trip is over and was worth its price. Stretching our legs is what we need right now. Think that you can get tired just sitting. However, we managed to avoid getting burnt by the sun and we didn't get thirsty either. 12.57 A short visit has been made at the Templo Mayor, the ruins of the great Aztec temple near the cathedral. This remnant from the Aztecs also has a museum but we judged that we could see the main thing without having to buy any tickets. Now, on the trips we've made, we've seen remains from the Mayan culture, the Inca Empire and the Aztecs. 13.12 It has become time for a little eating and drinking. This will take place at Balam Coffee Roasters on Calle de la Palma. 14.07 The lunch, which consisted of Enchiladas Suizas and coffee, was reasonably filling and good. The room at Hotel Canadá is cleaned and we need to rest for a while.
On the way to El Ángel de la Independencia.
Plaza Villa de Madrid, Mexico City.
Glorieta de las Mujeres Que Luchan - memorial against violence and injustice directed at women.
Fuente de la República and Torre Caballito.
The bus trip is over and other passengers are taking our seats.
Templo Mayor, remains of Aztec Tenochtitlán.
15.01 Christer looks around and plans the trip from here tomorrow. We seem to be able to get to the right bus station using the metro. We need to go from a different bus station than we intended because one of the metro lines is closed due to reconstruction. It feels unnecessarily complicated to have to arrange a taxi when there is a subway.
16.47 It is nice to take it easy in the room and to fill up with something to drink. Next, we should find suggestions for suitable restaurants for the last dinner here in Mexico City. 18.18 A restaurant has been found. What we order there remains to be seen when we get there. 19.08 Café La Blanca (https://www.cafelablanca.com) is a restaurant with a long history and has a cow as its symbol. Here we have actually ordered different dishes. The restaurant is over a hundred years old. Guests sat and dined here as early as 1915. 20.19 The most dramatic thing during this meal was that Christer's beer fell over. It wasn´t so bad. He got a new one. Our dinners were not culinary sensations that we will remember but it was good nonetheless. 20.49 It's starting to be time to tie this day together and to plan and start unpacking tomorrow with its various elements. 21.45 It was not possible to buy tickets in advance for the Torre Latinoamericana, the high-rise building where you are supposed to have a nice view of the city. We will try to buy the tickets on the spot tomorrow morning. We plan to go there when they open. The visit was planned for today, but we realized that it was smarter to go there tomorrow morning on a Sunday instead of crowding with lots of other visitors during the afternoon today. 22.15 It was easier to buy bus tickets than the Torre tickets. Now there is a bit of private time that is not documented in the journal before we take the step into the night's sleep.
We visit Balam Coffee Roasters.
Peter is waiting for lunch.
Our Saturday dinner was at Café La Blanca.
Sunday 16th of July
07.45 Now we have finished sleeping here in Mexico City. The question is, is it just for this summer or forever? In the Wimbledon tennis final, Novak Djokovic leads against Carlos Alcaraz 1-0 in sets.
08.52 After some tinkering in the room in the morning, we are now going out on a last visit in this city. The destination for it is not too far away from the hotel. 08.56 It is quite quiet on the Madero pedestrian street at this time on a Sunday morning. We are on our way to the attraction we postponed from yesterday. 09.16 We paid and went up the lift in the high-rise Torre Latinoamericana (https://torrelatinoamericana.com.mx). We were among the first guests that day. The view of the city is fantastic and we can hear the music of the street organ from the pedestrian street even up here. The building itself is 166 meters high and with decorations and spire it reaches 182 meters. Completed in 1956, the Torre Latinoamericana was the world's first large skyscraper to be successfully built in a high earthquake risk zone. It withstood the 1985 Mexico City earthquake without damage. 09.37 When you stand up here on the observation platform, you really see how big this city is. But São Paulo in Brazil was bigger, right? Spontaneously, we remember the experience like that. We were up in a similar building there in 2010 and saw a seemingly endless sea of high-rise buildings. 10.00 We felt satisfied with the view, took the lift down to ground level and are back at Hotel Canadá. More precisely, we are on the breakfast floor. Breakfast will be here for the second time today. We had a simple breakfast in the room earlier this morning. In the Wimbledon tennis tournament, it is 1-1 in the set and 4-1 to Carlos Alcaraz in the third. 11.05 There will be a fifth and completely decisive set in the final. Will Alcaraz take his second Grand Slam title or will Djokovic take his third this year and twenty-fourth overall? 11.20 Now we will soon check out and start moving towards the bus station. There are a few different stages that must be completed on the way there.
Christer visits a tall building.
Peter in Torre Latinoamericana.
A very large city spreads out.
View towards Zócalo, Mexico City.
An airplane is about to land in Mexico City.
Palacio de Bellas Artes from a new perspective.
