Relaxing afternoon in Polanco on National Holiday (Benito Juarez)

Today is a national holiday in honor of the famous former president of Mexico, Benito Juarez. (more on his life and work below the photos.)

Jeremy and I had a leisurely and delicious lunch at an Argentine restaurant, Spuntino. The service was terrific, the prices reasonable, the ambience wonderful and the food delicious.  The restaurant is hot inside, because of the grill, but most tables are lined around the outside of the open air restaurant. It is directly across from the tranquil Parque Lincoln, which boasts statues of President Lincoln and Martin Luther King Jr.

What we ate:

--yummy homemade tallerines (pasta) with pesto
--roasted potatoes with rosemary
--fresh steamed spinach
--empanadas (baked not fried -- a rarity in Mexico!)

Next time we will have to try the wine, steak and alfajores - all Argentine specialities!

After our wonderful long lunch, we strolled around the park, enjoying the 30-foot palm trees, children on swing sets, families walking their dogs, and kids sailing little boats in the pond.

AND....A BIT OF HISTORY...ABOUT PRESIDENT BENITO JUAREZ (1806-1872)

Benito Juarez is considered one of Mexico's greatest and most beloved leaders. During his political career he helped to institute a series of liberal reforms that were embodied into the new constitution of 1857. During the French occupation of Mexico, Juarez refused to accept the rule of the Monarchy or any other foreign nation, and helped to establish Mexico as a constitutional democracy. A child of Zapoteco Indians, he also promoted equal rights for the Indian population, better access to health care and education, lessening the political and financial power of the Roman Catholic church, and championed the raising of the living standards for the rural poor.

Source: www.mexonline.com