Already in October of 1993, during a seminar that husband Pieter did for Campbell Soup at the Holiday Inn in Santa Cruz, California, we met with people from the Monteblanco group in Mexico. One of the owners, Agustín also attended Pieter's seminar and he invited us to come to Mexico for some consulting and training.
Also during another seminar in December of 1993, that Pieter did in Texas, again for Full House customers of Campbell Soup, we met more staff members from Monteblanco, Mexico.
On February 18 of 1994, we both departed for the airport by 6:00 o'clock, driving the two hours to Atlanta and our flight via Houston, Texas into Mexico City.
What a gigantic stretched out city Mexico City is from the air! No wonder it ranks the world's 5th by population and at that time there lived more people than in our entire birth country The Netherlands...
At present some 22,000,000 are living there!
It also is a very unique airport at an altitude of 2,230 meters or 7,300 feet, one of the highest in the world.
And a very fertile plateau with a pleasant climate!
The population is very young, contrary to the aging population of the west.
Traffic is of course a hell! They had already set up one day a week for each car driver to leave the car at home, in order to slow down air pollution.
It also was the most beautiful city that we EVER saw in our lives!
It is a pity that also the crime rate is high... affecting the safety of the population and its visitors.
So incredibly green and beautiful with large parks and beautiful tropical flowering trees along the streets.
Other countries have botanical gardens but in Mexico City it is inclusive...
The USA could learn a lot from that.
Spaniards and Italians in general, love plants and trees for adding color to their lives.
Trees are also the lungs of such a city; thus a double function.
We were being dropped off at the Camino Réal Hotel, after our visit to the company's main office...
We always loved its special architecture, a kind of Aztec style, with thick bearing walls due to the earthquake region!
That's probably why we also love to stay at the Hyatt Regency Suites Atlanta Northwest as mentioned here in a previous post.
Parque Mexico just click to see more beautiful places within Mexico City.
WISH we would have had more time for walking and exploring... but we worked a tight schedule!
Arriving by car from the hustle of this vibrant city, you enter the very unique Camino Real Architecture, to break the noise from outside and offering a tranquil oasis to its guests.
The Pink Wall Outside Camino Real another of its architectural design.
Camino Real Hotel Bearing Wall and Pool This gives you a very good idea of how the five story hotel is being built with bearing walls.
This is me on a Sunday, March 22 of 1998 after arriving here on one of our next consulting periods.
Relaxing at the pool in my La Perla bathing suit with skirt (seen in photo below!
Those were the perks of doing International Consulting!
Staying at this beautiful hotel, one of the top hotels in the world, in the line of the Mandarin Oriental (where we stayed a few times in Jakarta, Indonesia), Ritz Carlton (where Pieter met our Indonesian boss once in Los Angeles) etc.
We both have been treated royally, all those years of doing international consulting and the fact that over a period of twelve years they had us come back to Mexico speaks for itself.
View of the pool at that time, from a post card we got.
On that lawn, we've seen beautifully decorated tables for wedding events...
Yes, they have a tennis court as well and several fine restaurants.
Also an arcade of shops inside their compounds.
On the walls in the reception area hung portraits from royalty that had stayed with them, such as Queen Elizabeth from England.
We found this on our pillow, next to some chocolates...
We had a very good night sleep at this hotel; so quiet!
You sure can tell that the influences from work have come home with us...
Our home is in the color of the Caribbean (Curaçao) or Mexico and we love this Golden Mist color, see post below.
Previous post:
Working Alongside a Retired Portuguese Style Bull Fighter... in Mexico | from my very 1st work period
{What Type of Feet do YOU have?} | photo of me taken at Camino Real
I don't know anything about Mexico City outside of what I occasionally hear on the news, therefore nothing good. I had no idea that it was so interesting and so green, with an abundance of parks. (I'm sure there's a stark contrast between the lives of the wealthy and the lives of the poor, as there is everywhere.)
ReplyDeleteBut so huge! Canada's total population is about 37.6M.
I do love your house--I love yellow! Such a happy colour. :-)
Dearest Kim,
DeleteWell, because most people have absolutely no idea about the real Mexico, I've put in quite some time and effort in these series. One of Mexico City's parks is twice the size of Central Park in NYC. That gives you just some perspective. Also in the hotel we could select a German channel, there are so many German business connections, like BMW, Audi, Volkswagen etc. Mexico is very high tech, in the big cities but indeed while traveling to the six different mushroom locations we also got to see the very poor inland! Will mention that in a later post. Once could very well understand why they younger generation wants to leave...