11.40 Once checked out of Hotel Canadá, we walked the short distance to the metro station Allende. Once there, we each bought a ticket for 5 pesos, no big expense. Now we are heading south station by station.
12.10 We traveled to the terminus station Tasqueña and then went through a large market to a large bus station, Terminal Central del Sur. In here we wait patiently at the right gate. In Wimbledon it was Carlos Alcaraz who took home the title. 12.46 We tried going out at Puerta 4/Gate 4. What then happened was that a woman informed us that we are welcome back here at 13.00. They don't want too many people outside by the buses. 13.06 Now I've had it too easy and comfortable for too long. It took me a while to get the back of the backpack in place. Christer said he would leave his backpack with the luggage man and I could do the same when I was done. When I finally finished, I instead went and stood with my backpack next to Christer in the bus queue. When he reminded me of the luggage, I didn´t understand anything. I came to my senses and left my backpack. Before we were let on board the bus, we and the hand luggage were checked with handheld metal detectors. Today we travel with the bus company ADO (https://www.ado.com.mx). ADO is short for Autobuses de Oriente. 13.31 The bus stops between Palacio de los Deportes and Estadio Jesús "Palillo" Martínez. American football is played here. 14.23 Now my ears are feeling the high altitude. How high up are we really? We drive along the highway between Mexico City and Puebla. Right now we are traveling through a beautiful forest. There is actually a national park here, Parque Nacional Iztaccíhuatl - Popocatépetl. 15.35 We arrived in Puebla and the bus terminal CAPU - Central de Autobuses de Puebla. Here we went to the first kiosk, a simple one, to buy a sandwich. We continued through all parts of the terminal and soon realized that it was a panic move to shop directly. Several better kiosks appeared. Now we are at Hotel Star Express (https://www.hotelesstarexpress.com) just outside the bus terminal. Here we will stay in room 118. Puebla, which has the official name Heróica Puebla de Zaragoza, has 1,692,181 inhabitants. It is the capital of the state of the same name. 16.47 This is a simple but nice room. There are no direct plans at this time. Possibly we will see the final of the Gold Cup eventually. That's where Mexico and Panama meet.
A late breakfast at Hotel Canadá.
Christer rides the metro in Mexico City.
We are waiting in Terminal Central del Sur.
On the bus on the way to Puebla.
Hotel Star Express, Puebla.
Super clean corridor at Hotel Star Express.
18.17 There's a thunderstorm rumbling out there and we haven't found a channel that broadcasts the football match we want to watch.
19.31 It rained on us on our way to the ATM we needed to visit. To avoid more rain and to have dinner, we have gone to the nearby Vips Puebla Capu. Here, in addition to eating, we can also watch the match. Right now it's 0-0. Vips is a restaurant chain located in Mexico and Spain. The company was founded in 1964 in Mexico City by the brothers Jerónimo, Plácido and Manuel Arango. 19.54 We have just received our ordered meals and Mexico have scored their first goal in the final minutes of the match. The scorer was Santiago Giménez. 20.17 We are full and satisfied. I don't know if Mexico's national soccer team is fed up. However, they are satisfied because they just won the Gold Cup, which is considered the North American football championship. 20.55 Now we are back at home in the room. On the way home there was a break and we bought necessary provisions at OXXO. Now the start of the week must be planned. How do we get to and from the city center? It is a four kilometer walk. 22.20 We have had some evening coffee and have taken part in Aktuellt's news broadcast from Sweden via SVT Play on Christer's mobile phone.
Dinner at Vips.
Monday 17th of July
08.46 After a good night's sleep and a good morning shower here at Hotel Star Express, it is now time for a hopefully good breakfast.
09.39 There was no buffet this time, even though we had some hopes for it. Instead, we had to choose options on a piece of paper that was handed out. It was picked up but the waitress soon returned. Had we chosen too much? Not at all, we hadn't chosen a sauce for our enchiladas. Soon we were served coffee, juice and fruit slices with yogurt. The second course was enchiladas with green sauce. All in all an excellent start to the day. We learned that the enchiladas with green and red sauce that looked so spicy are actually made from red or green tomato, not spicy at all. 10.05 After compiling a small list of what to see here in Puebla, we start to get ready for the next time on this trip. 10.30 We say goodbye to the room. Now we set out on a four kilometer walk towards the centre. We'll see if we can walk the same distance back in the afternoon or if we´ll take a taxi back. 10.41 The walk goes along Boulevard Norte. Soon we will turn left and follow the street 15 de Mayo. 11.00 It's going perfectly so far. It's not too hot or tricky to walk towards the center. With the right conditions, we can walk as far as we like. Unfortunately, the surroundings are quite boring. The ideal would have been to have some simple restaurant or some café about half way on our walk but such options are scarce. 11.21 Next to us now is the city's railway museum, the Museo Nacional de los Ferrocarriles Mexicanos. There are railway carriages from different eras on display here. A little further away is the station for a modern train, the Tren Turistico that runs from downtown Puebla to the Cholula archaeological zone. We walk on. The center is getting closer.
