← The Nerve with Maureen Callahan
The Nerve with Maureen Callahan
The Nerve-y Traveler Part 2: Maureen Callahan and Belinda Carlisle Tour Mexico City's Vibrant Culture
00:43:58
In part 2 of The Nerve-y Traveler, Maureen and Belinda sit down for some authentic Mexican fare and visit the Frida Kahlo Museum where Belinda connects with Frida’s experience as a female artist. Belinda joins in a cultural pastime with some locals who are electrocuting each other for sport and then the adventurous pair go cave dining before heading out to watch a Lucha Libre match. Maureen and Belinda also take an early morning bike ride on The Reforma, make a stop at Belinda’s friend’s boutique, take a stroll through the outdoor markets, and visit centuries-old cathedrals. Cowboy Colostrum: Get 25% Off Cowboy Colostrum with code MAUREEN at [https://www.cowboycolostrum.com/MAUREEN](https://www.cowboycolostrum.com/MAUREEN) OneSkin: Get up to 30% off OneSkin with the code NERVE at [https://www.oneskin.co/NERVE](https://www.oneskin.co/NERVE) #oneskinpod
Loading summary
Transcript141 lines
- [00:00]
A
Now is your time to get into a new Dr. Horton home by taking advantage of its national red tag sales event going on right now through January 25th. Stop by any of its participating communities and find select red tag homes at Incredible Pricing. So whether you're buying your first home or looking for an upgrade, you don't want to miss the red tag sales event going on right now. Discover the Dr. Horton difference. Tap your screen now or visit Dr. Horton.com Dr. Horton, America's builder and Equal Housing opportunity Builder. Hey, girl. What's happen. Is that your antiperspirant? Uh, yeah. Let me see that can. Aluminum, butane. I cannot pronounce that. You have to switch to native deodorant. Native's simple formula has only clean ingredients. It gives you effective 72 hour odor protection with no hydrocarbon propellants. Wow. This smells heavenly clean. Effective 72 hour odor protection isn't a myth.
- [00:59]
B
It's native.
- [01:04]
A
Hello, and welcome to your Friday edition of the Nerve and part two of the Nervy Traveler. On day three, we went to the Frida Kahlo Museum, which is actually the house, which is sort of more like a compound in which she lived and worked with her husband, Diego Rivera. Now, Frida was a tormented woman. She had been sickly as a child, and she was a true artist. And she fell in love with Diego Rivera, who was already a famous artist. Revered. She was much younger. He was married, I believe. She was like his mistress. They wound up getting married. Diego left his wife. They wound up getting married. But Diego was forever cheating on Frida. And one of the heartbreaks of Frida's life, well, we didn't really even realize this until, again, this is where art just, like, blows your effing mind. So there's this one portrait in the museum. It's an oil painting. Rather, I believe it's an oil painting that Frida made. And at first, we both assumed that the central figure in the painting of a woman on a bed, on a hospital bed who had just given birth must have been Frida, and she must have had a miscarriage. And then we were told, no, no, no, that was one of Diego's other women who had his baby, and Frida painted her. And then there's other stuff going on in the background of that portrait. In it's smaller, and so it's made to feel smaller, like, not as important. And it's Frida on an operating table being worked on, and the scale, the proportion, the colors, who she chose to foreground the subject matter, all of it. Is just such a window into this woman's psyche. And, you know, she had had abortions that left her unable to do the one thing she wanted to do, which was have Diego's baby. And it's all over her artwork. It's all over the house. You know, and then you begin to think as you're going through it and you're looking at her work, and it's like, you know, did she allow herself to be punished in this very painful way by her husband's open and repeated philandering? You know, she wasn't considered the real talent. He was considered the real talent. And it's the Frida Kahlo Museum for a reason. Okay. Then we came upon Diego's death mask. Now, Diego's death mask is in a downstairs guest room. And if that placement doesn't tell you everything, like, everything. And then we went further around the house to the second floor. Now, up on the second floor was their studio. They shared a workspace. And it's so interesting, you know, like, the ego and what. Each of them, the items that are chosen to represent, like, basically, the artist at work. Diego had this enormous, basically stationary, wooden, custom bespoke. It was basically like an artistic way of hanging all of his brushes, paints, all of his utensils, whatever. And we learned that it was gifted to him by, like, a Rockefeller. And then on the other side of that is Frida's wheelchair.
