we've got magic to do

Yes.  Yes.  I know my Mexico City trip is now history.  Just in time for my next visit in just over a week.

But I thought I would share a few photographs I found interesting -- for one reason or other.

Take that first shot.  Welcome to my 2-dimensional world.  When I first saw it, I wondered why the city had left a single wall standing on Insurgentes.  It apeared to be supporting some communication equipment.  And a small building.  A small building?  On top of a wall.

Of course, it really wasn't merely a wall.  No matter what it looked like through my eyes and camera lens.

A few steps and all was revealed.  I think I liked my first impression best.

From the beast to the beauty.  While walking around the Independence monument, I ran into this odd tableaux.  Not something I would have expected to see at a national monument.

Apparently, a fashion shoot was under way.  Even though the model was beautiful, it was the other women who caught my interest.  They looked liked the mothers of the bride at a wedding.  I can only imagine which role the boy was playing.

But there was another angel I wanted to capture.  The angel of Independence is the unofficial symbol of Mexico City.  And jacaranda is the unofficial flower.

I am uncertain if I like this shot or not.  I tried cropping and re-cropping it.  The ideal image is in my head.  I am not certain this is it.

You have seen this piano before.  It sits in a Roma neighborhood park.  On my second visit, I discovered anyone who has an interest in playing it is welcome to sit down and add some water music to the accompanying fountain.

Its color alone made it a great photography subject.  Including how the line of the hand joins the sleeve of the pianist's blouse.  I had cropped it out until I noticed the coincidence.

One day when we came out of the eye clinic, this whatever-it-is was sitting across the street.  Even though I had no idea what it was, I shot it.  Once again, I really liked the colors.

When we returned, it was gone.  At least, it operated.  I suspected that someone interesting must have lived inside.

Maybe this guy.

Not really.  He was a street clown -- part of the theater of urban life in the federal district.  Unfortunately, for him, he was a hapless clown.  As we were walking by, the first two "volunteers" he pulled from the audience turned out to be Italian -- with no understanding of Spanish.  (How can that be true?)

One of my all-time favorite optical illusions is rhombille tiling (also known as Italian tumbling blocks) -- often put to best use on floors when viewed from a second floor.

This version in the lobby of the Ripley museum did exactly what it is supposed to do.  It gives those of us with no depth perception a clue of what the rest of you see.

Before we stopped at the cathedral in Mexico City, we walked around the parish church next door.  We were lucky enough to watch students learning the catechism in the chapel pews.  And to witness a line of babies experiencing their first Catholic rite of passage, without once being asked to be a godparent.

It was a line of proud parents -- even the mother who appears to be reading her instruction sheet.

Inside the cathedral, I saw a sight I have never seen in any Mexican church -- well, any church.

It is a wad of locks all fastened together in a giant mass.  The idea is that when the lock is closed with the rest, the donor locks away all gossip for a full year.  Not unlike that old "lock the lips" sign we often make.  And probably about as effective.

And the finale is one of Mexico City's most astounding and colorful sights.  The Palacio de Bellas Artes from the 37th floor.

In a few more days, you can join me on another trip to the big city.  This time, it will be museums.