There is a québécois expression that says, “changer le mal de place.” Literally, it means relocating the hurt. More figuratively, it means taking a break from a tedious routine. Having had a few tough work days, knowing that the week ahead is going to be brutal, and being blessed with easy files for today, I decided to take a long lunch break in Maz.
How wonderful it is for the city to be so close by that I can get there, meander around, have a meal, shop, and be home in just two and a half hours!
This was the first time that I went out with several stops in mind and didn’t at least glance at a map before leaving. I know where everything is now and actually getting quite good at finding the most direct route between A and B.
My first stop was the Santander bank in front of the Cathedral on Angel Flores. A few donations and an unexpected prepayment on a translation project meant that I could take out 1,000 pesos, which will go a very long way if this past month is any proof of that. I still had 200 pesos from my early January withdrawal!
From the bank, I went to Olas Altas to get sushi, but, alas, they were closed. 🙁 It was past 1:30, so I was quite surprised. I decided to instead check out a recommended burger joint, but they, too, were closed! Since I was in the Plazuela Machado area and have been craving chocolate for days, I decided to get dessert first and stopped in at the gelateria where 25 pesos got me a teeny scoop of craving busting goodness.
I then headed out towards the Mercado and decided to try lunch at Panamá’s bakery, which looks a lot like a Smitty’s restaurant or a Denny’s, a very Ameri-dian diner-style spot. I was given both a Spanish and English menu and had time to compare them.
As suspected, they were quite different, with the English menu omitting many of the Mexican dishes and adding more American dishes. The average price point on the English menu was also higher than on the Spanish one. I ordered the chicken enchiladas with creamy green sauce from the Spanish menu, hoping that they would be similar to the ones I had in Texas.
Unfortunately, no. And the Texas ones were actually much more authentic Mexican fare than Panamá’s version, which were rather bland and featured processed American cheese!
Now, don’t get me wrong, the meal was fine. The sauce, while not super flavourful, was good and the roasted chicken filling was incredibly satisfying. Add in the huge helping of beans and I was stuffed. The meal was worth the 83 pesos I paid (plus tip), but it wasn’t one I’ll repeat.
It was getting close to two by this point, so I decided to head home by way of Ley. I really didn’t need anything, but I keep going to Ley in the hopes that they’ll have restocked an incredible all natural pineapple-coconut yoghurt I got there way back in late November or December. Today, they finally had some!
My knee was really bothering me today, so I decided to go home by Zaragoza rather than Leandro Valle, but then decided to instead meander through the small streets to create a more direct route to the embarcadero. That worked splendidly and I really enjoyed making my way through a warren of narrow cobblestone streets, so reminiscent of ancient Scottish cities, to emerge right in front of the entrance to the dock.
I spent just under 200 pesos today on public transportation, lunch, dessert, and groceries. Mexico continues to be incredibly affordable and I have succeeded in ‘changer le mal de place.’ Now, back to work. It’ll be a bit of a marathon session!
