• Attend special lectures and discussions on Frida Kahlo
• Learn about Frida the woman, the artist, the social activist
• Take a guided visit of the Frida Kahlo Museum
• Learn about the provocative murals at the Palace of Fine Arts
• Walk in charming San Angel and the Bazaar Sabado market
• Spend a day excursion in Puebla and Cholula
• Eat at some of Mexico's best restaurants
• Become immersed in the Historic District

• Day 1: Arrive in Mexico City, one of the world’s largest and most fascinating cities! Tonight we have a special welcome reception and dinner at favorite La Fonda del Refugio in the “Zona Rosa”, a former home known for its charm and great food. The guacamole, margaritas and tacos de huitlacochtle (a dark blue fungus that grows on corn) are particularly good. (D)
• Day 2: Our day begins with a visit to Anahuacalli, a spectacular museum conceived and designed by Diego Rivera to house his amazing collection of prehispanic art. Also, as Saturdays are special in the south of the city, we will be visiting charming San Angel with its cobblestone streets and the famed Bazaar Sabado arts and crafts market. Some of Mexico City’s finest artists show and sell their works here. After our strolling, viewing and shopping, we relax at the lovely colonial garden restaurant, San Angel Inn for lunch. Now that we have rested, we continue our touring with a visit to the Frida and Diego Studios designed by Juan O’Gorman, and where each worked independently. Returning home, we stop at Mexico’s largest university campus, UNAM to view the spectacular O’Gorman mosaic murals on the walls of the main library. (B, L)
• Day 3: We take a morning stroll in Sullivan Park, Mexico’s Montmartre, where we see local artists rendering scenes and abstract designs with themes and colors from their beloved country. From here, our day is dedicated to Mexico City’s Historic District, which will include many stops, such as: viewing of the “Dream of Sunday Afternoon in Alameda”, mural painting by Diego Rivera; shopping at Fonart for the finest selection of regional crafts from Mexico; visiting the famed House of Tiles and the Neoclassical Palace of Fine Arts. Later, we make our way to the Colegio San Idelfonso, known as the “Prepa”, or high school where Frida and Diego first met. We lunch at the Hosteria Santo Domingo. (B, L)
• Day 4: Today we enjoy an excursion to Puebla and Cholula to see the traditional Talavera pottery, with roots back to 15th Century Spain. Actually, the designs and tradition of these tiles date back to 8th Century Islamic culture and during the Middle Ages in Italy, these tile motifs were blended. It is sometimes referred to as majolica. In Cholula we visit the Spanish and Indigenous churches of Santuario San Francisco Acatepec and Santa Maria Tonantzintla. We lunch on the famed mole Poblano. (B, L)
• Day 5: Our day begins with a breakfast discussion where we will learn about Frida and the Revival of Indigenous Dress. This discussion will include how Mexicans and the outside world have viewed indigenous dress over the years and its importance to cultural diversity. From here, we go on a special visit to the Museo Frida Kahlo, where recently over 300 articles were found, including extraordinary pieces of Frida’s wardrobe from indigenous communities throughout Mexico. After lunch in Coyoacan, we take a guided visit of the Museo Dolores Olmedo, the former home of Dolores Olmedo, who was a patron of the arts and of Diego Rivera. (B, L)
• Day 6: Today is dedicated to the art and cultural heritage of Frida Kahlo, Diego Rivera and the muralist movement. Our tour begins at the Palacio de Bellas Artes, the magnificent neoclassical, art deco and art nouveau opera house in downtown Mexico City. We begin with a guided tour of the Rivera, Orozco, Siqueiros and Tamayo murals that surround the building’s interior. Here, we see Man at the Crossroads, which Rivera originally intended for Rockefeller Center. Strolling through the Historic Center, we make our way to the Zocalo, where we visit the National Palace to see one of Diego Rivera’s masterpieces. (B, L)
• Day 7: We have left one of Mexico's great treasures for the final day: the Museo Nacional de Antropologia, which houses art and treasures from the ancient civlizations of Mesoamerica, which include the Olmec, Zapotec, Maya, Toltec and Aztec. We lunch at the museum café and have free time for independent viewing. From here we take a leisurely guided tour of Lomas de Chapultepec, a residential area, to get a better feel for the scope of Mexico City. Tonight we have a fabulous farewell dinner in Polanco at El Izote, noted by Rick Bayless as one of Mexico’s most innovative restaurants that fuses traditional Mexican ingredients with non-traditional Mexican flavors. The style has come to be known as nouveau Mexican cuisine! (B, L, D)
• Day 8: Today, we sadly depart from this extraordinary and culturally rich city. Of course, you are welcome to extend your stay and enjoy more of it!

Frida: A Biography of Frida Kahlo, Hayden Herrera
Modern Mexican Painters, Rivera, Orozco, Siqueiros and Other Artists of the Social Realist School, MacKinley Helm