OUR FAVORITE TOUR GUIDE THAT WE'VE NEVER MET -- part 2

Hector Guillermo Gerardo Barraza Ugalde


Outanding ideas for wheelchair-accessible walking tours in Mexico City from our Hermano Hector:

a) A Downtown tour. We could arrive to the Zocalo by car and visit the Cathedral which is easily accessible, then we could stroll along Madero street which is a pedestrian street visiting the Profesa church and the Casino Español, then another accessible building would be Iturbide Palace, Count of Valle de Orizaba Palace and the old cloister of the ex convent of San Francisco, we could see from the outside Fine Arts Opera House and after it the Franz Mayer Museum, if your wife and you are in the mood we could finally see the Rivera Mural on the alameda park.


All of the above are easy access buildings, if i don´t mention i.e. the National Palace is because they could be very cumbersome to visit.


b) Coyoacan, could be very nice to explore, there is only a small area with cobbled stone streets that could be not entirely accessible, but the rest is flat, shady and with very interesting buildings to see, the Blue House (Frida Museum has too many stairs)


c) San Angel. This area is full of cobbled stone streets and very hilly, but very nice, it could be a bit up hill, but I can always help you, it is the area where you will find the Old church of Chimalistac, el Carmen or San Jacinto, with lovely squares and the beatiful San angel Inn Restaurant.


d) Chapultepec park. The Castle is a must see, we could visit the ground floor, with most of the rooms dedicated to Emperor Maximillian and Empress Charlotte, with a great view of Reforma avenue and the surrounding areas, after it, the anthropology Museum of very easy access (two or three rooms).


Cost. Downtown and Chapultepec park, US$130 (4 to 4.30 hours)


Coyoacan and San Angel, US$150 (4 to 5 hours)


Transportation, we could hire a cab by hour, some US$12 per hour or to take taxis from one place to the other, I always take with me a Taxi stand phone number and we can call the cab, once we are done with the walking.

http://mexicocityelitetours.com/aboutusEN.html

OUR FAVORITE TOUR GUIDE THAT WE'VE NEVER MET

MEXICO CITY ELITE TOURS



As we count down the final days of 2011, our theme this week is to give thanks to exceptional people who we have "met" via the interet.

Héctor Barraza is a sucha person.

He's helping us plan a trip to Mexico City for sometime in 2012.

From his bio:

I am a lawyer with more than twenty years of experience in private international
banking. I am a native of Mexico City, but I have also lived and worked in Los
Angeles, Houston, and London. My passions are the history, art, and architecture of
Mexico, and I have now chosen to spend my time sharing my knowledge with
visitors. I approach Mexico City and its surroundings from the perspective of social
history, establishing a link between the stones you see and the stories of the men and
women who built and lived in these places.

I provide customized tours for visitors eager to know about the history and culture of
Mexico. I have had the privilege of working for the American Comparative Literature
Association, Johnson & Johnson, Dartmouth College, the University of Houston, the
Houston Seminar, the Universidad Autónoma Metropolitana (UAM), the University of
Ottawa, and many wonderful individuals and families from around the world.

We sent a simple email to Héctor, explaing that one of us uses a wheelchair for mobility.

Tomorrow, we'll share the wealth of information he kindly and rapidly responded with:

Check out his site at:

http://mexicocityelitetours.com/aboutusEN.html

OUR FAVORITE PLACE IN MEXICO CITY THAT WE'VE NEVER BEEN TO

THE ST. REGIS MEXICO CITY

We are not rich people.

We need to pinch pennies and travel cheaply.

We are famed for flying out of town at 6 a.m. on a holiday because it's way cheaper than flying out late afternoon on the day before.

We subsribe to countless services that send updates on discounted hotel rooms, flights, etc.

If we could get half off by washing the dishes at a 4 star restaurant, we'd probably think about doing it for the savings.

Like everybody who is prudent, but not dirt poor, we sometimes toast our victories or drown our sorrows with a little splurge.

Someday, the St. Regis Mexico City will be such a splurge.

Normally way to rich for our blood -- rooms come with a butler that unpacks your clothes for you & the building was designed by famed architect Cesar Pelli -- the St. Regis recently advertised some great deals.

While we were unable to pull the trigger on the pending deal, we were incredibly impressed with the service the St. Regis delivered to a pair of would-be guests simply doing research.

Heidi uses a wheelchair for her mobility, so we found the email of the St. Regis Manager and zapped some messages asking about roll-in showers, common area access and bed configuration in the barrier-free rooms.

Soon, we not only had replies from the Manager, but we also got a phone call from the person in charge of rooms.

In her imperfect English (which we very much appreciated because folks in Miami forgive our imperfect Spanish), she explained all the amenities for people with disabilities.

The person even memorialized our conversation in an email and followed up the next morning with customized photos taken for us to show the bathroom accessibility.

Soon, the concierge was advising us on a driver for accessible transport and filling in details about which museums are best set up with ramps and elevators to serve wheelchair-using visitors.

Wwe could go on and on about the St. Regis' committment to serving a potential booking by a pair of people who would be paying an internet rate nearly half off the usual cost of a luxury room.

Someday, we shall splurge at the St. Regis and get to give our face-to-face thank yous to all the people there who are committeed to serving ALL guests, inlcuding those with mobility needs.

http://www.stregishotelmexicocity.com/

OUR FAVORITE MEXICO FACEBOOK PAGE

MEXICO TODAY


Mexico. Oft-maligned, today it conjures up every ugly American's nightmare of a place where you walk out for coffee and wake up with one of your vital organs harvested.

While there certainly are many places with crime problems inflicting unspeakable horribles on the locals and scaring off cultural visitors aplenty, there are many places that are just as safe as home.

Guanajuato is one of them.

Even in Mexico City, choked with traffic, smog and more than 20 million people trying to feed their families, has dozens of safe places to wander -- from Condesa to Reforma, Chapultapec Park to Polanco, the Zocalo to the Alameda Central, Coyacan to San Angel to many other historic and significant urban sites.

Mexico Today is a government-sponsored site to get out all the good stories (and to obviously combat the US Media image of violence in the pround aned historic nation).

The writing is top notch.

This is no press release and propoganda site.

We highly recommend you visit:

http://www.facebook.com/MexicoToday

OUR FAVORITE MEXICO CITY BLOG

MEXICO CITY: AN OPINOINATED GUIDE

Observations, news and Travel Tips by Jim Johnston


On this lazy holiday day off, we'd like to refer our nearly 20,000 readers to our favorite blogger in Mexico City.

Jim Johnston, author of exico City: An Opinionated Guide for the Curious Traveler, shares his vivid writing about the magical Condesa neighborhood, murals and dozens of other cool things in the historic and bustling Distrito Federal and its 20 million-plus inhabitants.

Since this is a lazy day, we'll simply lift Jim's bio right from his blog:

Born in New York City, Jim Johnston grew up in the woods of New Hampshire.

After studying architecture at the University of Virginia and graphic design at the School of Visual Arts, he worked as a professional artist and potter in New York City for 27 years.

He moved to Mexico in 1997, where he continues working as an artist and writer.

For more information visit the website: www.jimjohnstonart.com.

For Jim's outstanding blog, visit:

http://mexicocitydf.blogspot.com/

Warm Season’s Greetings from Our Family to Yours

We wish you peace, happiness & prosperity and invite you to mark this special time of year by:


• Embracing family and friendship.

• Empowering yourself to make positive changes.

• Celebrating the holidays by sharing with those who are less fortunate.

• Relaxing with loved ones and entering the New Year renewed and refreshed.