Category: Travel

Secret Dream Pozole

I went looking for a pozole joint north of Centro CDMX and walked in circles for about 5 minutes. I decided El Pozole de Moctezuma just didn’t exist and walked away. But then I was compelled to check my phone one more time and walked back. I gave a perplexed look to a nice young couple and the man asked, “pozole?” and walked me to the intercom of an apartment building. I buzzed and they let me in. The people inside were super sweet, which shouldn’t be surprising since they’re Mexican — and they also spoke English. I relatively quickly ordered a pozole verde with maciza (the same, leanish pork that’s used in carnitas), with a whole avocado and a cerveza. I had to google a few things to make sure I didn’t get head meat (cabeza) or what not. The waitress brought it out and quickly came back with a big shot glass, asking if I wanted some in the soup for flavor, to which I obviously said si. It was damn good. I had some pozole last week at La Casa De Toño, which is a chain that sort of feels like the Mexican Denny’s (though much higher quality) and it was very good. However, this stuff was next level. Find the place if you’re in Mexico City. Buzz the buzzer. They’ll make you feel comfortable and right at home.

Secret Art Motherload

Museo Vivo del Muralismo isn’t listed in any guides that I’ve seen. I just happened to pass by while walking around Centro so I looked it up. It’s in a gorgeous old historic building and apparently, when it was the Ministry of Education in 1923, they commissioned Diego Rivera to adorn then place with his art (1923-1928). About 9000 square meters (almost a full kilometer) of beautiful murals all facing a stunning courtyard. There had to be at least 150 of his works in there (out of the 250 or so total). They have exhibits with original aztec murals and more modern stuff as well. How come nobody talks about this place? It’s the only museum in town open on Monday that I know of and it’s free admission. An absolutely amazing place to visit, completely off-the-radar of the hoi polloi. They might want to hire some marketing folks.

CDMX Subway and Getting Around Town

It’s both novel and maddening that Mexico City can have a pretty nice subway where trains consistently come every three minutes and costs 5 pesos (one American quarter). Because I live in NYC, the richest city in the world, and nothing works, you wait forever, and you constantly endure aggressive crazy people and folks literally shitting their pants. I don’t know why I always seem to be the only non-Mexican person riding it. I guess because Ubers are super cheap, about 5 bucks US per ride on average. I’m using those too but I enjoy taking the subway with regular Mexipeeps and honestly there’s so much traffic in this crazy town that it doesn’t really take much longer. It does get crowded and warm sometimes, since there’s no AC. I’ve also noticed that the conductors can get aggressively jerky with the brakes, which doesn’t seem to phase anyone but me. This happens in NYC too but not as frequently. The system can be a little confusing. The icon for the metro trains and the metrobus (the red icons below) are similar and Google maps always indicate which is which, so look carefully. The buses are super nice and reliable too.

Mexico City Metro Card

Walking is another story. It’s pretty nerve wracking. Many of the intersections don’t have any pedestrian signals, including some really, really big ones (i.e., with 8 car lanes). Many of the cross walks are placed where you can’t really see the traffic signals for cars, so it really feels like a crap shoot when you decide when to cross. Finger’s crossed…

8 car lanes (6 lanes + 2 shoulders). No pedestrian signal.

Overstimulating the Overstimulatable

Mexico City is a wild, crazy and enriching city. I’m pretty sure I haven’t visited a more overstimulating city (I live in NYC). I’ve been here for 4 days (of 3 weeks) and expected to be taking a lot more pictures and posting more. Though I’m doing/eating a ton, I guess I’m just taking it all in. Anyway, here’s a stealth photo of an adorable churro waitress at El Moro and a short video of an organ grinder grinding beneath my window.

Sheinbaum in the House

On Sunday I woke up to people marching by my apt on Madero in Centro with big signs that read “Sinaloa”. Confused, I turned to Google and all I could find were references to drug cartels, including an article that spoke about how they want Trump’s help. What was in fact happening was a massive rally that President Sheinbaum organized, calling on all Mexicans to gather at the Zócalo to hear a speech in response to Trump’s tariff threats. So I walked over to the square and there were 100,000+ people representing different regions. It was a wild and moving scene — but quickly became too overwhelming to be embedded in. People just kept coming and coming. I watched with excitement from my window and also could see/hear the entire speech on a big screen on the corner. After it was over I went back to get some Claudia swag and watch some the bands play from the stage she spoke on, who sounded great. I am so glad that I got to experience this. Swipe for some photos:

Undiscovered Brooklyn Visits Provence

16 days in Provence in September was a good idea. Here is a recap of the top 10 places we visited, as well as a few things to avoid. Overall, it was a good itinerary. We drove around a lot and lucked out with a hybrid vehicle, so the gas bill was cheap. Photo slide show below.

10 Locations Worth Visiting in Provence

Avignon: Stayed here for the duration of the trip. We got an apartment with a parking garage and a balcony with a nice view of the Palace of the Popes. The town is very low-key in a great way. It’s a little bustling around the palace and bridge but never got that bad. Great restaurants and market, good record store. Close to a lot of other great things. What more do you need?

