drive by category archive
coyoacan by bike 1
coyoacan is one of 16 boroughs of mexico city. it’s name, in nahuatl, means ‘place of the coyotes’ and is where the aztecs named this pre-hispanic village mostly populated by the tepenec people. hernan cortes and the spanish used this area as their headquarters making it the capital of ‘new spain’ around 1523. over the centuries the urban sprawl of mexico city developed around coyoacan leaving its’ cobble stone streets, alleys, plazas, gardens and many homes relatively intact amidst a vibrant, thriving bustling community. for locals or tourists, i can think of no better way to explore this gorgeous neighborhood than by bike. so we did. heathermarie’s friend febo, a professor of urban planning at the university, also operates a bike tour company and was our knowledgeable, enthusiastic guide/host. in the cool of mid-morning we breezed through the streets, taking in the sites, while febo explained historical and social significances, often stopping along the way to explore gardens or alleys or doorways or whatever caught our eye. you get to cover so much more ground, breezing around by bike. we had a light lunch at a nearby cantina and afterwards, walked back to wander some more on own. febo and his mexico bike tour offer tours of other areas i would’ve liked to explore, had i the time. next visit. when you visit mexico city i highly recommend adding their bike tour to your list of must-see + do’s.
brentwood pitstop 1
whenever i’m west of westwood, i will find any excuse to make a pitstop through the brentwood country mart, see what’s shakin’. an indoor/outdoor cluster of shops and food is a throw back in time -to a calmer, low-key, more relaxed, “village main street” commercial experience. in curating this refined retail + restaurant vortex someone had the good sense to include a mini post office, shoe repair, bookstore and barber shop -real neighborhood necessities with your luxuries, please and thank you. it’s says brentwood but i think it’s really santa monica, at least i feel ocean breezes. my most recent brief tour i stopped in post 26, roberta roller rabbit, pippa small and turpan -for my fashion, linen, jewelry and high design household needs, y’know. making my rounds, i cut thru farmshop but alas, didn’t have time to stop. next visit i intend to indulge -the food is fresh and looks amazing plus there’s prepared foods and a butcher so treats to go. more on the eats later…swing by this thurs 9.8.11, early eve, for their fashion night out event featuring a special screening of bill cunningham new york film and the malia mills documentary short. should be fun…
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life is beautiful 0
i love street art. driving around la, not a day goes by when i don’t see something interesting. i grab my camera and shoot it before the light turns or -in the interest of public safety and points on my license, i drive around, pull over, then shoot. coming up in nyc in the 70’s/80’s i’ve seen my share of awesome graffiti/stencil art/murals etc -it’s still in full effect there, thriving all over the world for that matter, but something is definitely brewing in la, here and now.
there’s an overview of the history of graffiti and street art – art in the streets at the geffen contemporary @ moca thru august 8, 2011. for more la street art, on the web, (-because if you’re here, just look around, it’s absolutely everywhere,) check melroseandfairfax.
