look...

it´s my abandoned blog! i know you all hate me for being the complete slob the last few months. really though...you haven´t missed much.

right now, we´re in mexico city until monday. we´ve been here since the 7th and have rented this house for a week. the mexican owner is in london teaching...russian literature of all things.

it´s not a bad place. this is the first time in 14 trips to mexico city that we´ve rented a house. usually, we´d stay in a hotel in the historic district for less than $50 a night. so paying $750 a week is definitely splurging. and why not spring for a house instead!

at first, we were totally enamored when we arrived...but the love for the place has diminished some. we´re happy to have the space...unbelievable cooking utensils...an espresso maker...a $2000 fridge...a beautiful library. the old wood in the house reminded us of our old house in denver...and so does the damn traffic!!!

the worst thing about the house is that it is on a super noisy one way street, just like 6th avenue, and doesn´t die down until after 9:00 PM. the roar of the 18-wheelers and the cacophony of blaring horns just about sets you on edge when you´re trying to relax.

so we´re basically staying in late to avoid the subway masses (7-10AM) and hanging out until 6PM, just before the evening commute starts. trust me, you have to time transportation accordingly in mexico city if you want to avoid the hectic bustle of a metropolitan area of 25 million inhabitants, especially when there are five million riders.

right now we´re in an internet cafe in zona rosa, the first tourist trap in mexico city. although the highbrow and hoity toity have moved on to neighborhoods such as condesa and polanco, there are still throngs of american and european tourists who lurk its streets. and it seems to be the new hangout for the young, uber cool mexican youth.

we´ll probably spend the rest of the day strolling along Avenida Reforma, a huge boulevard that could pass for a mexican Avenue des Champs-Élysées. in a few hours, we´ll head back to the flat and open some beer. what a tough day!