Mexico part 1
So the trip! It was simultaneously one of the most fun, and the most laughingly awful :P. By a twist of fate I happened to get a bit sick a few days before - normal cold stuff, sore throat, nose stuffies, etc....I was definitely coming out of it by leave time, buuuut I'd developed a little bit of the asthma that's started to rear its ugly head in the last few years. Okay, maybe it won't be that bad, I think, I'll be coughing a bit, I'll sleep it off over the layovers, and bring my inhaler. So, R and I layover in Vegas (but too late to go to the airport candy stores D:), then Texas (NOTHING but country music on the speakers, and we giggled through our discomfort at who might be side-eyeing us, and we couldn't leave to try some BBQ >< but we got to try Whataburger for the first time XD Their chicken honey biscuit was right up my alley! So there goes my first time in Texas), then finally flew out to Mexico City (D.F., which has apparently been rebranded as CDMX, but I like D.F. better), arriving around 10 in the morning. Each flight, I got a little sicker. >< We greeted R's aunt/uncle/cousins who were already there, then took a taxi to go meet his sis and dad at a pretty nice D.F. hotel. D.F. is like 7000 ft above sea level. Every deep breath hurt now, so I kept my breaths shallow, and every so often burst into a horribly painful, unproductive cough. So yeah, I got sicker. ^^;;
We only had that day to check out D.F., and they were already checked out of the hotel, so we went for a city hike. We saw the beautiful architectural details and were saddened by the dilapidated condition of some really beautiful buildings. I think preservation and structural work in the city center trumps a plan for a new weird airport in the shape of a dissected frog, but I doubt D.F. cares about my opinion XD We stopped in like the one store space that was pretty much Valencia street in S.F., so that was cozily familiar XD and had a nummy brunch with cheesy eggs, savory Asian seared tuna salad and yummy local fruit slushies with no American equivalents (I didn't know yet that I shouldn't drink too much cold stuff), and checked out some pretty cool art based commodities (and spied a very cute cherry blossom backpack imported from NY, so R bought it for me from ebay later <3 "tech-ready" and perfect for my new morning job!). I was weak and perma-winded but keeping a brave face, and honestly having fun! And just beautiful details on/in building after building (R's dad is big into buildings and art, so made a pretty good guide).
Then we went to the D.F. Museum of art. I LOVED this building exterior; it was stately but incorporated enough unorthodox (for the U.S.) details in the sculpted trim to give the the air of a fantasy palace. And the Tiffany glass dome - they picked a beautiful palette for it! We got tickets to go peruse the paintings, and started to ascend the first of many grand staircases, and right then, I realized I was up shit creek.
Very tropical palace-y!!
After one flight of stairs I couldn't catch my breath, I was dizzy, my heart pounding, head swimming etc. I'd never actually felt this bad from asthma before and was like oh shit, am I about to die or something? I played with this foreboding in my head, trying to balance it with keeping things fun for everyone, viewed and commented on some cool historical art, modern photos, fun surrealist paintings (and this awesome one, though it was too big to get all of it)...and throughout, more stairs, each flight worse than the last. I was like, I'm being a dumbass. I'm gonna die right here in this museum because I don't understand asthma and don't want to be a bother. But, I continued on till I couldn't take any more stairs, sat out the last exhibit and got to ride the out-of-service elevator down :P
I think this one was my favorite painting there! Wish I'd gotten a whole shot.
Oh, and we saw the Cafe that Cafe Tacuba was named after XD
Finally we boarded the long bus to Cuernavaca; the bus was playing some super depressing Mexican film that intrigued me but no one would tell me what it was - there was a young boy helping his crazy mother eat breakfast and playing a music box for her to curb her anxiety or something, and then a little girl getting creeped on by some older dude at an amusement park...sound familiar anyone? ^^;; We'd been up over 24 hours at that point and I was starting to wonder if I would ever be able to breathe again.
More later! DID I DIE??? Find out here, same bat channel, different bat time!