Day three in Mexico City was a Sunday. It is also the day that we needed to leave by bus for Oaxaca. We got up early looking forward to getting juice and breakfast on the street near our hotel. It had all looked good for the last couple days and we needed to break free of the Cafe Popular. Well, we were up so early that we beat all the street vendors. So we stopped into a large panaderia where Mira and Rory had Mexican Breakfast. Robert ate doughnuts.

Then we took a walk through the National Palace off the zocolo. Every visit to Mexico City needs to include a peek at the Diego Rivera mural of the history of Mexico in the stairway of the National Palace.

After the walk, it was back to the room for packing. We have about 1000 pounds of luggage on this trip, so most of it needs to stay in Mexico City while we are in Oaxaca for 10 days. So, we packed it all up and left it at the Hotel Zamora. Hope it will be there when we get back.

We took the 4 pm bus to Oaxaca ($40/seat), which took us a little less than 6 hours. The ride was comfortable. We saw The Hulk, another cartoon with a lot of fighting, and then a documentary about El Nino. Rory slept well after some fuss. Mira chatted up an 18 year old student sitting next to her while admiring the volcanoes that passed by her window.

We got an earlier start today. First another breakfast at the Cafe Popular. Robert about starved to death waiting for one of the waitresses to stop cooing over Caedryn and take our order. But all was well after we had some pan dulce and cafe con leches.

Then it was on to the subway to the Coyoacan neighborhood for a tour of the Frida Kahlo Museum. Rory played in the garden with some other children. Robert went to the bank to pull out more cash. After the museum we ate at a rather lame restaurant at the central mercado. We have not yet settled into a routine where we consistently find good food.

Then, then onto the subway for the return ride home and some naps.

After naps it was off to the Opera Bar for an early extravagant dinner in celebration of cumpleano dos de Rory! A full meal it was. Taken in the very booth where Pancho Villa shot a hole in the ceiling. As seen above, the bullet hole remains above the booth. Rory was serenaded by the bar’s string trio.

Then to bed way past our bedtimes.

We got an earlier start today. First another breakfast at the Cafe Popular. Robert about starved to death waiting for one of the waitresses to stop cooing over Caedryn and take our order. But all was well after we had some pan dulce and cafe con leches.

Then it was on to the subway to the Coyoacan neighborhood for a tour of the Frida Kahlo Museum. Rory played in the garden with some other children. Robert went to the bank to pull out more cash. After the museum we ate at a rather lame restaurant at the central mercado. We have not yet settled into a routine where we consistently find good food.

Then, then onto the subway for the return ride home and some naps.

After naps it was off to the Opera Bar for an early extravagant dinner in celebration of cumpleano dos de Rory! A full meal it was. Taken in the very booth where Pancho Villa shot a hole in the ceiling. As seen above, the bullet hole remains above the booth. Rory was serenaded by the bar’s string trio.

Then to bed way past our bedtimes.

The Pierce family was reunited today in Mexico City! After being left behind in San Francisco, Robert got on a red-eye flight and to the hotel in the historic center of Mexico City where Mira, Rory and Caedryn spent the night. He got there at about 6 am, before anyone was awake.

With the family together, we had some breakfast at the Café Popular just steps from our hotel. Then a stroll through some shopping areas, a peak at the Palacio Bellas Artes, some time in the nearby park, and then more time in the Zocolo after a nap. We had dinner on the roof of the Holiday Inn overlooking the Zocolo while watching the sunset.

Mira had a conversation with some of the other couples at nearby tables. A middle-aged man who grew up in San Francisco and spent most of his life working overseas (Ivory Coast, Nigeria, Congo, and Ecuador) in the oil trade gave us encouraging impressions of our current adventure. A French couple with a boy 3 days older than Rory ate at the next table. They are also staying at our hotel and will leave for Oaxaca soon. Just like us.

You may see more photos here.

The Pierce family had a rough morning. After about a week of preparation, it headed off to the San Francisco airport this morning at 3:30 am to catch a flight to Mexico City. Things went smoothly until Robert handed the ticket agent a stack of family passports that DID NOT include one for Robert Jr.. So, Mira, Rory and Caedryn got on the plane without dad, who will follow along tonight on a separate flight. Not to fear, things went well on the other side. Mira, kids and about a ton of luggage were picked up at the Mexico City airport and whisked away to the hotel where they await dad.

Mira, Robert and Cadie recently took a quick trip to Las Vegas. Robert had business meetings. The highlight were some fancy dinners at Sushi Roku and Carne Vino in Ceasar’s Palace and the Venetian hotels. We stayed at THEHotel, part of the Mandalay Bay complex. Las Vegas is pretty exciting when given the king’s treatment. Rory stayed with his grandparents in Santa Rosa.

Some photos here.

Mira, Robert and Cadie recently took a quick trip to Las Vegas. Robert had business meetings. The highlight were some fancy dinners at Sushi Roku and Carne Vino in Ceasar’s Palace and the Venetian hotels. We stayed at THEHotel, part of the Mandalay Bay complex. Las Vegas is pretty exciting when given the king’s treatment. Rory stayed with his grandparents in Santa Rosa.

Some photos here.