Breakfast enchiladas at Hotel Star Express.
Calle 11 Norte, Puebla.
After a long walk we have reached the center of Puebla.
La calle de Los Dulces, the street of sweets.
Christer refills with coffee.
Another word of wisdom about coffee.
11.31 We crossed Calle 11 Norte and ended up in smaller streets with a lot of people in motion. Here there is an endless amount of small shops that sell all sorts of things.
11.45 We reached the first attraction of the day, La Calle De Los Dulces, a beautiful decorated street with various sweet shops. 12.10 In a hunt for coffee, we first found a well-visited Starbucks Coffee (Starbucks Puebla Centro) with few or no free seats. We went instead to a branch of the Italian Coffee Company. The young clerk was somewhat confused. Christer's order cost 53 pesos and mine 50 pesos. Christer paid 103 pesos and wanted change. The clerk thought Christer paid for both. I paid mine with a 50-peso bill and Christer got his change. In addition, we received our various coffee orders. 12.47 After drinking the coffee, we have just immortalized the church Templo de San Cristóbal. Now we pause in a square near the Teatro Principal. 12.55 We have just seen the Barrio del Artista art district with statues and beautiful houses. There is a relaxed atmosphere here. We have also seen the equally beautiful facade of Casa de Alfeñique, a historic building that is now a museum. 13.18 We are now sitting on a bench in the Zócalo de Puebla square, the heart of the city. In front of us is the magnificent cathedral, Catedral de Puebla. On the square there are large letters showing the name of the city. It's always like that in Mexican cities. There was also information that Puebla is a venue for the 2023 FIFA World Cup. It may sound confusing but it is about seven-a-side football, 13.40 We are here and now on a bench on the Callejón de Los Sapos, the Alley of the Frogs. It is a cozy place with, among other things, a fountain with a frog.
Templo de San Cristóbal, Puebla.
Chiles en Nogada, ground beef stuffed chilies covered with walnut cream
and pomegranate seeds is a Mexican specialty.
Barrio del Artista, Puebla.
In Puebla's art district.
Mural on Avenida 4 Oriente.
Christer at Zócalo de Puebla.
13.58 We were going to take a shortcut to the upcoming lunch and then we ended up at a church we previously missed. It is officially called La Compañía - Templo Expiatorio del Espíritu Santo and is incredibly difficult to photograph because it is tucked away and hidden by the narrow streets of the center.
14.18 Before we walk the long way home, there will be lunch at Da Vinci Pizzeria. This cozy little restaurant has just opened for the day. They open at 2 p.m. 14.53 We were served and ate pasta with ham and pineapple and drank refreshing cold lemonade with the meal. Now that we've been to a sanitario publico (public toilet) where we paid with some small coins, we're going home. We have enough time and energy to walk back as well, and it's not that easy to find a free taxi here in the center either. 15.58 At The Italian Coffee Company on Boulevard Norte there will be afternoon coffee. It's nice to rest your legs and sit in a cool environment for a while. 16.47 Finally we are home again. We had to ask the reception staff to reload the key card so we could get into the room. Now we mostly do nothing for a while. 18.31 Now that we have cooled off our bodies inside and out, we will plan for tonight and also for the further journey tomorrow.
The name of the city in the square Zócalo de Puebla.
Cathedral of Puebla.
Callejón de Los Sapos, Puebla.
Calle 6 Sur, Puebla.
We found a cozy lunch restaurant, Da Vinci Pizzeria.
Peter eats pasta lunch and drinks lemonade at Da Vinci's.
19.22 After a few quiet hours in the room, it is soon time to wander off to consume something edible.
19.38 In the absence of other interesting options nearby, we are back again at Vips, which we visited last night. However, it will be at new locations that we await new dishes. We must have some new perspectives anyway. 20.50 Vips is a stable and tasty alternative. However, not so exciting. It was a good dinner this evening as well. When shopping at the nearby OXXO, there were no Mentos, they have run out. In the near future, we will arrange some bus tickets for the future. 21.58 After Christer has bought bus tickets, we will now have evening coffee and a reading session before going to bed. Puebla has been a pleasant experience. It is a nice city with a lot of beauty in the center. If we had lived in the center we would probably have enjoyed ourselves even better, but then we wouldn't have been so close to the bus terminal tomorrow. 23.34 It's time to end this Monday. We walked a lot today, what if we did that every day on this trip. Now the legs can rest.
Christer has a coffee break at The Italian Coffee Company.
Dinner from Vips.
You can see 75 photos from July 14 in this photoalbum.
You can see 66 photos from July 15 in this photoalbum.
You can see 45 photos from July 16 in this photoalbum.
You can see 69 photos from July 17 in this photoalbum.