Artless Fabrications

Today I’m going to share my excursion to Taxco, a town located in the mountain region of central Mexico and famous for its silver mining. The town/city is built on the slopes of a valley and the city bylaws demand that each house be painted white only, and with the combination of the red clay tiles on the roofs, this lends a unique Italian look to the town.




I love doing these extra side trips with a tour guide to provide all sorts of tidbits of information about the history of each location and I always seem to meet the most interesting people along the way too. On this particular trip I met and had lunch with two teachers traveling together from Chile. One was a University professor and the other worked with primary aged children, and each year they plan a wonderful trip together. Over time, they have travelled all around the world together – they were fascinating.
Today I’m off to Puebla, which has a reputation for being extremely picturesque, so my batteries are all charged up in both my phone and camera. Looking forward to sharing more of my journey with you.
Until next time, love carol xox

Yesterday began with a bowl of fresh fruit, yogurt, and granola, with a drizzle of honey. I had a cappuccino and freshly squeezed orange juice and everything was perfect.

This morning, with no major excursions planned, I had more time to linger and ordered a traditional Mexican breakfast called Magis, which consists of scrambled eggs, soft Mexican cheese, Pico de Gallo, and a delicious mole sauce made with beans and cocoa. It is baked in the pan over a layer of tortilla chips and served with a fiery hot sauce you drizzle on top. Yummy!

Tonight I had a simple supper of quesadilla with a filling of cheese, spinach, and slices of cactus and ordered a glass of wine to toast my Valentine.

I spent a lovely morning strolling the center courtyard in Coyoacan, right in front of the cathedral. It was early and there weren’t many people around, some church goers and some artisans setting up their stalls for the marketplace. It was enchanting!
Happy Valentine’s Day ❤️ Love, carol xox

So early this morning I thought to give the internet another try and, lo and behold, even all my photos from yesterday’s trip have downloaded! One of the most amazing places I visited on the walking tour was the main cathedral of Mexico City, which was the first cathedral built after the Spanish invaded Mexico. The Spanish totally destroyed the Mayan temples and forced the people into slavery, but the greatest indignation was to force them to built the new cathedral on the same sacred space where the temples stood, using the same stones of the original temples.

It is difficult not to be impressed by such elaborate architecture and craftsmanship despite the dark history of the cathedral but the truly wonderful thing about the Mexican people is their pride in the history and their willingness to share it with the world. Mexico City has the most museums and art galleries of any other city in the world, but what blew me away was the incredible amount of monuments and public artworks.



The cathedral also contained many private chapels and shrines, including a shrine to honour the Virgin of Guadeloupe, of course.

This post is only the tip of the iceberg that was my tour of the historic downtown area of Mexico City, but I’ll leave you here to absorb the amazing beauty of the cathedral.
Until next time, love carol xox

Today I had personal guide give me a walking tour of downtown Mexico City, including the Museum of Anthropology, Zocala, the very first original post office of Mexico still in operation, Palacio de Bellas Artes, and finally the National Palace.




My internet has been uncooperative today but I’ve managed to upload some photos to give you an idea of the wonderful things I have seen and done today. I hope you enjoy this little peak at my adventures today.


Until next time, love carol xox

When I first began telling friends that I was coming to Mexico City I received a similarly shocked reaction from most people, as they wondered why I would choose to come to one of the largest cities in the world ALONE. I’m going to share with you some of my very special reasons.

This is my México City!
Love always, carol ❤️

I started the day perfectly with an amazing cappuccino followed by eggs Benedict and then walked back to my hotel to meet up with Valeria. We had made a plan to walk together to Casa Azul, Frida Kahlo’s house, and get to know each other better. We chatted along the way and found we had many things in common, including the love of travel and the arts. Valeria is an amazing young woman with an intense work ethic and a beautiful soul. She left me in the line for entrance to Casa Azul and headed back to work, leaving me to experience the most incredible day of my life!