Roussillon: Gorgeous. Ochre overload. Ochre-load. The ‘Le Sentier de Ochre’ hike around rich hues. The ochre buildings in the town are beautiful. Can’t miss.

Around (but not) St. Remy de Provence: The St. Paul’s asylum, where Vincent committed himself to with Van Gogh walk, completely fascinating. Next to it is Glanum, Roman ruins from the first century BC (with Gaul/Salyen roots from 6th century BC). it was destroyed in a mudslide and apparently Van Gogh was painting olive trees there without any idea there was a buried city beneath.  Also behind the asylum is the excellent vineyard/olive oil maker Domaine De Métifiot. Top shelf 00 and Rosé.

Pont du Gard / Uzès: First century roman aqueduct in VG+ condition. Kids playing in the water beneath it. A stunning hike up, over, and back. Nearby Uzès is as charming a French town as you could want. Had a fantastic 3-4 course dinner for next to nothing. Would probably be worth staying only there for a week. We returned for the market day, which was the best of the markets we visited.

Arles: Unexpectedly my favorite city of the trip. Spent two days there. Just beautiful. Adorable micro-Coliseum and other Roman goodies. Stylish old streets. Art everywhere. We were there during their annual photography fest, art photos all over town. Van Gogh painted here a lot, and they kept the square of his first post ear slash hospital garden looking more or less the same as in his paintings. There’s also an excellent sprawling art complex LUMA. Frank Gehry tower, choice exhibitions, places to hang and chill.

Swipe below (captions are basically impossible to read. Sorry.) More destinations below

  • Saignon
  • Cassis street
  • Cassis harbor
  • Cassis
  • Pont du Gard
  • Pont du Gard
  • Roussillon
  • Le Sentier des Ocres, Roussillon
  • Behind the Saint Paul asylum
  • Puppetheads at flea market, Avignon
  • Bourgeois on an infinity lake, Château La Coste
  • Château La Coste
  • Les Baux de Provence
  • Les Baux de Provence
  • Fougasse in Uzès
  • Arles Arena
  • Arles Arena
  • View of square, Arles
  • The Pont Saint-Bénézet, also known as the Pont d’Avignon
  • 3 old benches in Avignon
  • Calanques National Park
  • Calanques National Park
  • Saint-Saturnin-lès-Apt
  • Saignon
  • Les Baux de Provence
  • View from our flat in Avignon
  • Les Baux de Provence
  • Arles
  • LUMA, Arles
  • LUMA, Arles
  • Château La Coste
  • Avignon
  • Le Sentier des Ocres, Roussillon
  • Avignon from the across the Rhône river
  • Uzès fountain close up
  • Uzès
  • Saignon rock
  • Saignon
  • Saint-Saturnin-lès-Apt
  • Madelines de Christophe, Aix-en-Provence
  • Hospital in Arles; Vibe with (swiped) souvenir Van Gogh
  • Uzès Castle
  • Arles
  • Les Baux de Provence
  • Château La Coste
  • Avignon on our final night.

Aix-en-Provence: From the Cezanne paintings. Famous Madelines and excellent Corsican food. Great market (not as great as Uzès). Cool streets and squares. Overpriced LPs at the flea market.

Cassis: had to see the sea so we went to Cassis. Great location, with many of the usual downsides associated with great locations. Thought about a hike in next door in gorgeous Calanques National Park – but decided 2 hour hike to get to one beach seemed extreme — so we took a nice boat ride from Cassis to see more calanques in less time. I took a dip in the Mediterranean. Had a hot dog with French fries, both on a baguette. We also had to park up the hill and take a bus down/up.

Saignon and Saint-Saturnin-lès-Apt: 2 quiet villages of the Luberon that are not too far from each other and both are excellent destinations. Saignon is just gorgeous and the “Saignon Rock” was built by Paleolithic people and was used as an observatory. You can walk up! Photos in slide show. The town Saint Saturnin is low-key and wonderful but at the top are amazing roman castle ruins, an old damn, etc. Visiting these two towns will make for a perfect Provencal day.

Les Baux-de-Provence: rock plateau village, former brutal medieval stronghold and Bronze Age troglodyte village before that (habitation dating to 6000 BC). The town is touristy AF but worth it for the incredible views and wild old ruins

Château La Coste: Winery and art/architecture destination with incredible location/views and a somewhat suspicious array of 50+ works from seemingly every famous living (or recently deceased) sculptor. Very cool, though easy to imagine the evil billionaire owner (hotelier Paddy McKillen) checking off a list. Art…what a racket. Tons of great works but none of it beat the views. Funny that there are works famous sculptors Bob Dylan (I enjoyed his rail car) and Michael Stipe.

Perhaps Avoid in Provence

La Isla de La Sorgue: was very irritating during their overpriced market day. Not that much to see. Everyone takes the exact same Instagram photo in the one picturesque corner. The Venice of Provence? Definitely not.

Gordes: I don’t know. Shrug. Crowded parking lots. Not that interesting. Maybe we didn’t walk down the mountain far enough.

St. Remy old town: Over the top touristy. A few nice fountains, including one dedicated to native crackpot Nostradamus. However, the nearby stuff mentioned above is awesome. Spend your time there. Les Baux is great and not that far, either.

