Soumaya Museum

The striking curves of Museo Soumaya defy cameras — nothing is perfectly upright and the Guggenheim-esque ramps seem to keep you constantly off-balance. From the exterior, the asymmetrical building makes you shift your focus regardless of where you look:

The inside is even more unmooring:

It’s an interesting building and part of me wonders whether the architectural concept behind it was to play off of the name: thinking the Lebanese “Soumaya” is sort of unusual in Mexico with its extra vowels and curvaceous “S” and “Y” in there. (Not really appropriate, but I was reminded of the first lines of Lolita: “Lo-lee-ta: the tip of the tongue, taking a trip of three steps down the palate to tap, at three, on the teeth. Lo. Lee. Ta.”)

The sculpture farm at the top of the building also defies cameras:

It’s insane how many Rodins are in there! And this place is FREE! Harks back to the nineteenth-century US public-minded benefactors of some of our major cultural institutions: Frick, Morgan, Mellon, Carnegie, et al.

Elsewhere, paintings stand unadorned by walls:

The museum at times feels otherworldly, like something from a science fiction film:

And then there’s phones:

I was intrigued by the footprint:

. . . and obviously you can’t beat the price:

The Venice Of Mexico City

Pretty sure I’ve seen this Venice/canal reference to Xochimilco, at least the part of Xochimilco that is a system of canals with whimsical boats where mariachis and food vendors float up to you to sell their services. It’s magical. There’s a nod to the pre-Spanish Conquest past in that it’s a taste of what the dry valley of Mexico City was once like before the lake bed was drained, but all told, it’s actually really fun and pleasant to be pushed around for an afternoon:

Oh, and the beers are ENORMOUS (that’s a “michelada,” with tomato juice/clamato juice and a spicy rim):

We also stopped to see axolotls . . .

. . . and visited the wonderful and frightening world of La Isla de las Muñecas, which actually has a story behind it:

The Markets

Mexico City has over 300 public markets and from what I can tell La Merced is the biggest and most insane one of all. I’ve never seen so many nopales in one place (50 pesos for that big bag is about $2.50):

Or shoes:

Or chiles:

Or mole:

Or banana leaves:

Or limes:

Or potatoes:

Or really anything you can think of. Chicken intestine, for one:

Really interesting spot.

Meanwhile, nearby Sonora Market is the place to go for live animals and occult/herbal/religious items: