Feeling gray

By one of our ancestors!

It's been a long week. I am still not sleeping well, and the weather keeps changing.


Today it is raining, no, downpouring. It is not chilly at all, but the temperature is dipping since we just got hit by a cold front. I was hoping for sun this weekend, but no such luck.


This week we decided to take a day trip sans boys (only baby) to the museum of anthropology. I had already forgotten how amazing the MAX is in every way. The collection is wonderful, not too huge, but really nicely displayed and very complete. Mostly focused on the State of Veracruz and it's precolumbian inhabitants, it is a reminder of the thousands of years of history we walk on every day!


Then the building... I think I could just live in that jewel. It won, once upon a time, architecture prizes for an outstanding design. It is not only beautiful in it's lines, materials and details, but it also boasts one of the best regional/site concious designs I have ever seen. Wish more Mexican architects learnt to do architecture as great as this museum and not the obscenely grotesque blocks of concrete that are no more than self glorification of their own ignorance of place and people...


Back to the museum. It was a great day to visit since it was pretty much empty and we had the spaces all for ourselves. One of the greatests highlight is going around the gardens, both interior and exterior, with their amazing array of plants from the region. And the book store is unique in itself with a wonderful collection of Art books and music.


Now, after a wonderful trip a couple of days ago, it all seems far and distant... I think the fatigue is making me grumpy and I really hate it. Hope the weekend is not too soggy since we should start our Day of the Dead shopping. It is my very favorite Holiday and it is also a very special B'day... Incredibly, one year has gone by!

We're on a roll

Funny as it seems, we have been on a roll to do all American things that we miss and can find around here. I guess we really don't miss all that much, but once in a while we do crave a hamburger and a bubble tea!
So off to the Mall we went this weekend. Usually, weekends are not the days we choose for the Mall... we keep away from it! But it was Saturday and an overwhelming need overcame all of us to go have the full experience: shop, eat and browse. And so we did.
It was incredibly refreshing when you do not go with certain expectations and let things just flow. The Mall usually becomes packed by late afternoon Saturday, but middle of day the day is still a good time to go enjoy it. The cleanliness of the spaces does help on dilluting the crowds, but we just don't do crowds too much.
Lunch was very fun, not special, just fun. Kentucky Fried Chicken, Subway, Carl's Junior and the local favorite Dim Sum King with a chaser of DQ (yeah, there is one at the Mall). The biggest treat was the Bubbe tea. Some entrepreneaur opened a little stand in the middle of nowhere (in the Mall- away from the food court) where they sell the concoction. Unfortunately it is frappe and very small... but after two years of not having the joy of slurpping the oversized Tapioca balls... well, it was really good! Personally, I can't wait to go back for more.
The day ended with a trip to Zara for a little shopping for Mama and Baby. Dad opted to go to the Movie theatres to get caramel corn (the best in the city) while the boys relished in video gaming... Yeah, very much the whole American experience.
Apart from the super Kitchy new addition to the Mall (soon to be populated by tacky high end stores), even the growing crowd did nothing to damper a pretty good day at the Mall. We even missed a torrential downpour that, thankfully, decided to drench Xalapa while we were safely inside Sanborn's browsing books, videos and music!

Fast food that taste like not fast food

A different DQ

I think I have mentioned this before, way in the beginning, two years ago… but I will have to mention it again because it is still mind blowing!
Last weekend we got the whole troupe together and set out to find a good, non-Mexican food restaurant to have a Sunday meal. We never do this anymore since Sundays are “crazy day” for restaurants, seems the whole city and a few towns around converge in the few restaurants in the city on Sundays! But, needing a break from Mexican food (yeah, I cook Mexican style most of the time too), we set off to search for the elusive Asian diner. We have heard comments here and there about Chinese buffets in the City, which did not impress us, but the boys were anxious for one. After almost an hour of going around town, and the grim discovery of a buffet with 4 dishes… we finally went home to eat pasta.
OK, so the outing was a disaster and the very slim variety of eateries was depressing! About 90% serve traditional Mexican fare (which is probably very good), the other 10% is divided between the American fast food chains (McD’s, BK, Dominos, etc.), the mall eateries (DimSumKing- which is pretty decent, and other really bad Chinese style stuff) and… well, maybe sushi and pizza. Yeah, not a very cosmopolitan place to eat a meal.
This Sunday we opted for a smarter move, we just went out for dessert.
Bear with me. After two years in Mexico, an American treat is very well received by all, so we drove to our local (not closest… since there are only 2) Dairy Queen. Have not seen the boys so excited for an ice cream in a while. You would swear that we keep them in a closet…
Here is where it gets interesting. Your average US Dairy Queen is housed in a cookie cutter, bad, red and white, barn house with a huge parking lot around it and a drive thru window that sounds (if it sounds) like static. The inside of an average US Dairy Queen is drab, even dirty at times, not a place to hang out. The service, well teenagers are really not the top of the service industry so, even though they make sure the Blizzards are not going to pop out of the cup (or they get it cut from their salary)… service is iffy at best. Yeah, and the toppings, the last time I had a Blizzard in Texas the toppings were still toppings, shouldn’t they be perfectly blended?
Now for the Dairy Queen in Xalapa: It is housed in an ultramodern building with windows all around. At two stories, it houses a Dairy Queen and it’s Mexican partner: Bola de Oro coffee. No, we did not try the drive thru, although we were tempted since there is no parking lot, but it seemed to be working fine for the BMWs and other luxury cars going through. We parked on a side street and walked in the ample lobby, scantly furnished with modern stainless steel and honey colored wood, modern chairs and tables. The shiny white marble floors were quite clean and the smell of fresh brewed coffee filled the air as we approached the DQ counter to order. It took us a little bit of time to decide since the menu is a tad bit different to that of the US but, blizzard decision finalized, we all walked up the stairs to the mezzanine with our perfectly blended, thick and overflowing cups. The Mezzanine has a killer view of the Teatro del Estado and nice modern plasma TVs for those not interested on the view. There is added comfort provided by oversized, lime green, leather chairs where a kid can curl up and actually take a nap. Now for the actual product…
As the title for this post states… not like the fast food we are used to in the US. Apart from the DQ ice cream (which I will suppose is the same used Worldwide), the ingredients they put in are very fresh and flavorful. There mixes are different than those in the US and the extra ingredient that they offer… well: fresh cheese cake chunks, toasted coconut, etc. Clearly, the prices are outrageous for Mexico, but they are the same as in the US.
So we have been out for burgers, we have been out for fried chicken, we have been out for Blizzards, and it continues to surprise us the higher quality that they offer in Mexico. Yeah, the burgers take and extra minute to be ready, but there is actually non wilted lettuce in the bun… and the bun is not flat as a pancake. Somehow, maybe because the Mexican public is pickier since they have to pay higher prices for the product, or maybe because they enjoy fresh flavors (not super processed and over preserved), food from the fast food chains has to be better: more flavorful, fresher, but not greasier or starchier… Maybe if the US public was more discerning… I don’t see that happening any time soon.