Kalkmalerier: Denmark’s Hidden Medieval Comix

I first saw kalkmalerier, chalk-painted church frescoes, on Bornholm, a Danish isle in the Baltic Sea (south of Sweden and north of Poland) in 2023. The Østerlars round church had some frescoes from the 1100s and I couldn’t believe what I was seeing. They all had a comic “Sunday Funnies” sort of vibe and illustrated sometimes brutal, violent scenarios in a light, whimsical way. igh art. I soon learned that there were 600 churches across Denmark adorned with kalkmalerier and I needed to see as many as possible during our 3 weeks across the 3 peninsulas of the kingdom, which is about the size of Colorado.

The frescoes date back to the 1100s and were created through the 1600s — but they were covered up after the reformation with lime wash and were hidden until they were discovered and restored in the late 1800s. After 14th century were in more of a gothic style.

That first trip in 2023 we saw kalkmalerier across the 3 of the 4 round churches on Bornholm (Østerlars, Olsker, Nylars), then the Lygby church north of Copenhagen, then the Bellinge church near Odense on Fyn. When we went back in 2024 (my girlfriend is Danish), we visited the Aarhus Cathedral and traveled south of Copenhagen to the isle of Møn to see the most famous and possibly best examples of kalmalerier. These frescoes were created by the anonymous “Elmelunde Master” in the late 1400s/early 1500s across 3 churches on the island (Elmelunde, Keldby, Fanefjord). This guy was kind of an early Warhol, replicating work across the different places of worship, with some sick, violent variations. We will be visiting DK again this summer and will be seeking out new and wild kalkmalerier examples once again.

Swipe for photos (apologies that the captions with locations are basically impossible to read):

  • Elemunde Church, Møn, Denmark
  • Keldby Church, Møn, Denmark
  • Østerlars Church, Bornholm
  • Nylars Church, Bornholm
  • Keldby Church, Møn, Denmark
  • Bellinge Church, near Odense, Denmark
  • Bellinge Church, near Odense, Denmark
  • Elemelunde Church, Møn, Denmark
  • Fanefjord Church, Møn, Denmark
  • Elmelunde Church, Møn, Denmark
  • Lyngby Church, Lyngby, Denmark
  • Østerlars Church, Bornholm
  • Nylars Church, Bornholm
  • Lyngby Church, Lyngby, Denmark
  • Fanefjord Church, Møn, Denmark
  • Elmelunde Church, Møn, Denmark
  • Elmelunde Church, Møn, Denmark
  • Bellinge Church, near Odense, Denmark
  • Store Heddinge Church, near Stevens Klint, Højerup, Denmark
  • 2 images from Aarhus Cathedral, Aarhus, Denmark
  • Aarhus Cathedral, Aarhus, Denmark
  • Keldby Church, Møn, Denmark
  • Keldby Church, Møn, Denmark
  • Keldby Church, Møn, Denmark
  • Vibe’s dad’s book on Kalkmalerier from mid and east Jutland

Undiscovered Brooklyn in Denmark

Den Gamle By in Aarhus, Denmark is one of the best and weirdest museums I’ve ever been to. It started as a place they transported really old buildings that were being torn down, rebuilding them into an old town, brick by brick. Cool enough, but they added a concept of recreating stores and apartments from 3 random years in history into neighborhoods: 1927, 1974, and for some baffling reason 2014. Exact replicas based on actual places. The execution is outrageously good. The level of detail, down to the olfactory variety, astonishing and sometimes really hilarious. From 74: A hippie communal apartment, a gynecologist office, a book store with a porno mag rack behind beads next to the children’s section. By the way, they don’t shield the kids from anything in this country and they mostly seem to turn into sensible adults. From 2014: a lesbian family, a single woman’s apartment, a Blockbuster Video that’s closing down. Funny. Tons and tons of random replicas. Actors in the stores and around town engage with you. There are period-correct phones in the rooms and you can call the other stores apartments and have conversations with visitors. Vibe’s niece Ida fooled me good in the paint shop calling from the butcher shop, asking if we had red paint to cover the blood on the walls. Had no idea it was her. Solid fun for 4 hours.

A 70s gyno office recreated at Den Gamle By

Previously Discovered NY: Niagara Falls

Sometimes when you’re a kid you don’t recognize when you’re emotionally moved by something. You may scoff at an astonishing sight. I remember going on a camp trip to Niagara Falls in the late 70s and asking a counselor: “what’s the big deal?”  

“Are you kidding? It’s incredible,” he responded. Which made me question my tween perspective. It was a moment that still periodically enters my mind to this day, so it must have been an important one. 

45 years later I can now officially report that Niagara Falls is a million times better as an adult than as an ungrateful little shit. Nothing about it is underrated. Yes, the park is touristy and the surrounding area isn’t particularly gorgeous. But holy shit, those falls are going to move you. My girlfriend wept on the ‘Maid of the Mist’ boat – another fabulous must do. 

Go back. Or just go. See it for yourselves. Stay overnight and stop in Buffalo the next day like we did. The Albright Knox museum is excellent. Get a beef on weck for the road. Do it.