We leave Mexico City tomorrow very early for Amman, Jordan. It’s been a marvelous month. At 7200′ elevation and a population of 17,000,000 this metro area is massive. Yes, it is intense, loud, crowded, vibrant, a varied collection of neighborhoods that would take years to really understand. 1/5 of Mexico’s population lives here in seeming harmony. It is a metropolitan dance of managing everything from older population, relentless traffic, rubbish, bio mass, dirt, feeding, housing, entertaining, and educating all of these people. Certainly our impression after only a month is that they are doing a fair job. This city never seems to stop; the ten lane road (5 lanes each way) a block from our apartment you can hear 24 hours a day, moving, delivering and taking away what it takes to keep this city running. And everywhere you turn there’s something pleasing to look at, learn about, taste, enjoy. I’m sure there are corners where that is not the case but we haven’t seen much of them. It feels like every person is responsible for their little part in life here and they take that seriously. And, on the whole, it works.

For fun this week we went to a chamber music performance at the Bella Artes Center of Handel and Schumann. Delightful small side auditorium in the huge gorgeous bejeweled building. Almost two hours of music in total comfort for $75 pesos – that is US$3.75. As Bob observed; if the price is right, young people WILL come to classical music, everyone will come. Our symphonies are really struggling to attract a diverse audience.

We did have a couple of smog days where it really was a challenge to be comfortable walking miles and miles outside. It has cleared and we are back to blue skies. While that was happening, I fought off a cold and Bob was laid low over the weekend. All is well and we enjoyed our last week here by having barbacoa (roasted lamb) on blue corn tortillas served with consume with chick peas and rice, served only on Sunday’s, and during the week, many other tasty treats from tostados to sandwiches dipped in red chile, and the best fish and shrimp tacos I ever had. And we added in a couple of posh restaurant meals as well.

Earlier in the week we went to one of Soumaya’s collections in a more remote part of the city where they had an exhibition of over 500 paintings of Venice! And finally, we got to visit Frida Kahlo’s lifetime home and Diego Rivera’s Pre-Colombia collection in an amazing purpose built building of volcanic rock, Museo Anahuacalli.

We are sated and ready to move on but what a time we’ve had. Hasta luego, now on to the Middle East!