This entire day felt like a dream for me and at times I was overcome with emotion, experiencing a dream come true. I came all the way to Mexico City to see Frida’s house and it was wonderful. I saw her artwork up close and personal, walked around in her rooms, wandered through her art studio where her wheel chair still sits at her easel awaiting her return, watched a special documentary on her life, and stood in her bedroom with her death mask and funerary urn containing her ashes. And, yes, I pressed my cheek against that amazing blue paint.

I reluctantly tore myself away and slowly meandered through the streets of Coyoacan the Frida loved, back to my hotel. Along the way I did stop for a lovely supper after realizing I hadn’t eaten since breakfast.
My meal started with a creamy cauliflower soup with artisan bread, baked lasagna, and a slice of lemon poppyseed cake for dessert. This was tonight’s supper special and I couldn’resist adding a glass of red wine to toast Frida.



The perfect ending to a perfect day.
Until next time, may all your dreams come true,
Love carol xox

So metimes my internet access is a little sketchy here in Mexico but I just have take it as it comes (and goes).

The photo above is of a bronze sculpture honouring Mexican businesswoman and philanthropist Dolores Olmedo, positioned near the entrance of the grounds of the museum. The museum itself is an 18th century hacienda which is beautiful conserved, and the surrounding grounds are beautifully landscaped with peacocks wandering freely everywhere.

Also located within the gardens is a lovely outdoor cafe, serving lunches as well as coffee. I’m afraid that there was no opportunity for photos of my delicious sandwich, as it disappeared too quickly, but I did managed to snap a quick picture of my cappuccino mocha before it suffered the same fate. While enjoying my lunch, I was entertained by an outdoor concert performed by a local musical ensemble well known throughout Mexico City for their traditional and classical performances.

FC60FA07-87E4-4996-AC4A-3111C6DC0E59
On that lovely note, I’ll leave you, until next time.
Carol xox

O.K. So now I’m starting to get behind on posting, just because so much is happening. My days are jam-packed with all sorts of adventures and I’m going to attempt to keep the days in order, mostly for my own benefit later, when I’m going through 800 million photos.
Yesterday my big field trip was to the Dolores Olmedo museum which houses a major national collection of Pre-Colombian art, as well as a large collection of Diego Rivera’s work. Unfortunately they don’t allow photos to be taken but outside on the grounds is a different story.

A beautiful bronze sculpture of Diego Rivera took center stage. Sorry, but I have to end here with internet coming and going. Hugs

The artisans were just beginning to set up their booths when I arrived at the marketplace in Centro Coyoacan this morning and there was plenty of food on offer. The fragrance of spices and ceramic urns filled with various drinks filled the air. I took a stroll through the main park to admire the famous coyote fountain before heading back to my hotel to prepare for my trip to the Dolores Olmeda museum – but I’ll leave that for another day.
Until next time, love carol xox

I woke up early this morning and was absolutely famished, so after a quick shower I strolled the cobbled streets of Coyoacan in search of some breakfast. It didn’t take me long to find a sweet little cafe that had just opened and I was their first customer of the day.



This place was adorable inside and out, with a lovely vintage French feel to it. I had the best cappuccino in my entire life and the coffee was so delicious that I didn’t hesitate to order some breakfast.


I ordered the French waffle with fruit and as you see, the waffle is barely visible under all the fruit piled on top. It was the perfect way to start my morning and I’ll definitely go back.
Until next time, love carol xox

This is me standing on top of the world yesterday… well maybe not, but it sure felt like it after I climbed the Temple of the Moon in Teotihuacan. In the background you can see the Temple of the Sun, which I managed to climb a short while later. This was no small feat but why come all this way and not make it to the top – I just didn’t realize how rubbery one’s legs could feel after climbing two pyramids.

Until next time, love carol

I climbed two pyramids today!!! The Temple of the Sun and the Temple of the Moon!
Until next time, love carol xox