Just 2-ish hours southeast of the Mexican capital, Puebla is dwarfed by Mexico City. But don’t let that fool you! It’s actually got a population of about 3.25 million people (metro), so it’s no small place. It’s actually the 4th largest city in Mexico. And remember how I said that Mexico City sits at a higher elevation than Denver? Puebla is up here as well! It sits at an elevation of 7,217.85 ft (1.37 miles) above sea level. In fact, this area is so mountainous that you actually have to drive past snow-capped volcanoes to get here from Mexico City.
Teotihuacán is one of the most historically, culturally, and architecturally significant cities in the pre-Columbian Americas. At its height, it was the largest city in both North and South America, with a population of 125,000 people (estimated). That might not seem like much today, but by Mesoamerican standards, that’s like Tokyo or New York. This wasn’t just a place—it was THE place. But here’s what makes it so fascinating…
The origins of Teotihuacán are utterly mysterious. The backstory behind its founders is totally unknown. And it’s not just unknown to us now, in 2020. Apparently the Aztecs discovered the ruins of this city and also didn’t know exactly where it came from or what the story was. Isn’t that INSANE? The AZTECS discovered this when it was already ruins!
In Mexico City, I knew that neighborhood we stayed in was going to be key. I had lots of recommendations given to me, and the areas that separated themselves as the clear choices were Condesa and Roma. Prior to my arrival, although the two areas are right next to each other, I understood these neighborhoods to be more distinct from one another than they turned out to be. Once I actually got there, I found that they were essentially just extensions of each other, with only minor differences. So I’m just going to treat it as one body. And oh my gosh you guys—I LOVE THIS AREA.
Let’s start with size. Mexico City is really, really big. In fact, Mexico City proper has almost 9 million people and Mexico City metro is home to a whopping 21 million people, which just a few million less than Beijing. This makes it the largest population center on the entire continent of North America—bigger even than New York, LA, Chicago, Toronto, etc. It also puts Mexico City comfortably in the top 10 largest cities in the world.
In the last article we did a quick introduction to Savannah, and then did some good old fashioned ‘sploring of its enchanting brick streets. To say that this city is beautiful would be an understatement. It’s one of the oldest cities in America, and one of the few surviving time capsules from the pre-Confederate South. Indeed, this city has so many skeletons in its closet that it’s become something of a destination for history and ghost stories. Today we’re going to visit a few sites that are of particular significance in Savannah.
And then we’re going to evacuate before hurricane Dorian gets here!
Stepping out the door of our Airbnb, just a couple blocks away from Forsyth Park, the air was thick with humidity. It was so humid that my camera lens was quickly covered in a dense fog that took a few blocks to wear off. Roots run deep here. Everybody knows everybody. Sure there are lots of visitors that pass through, but in every living room of every house on every quiet Savannah street, there is a thriving community of families living here that are constantly going to school together, growing up together, marrying into one another, and so on.
For my American readers, I’m gonna go out on a limb here and say that there is no way in hell that you don’t know what Napa Valley is. But for my readers from abroad, I’ll explain just in case. Napa Valley is America’s postcard wine country. There are pockets of vineyards all over the country of course (Oregon is a notable wine producer as well), but Napa Valley is the epicenter of wine culture and cultivation in America. Napa Valley refers to a large fertile valley full of vineyards in Napa County, California, which just on the north side of the San Francisco Bay. Driving north through Napa Valley, there are a few towns that you will pass through, the first of which is also called Napa. The next major towns before the northern end of the valley are Yountville, St. Helena, and Calistoga.
First off, what I’m defining as “Richmond” here is actually made up of 4 smaller districts: Inner, Central, and Outer Richmond… and a little area to the north called Lake Street. This neighborhood (or group of neighborhoods) is essentially a big grid system, which, despite occupying an extremely urban area of San Francisco, is surrounded on almost all sides by nature.
Dude, I smell like shit."
"Thats okay... It's Milwaukee!"
I think that interaction was what I remembered most about Milwaukee prior coming back here in 2018. I don’t remember a lot of specifics from that trip, save for the realization that Milwaukee is actually a pretty cool place. So when I returned in the summer of 2018 for a wedding, I made a point to break off a bite-sized piece of the city and take a long walk with my camera.
It’s time for our last article on Asheville. We’ve covered some serious ground in this city, and have already had a few surprises, but to me, there were none more pleasant than the ones I’m about to share with you in this article. This is Asheville’s “Street Art” installment; a segment that I am becoming quite fond of. Not every city has a visual arts scene that will support these kinds of public works… but those that do, typically don’t look much like Asheville. I tend to associate street art with giant urban areas like New York, San Francisco, or Toronto.
But Asheville threw down the gauntlet!