- [04:50]
B
Says a lot.
- [04:51]
A
Says a lot. And then we go past that into what was Frida's bedroom. Now, Frida, too, has a death mask. Her death mask is placed on her bed, and it is lovingly wrapped in, like, a beautiful, beautiful scarf. And it just. The separation of the two death masks and hers in the bedroom, that's elevated, and his in the downstairs guest bedroom says everything. So then after that, Belinda and I went to the outside. The house has this sort of beautiful encased outside plaza where Frida and Diego would host their many famous and esteemed guests. Artists, what have you. And we started talking, and, you know, she was saying that she found herself loving it more than she had anticipated, and that she. She really had, like, an emotional reaction to it. And. And I said the same. I. I felt the exact same way. And we started talking about artists, female artists, what Frida was up against. And Belinda started talking about what she, you know, she began in the punk scene in la. She wasn't a pop star in. In. In waiting. You know, she was clearly always going to be famous, but she really began in the punk scene in la. And she talked about what female artists. Female. Any, any, any female who wants to make her way in the world. Kind of what they really need to, to realize their dreams and ambitions. It's amazing stuff. Here you go. I thought I would be impressed by her works, her life, her short life, but really, I. There's something that's so human about this place.
- [06:56]
B
Yeah.
- [06:56]
A
You come away feeling like, without having read a biography or seen a film about, like, you feel like you, especially as a woman, that you, that you, you, you know, this woman, I mean, it's such a testament to her short creative life.
- [07:08]
B
Totally, totally. I was really impressed. I mean, I, I, you know, I'm glad you, you wanted to go because I'm. I wasn't, I wasn't that interested in really ever going.
- [07:19]
A
Right, right.
- [07:20]
B
But I'm so glad. It was like, it exceeded my expectations. I mean, it was amazing.
- [07:25]
A
I have to ask you too, like, as a female artist who's been working in this space and by the way, who originated in punk rock.
- [07:33]
B
Yeah.
- [07:33]
A
Those are your real origins.
- [07:35]
B
Oh, yeah, totally.
- [07:36]
A
You're so glam, you know, but I.
- [07:38]
B
Have a punk rock heart.
- [07:39]
A
You do, you really do. And I wonder specifically if there's anything that resonates with you as an artist about Frida and this space where, you know, when we came out of the guest room, you said, you really do. You experience energy in a very elemental way. And you said, this room feels heavy.
- [07:57]
B
Well, I thought that the bedroom was heavy for me. I mean, that was, you know, I can usually feel it right here, and that's where I felt it. But, I mean, utmost respect, I think, you know, I mean, I'm just really impressed with this place.
- [08:17]
A
You know, another parallel, and you may be too modest to make it, but I would definitely say Frida as a female visual artist, overshadowed not only by her husband, but by the men. It was male dominated. And you came up in the punk scene in LA and that was so male dominated.
- [08:38]
B
Oh, yeah. Well, you know, the whole thing is that, you know, we started and had no idea how to play our instruments and we're self taught. And then from the very beginning, because we were a curiosity in the beginning, we would pack clubs. I mean, we were packing the whiskey and the starboard and all these clubs. And the record companies would come and they were all headed by men and they would say, we can see that people love you and you're great, but you're.
- [09:05]
A
Women really would just say it like that.
- [09:08]
B
I would say it like that. There's never been any successful female Band there's been, of course, on a cult level, but not on a mainstream. Like we were told that to our face.
- [09:16]
A
That's what they said.
- [09:17]
B
That's what they said.
- [09:19]
A
So it's never been done before and there's no way you girls can do it.
- [09:23]
B
Yeah, exactly, exactly. I mean, all the big record companies passed on us.