It definitely was an eye opener to both of us!
Hugs,
Mariette
A beautiful place.
ReplyDeleteDearest Anne,
DeleteYes it sure was and still is. Many royalties stayed there.
Hugs,
Mariette
Hello Mariette, After putting up with the discomforts of travel, what a luxury it must have been to stay at places like this one. If I ever get to Mexico I want to include the museums and some of the archaeological sites as well.
ReplyDelete--Jim
Dearest Jim,
DeleteYes, this was great for decompressing and also in-between our very full and hectic schedule, traveling to their six locations in different states. Mexico as a whole has been beyond our expectations and we think that most people have no idea about it still.
Hugs,
Mariette
I love the bright colors in Mexico.
DeleteDearest Janey,
DeleteYes, very lively and cheerful!
Hugs,
Mariette
Tus múltiples viajaes, te han hecho conocer numerosos países y también te ha permitido practicar variadas lenguas.
ReplyDeleteBesos
Querida Antónia,
DeleteSí, de hecho nos ofreció muchas ventanas al mundo. Nuestro amor por las personas en general y mi dedicación a hablar su idioma nos ha producido una satisfacción increíble. Ningún turista tendrá nunca esa oportunidad. Trabajamos con ellos y compartimos su tipo de comidas y así sucesivamente.
Abrazos,
Mariette
I know nothing about Mexico or anywhere else for that matter but I still liked the post found it interesting
ReplyDeleteDearest Jo-Anne,
DeleteWell, most people will have no idea about Mexico, that's why I want to share our experience with some photos. Glad you found it interesting!
Hugs,
Mariette
Hallo Mariette, fijn om in zo'n prachtig luxe hotel te verblijven. De kleur van jullie huis vind ik ook prachtig. Het doet mij ook wel een beetje denken aan de Zweedse gele huizen. Ik word er blij van. Fijne dag, lieve groet Willy
ReplyDeleteBeste Willy,
DeleteJa, het was een geweldig rustige oase in zo'n enorme stad, al is het één groot park.
Wij zijn echt wel beïnvloed door de kleur van de landen die we bezochten!
Pieter is heel vroeger in Zweden geweest maar ik zelf helaas nooit. Het is een erg vrolijke kleur.
Liefs,
Mariette
Liebe Mariette,
ReplyDeleteich habe auch keine Ahnung von Mexiko-City und frage mich, ob es heute dort noch genau so wunderbar aussieht wie zu der Zeit, als Ihr dort wart. Die herrliche Bougainvillea fiel mir sofort ins Auge 😍 Hey, Du hast auch ägyptische Füße, genau wie ich *lach*
Wir haben Saunatage über +30° Celsius und heute sogar +35° C.
Liebe Grüße aus Ostfriesland von Traudi.♥
Liebe Traudi,
DeleteEs ist und bleibt eine super moderne Stadt mit auch sehr viel Deutsche Beziehungen! Sogar Fernsehen Programme kann man aufs Deutsch wählen.
Die Bougainvillea macht ein Mensch glücklich mit seine Farben und Mexiko-City ist ein enormes grünes Park.
Freud mich das wir beide auf gleichem Fuß leben! Hier war es schon 36°C am Dienstag und heute nur 34°C.
Liebe sonnige Grüße,
Mariette
Looks wonderful in the hotel IMariette but I can't imagine living in a city with such a huge population, no wonder the crime rate is high. I wonder how Mexico City has coped during this Covid period?
ReplyDeleteDearest Grace,
DeleteGuess when you never have been there it will be hard to assess a country or a city.
It ranks currently # 28 on the world's list, down from # 27 over 2020. https://www.numbeo.com/crime/rankings.jsp
Hugs,
Mariette
Belle fotografie.
ReplyDeleteBuona domenica.
Caro Giancarlo,
DeleteSì, è un'ottima architettura e sicura per i terremoti.
Abbracci,
Mariette
I believe Mexico is a country full of contrasts.
ReplyDeletexoxo
Coisas de Feltro
Dearest Christina,
DeleteYes it is as it is a vast country and the inland is so different from this huge city.
Hugs,
Mariette