- [09:28]
A
Did what? Did that ever. Did that make you feel like we're never going to get there or did that just light a fire in you, like we're going to get there?
- [09:35]
B
Well, I mean, I had no doubt. I mean.
- [09:37]
A
You had no doubt?
- [09:37]
B
I had no doubt. And I would say that we would always say, okay, let's just give it another six months and if, if it doesn't happen, it will disband. But I don't think anybody really, I mean, actually the chorus of from 1978, I mean, and being self taught, not knowing how to write songs or do anything to being one of the biggest bands in America in 1980. I mean, so I mean it really wasn't, I mean, giving six months and six months and six months. It really wasn't. Didn't take that long.
- [10:09]
A
Right.
- [10:10]
B
In the scheme of things, because usually artists it takes, you know, years and years and years, but for us it was just one of those things that was meant to be, I think.
- [10:18]
A
Yeah. And did you ever hear from any of those execs at record labels who passed on you?
- [10:26]
B
I can't remember. But you know, I mean, it's, it's. Yeah, it's very sexist, of course, you know, and they would actually just say that we can't. Because you're girls. Because you're all women. We're girls. There weren't women at that time. We were, you know, really like just out of our teens.
- [10:42]
A
And look at, and look at what the Go Go's went and did.
- [10:45]
B
Yeah, it's true. Against all odds.
- [10:47]
A
And what you did as a solo artist as well.
- [10:49]
B
Yeah, I mean that's, it's. Yeah, I mean it was just one of those things. Fate, I think. Fate and luck and self belief. Yeah.
- [10:59]
A
Which is difficult to maintain when the powers that be are telling you you can't. Yeah.
- [11:03]
B
Always just, you know, would say basically fuck you. You know, that's why Portland is the.
- [11:08]
A
Coolest one going in Mexico City.
- [11:10]
B
Exactly. And I think Frida had a little bit of fuck you in her too.
- [11:15]
A
Absolutely.
- [11:16]
B
That's another thing that I resonated with is the you attitude. She's very punk rock.
- [11:21]
A
She's very punk rock, you know, like, you Style. She. She dressed to cover her physical imperfections. She was very conscious of her presentation. Who doesn't? But style, beauty, glamour, but like that. That's the thing, I think, that separates the goods from the greats. A little bit of that. You.
- [11:42]
B
Exactly, exactly. Totally. Totally. You have to have that. You have to have that to survive. Basically.
- [11:48]
A
You do.
- [11:49]
B
And to really. You need that, I think, to really get ahead. You can't lay down and roll over.
- [11:57]
A
You know, Never can't hide under the bed. Gotta go get it.
- [12:01]
B
Little bit of fuck you.
- [12:02]
A
A little bit of fuck you. Or maybe a lot. Maybe a lot. Depending on the day.
- [12:06]
B
Exactly, exactly. Depending on the day.
- [12:09]
A
Yeah. I'm so happy I got to see Frida Kahlo the museum with you for the first time. I can't think of a better travel buddy to do it with.
- [12:16]
B
Oh, well, I. I loved it and I'm so glad you wanted to come.
- [12:19]
A
Oh, yeah, yeah, totally. Great.
- [12:21]
B
It was great.
- [12:22]
A
That's it. From the Frida Kahlo Museum. So after that, we decided what we really wanted to do was go shopping. And I'm going to tell you something. At one point, we had a tour guide. I'm taking full responsibility for this. Belinda is a very nice person. I felt like I was in. In an episode of Curb youb Enthusiasm. Sometimes you get these tour guides and they're like, so the. So, you know, this. This city was built on aqueducts, and the way they engineered them back then was blah, blah, blah. And, you know, you're just like. You're like. Your eyes are glazing over. You're like, I'm gonna. I'm gonna just, like, go. I'm just gonna fall over on my face. I'm so bored, you know? And we. And I kept trying to say to this tour guide, like, we're good. Like, we're good. Like, we got. We got a lot of history. Yesterday we just came from the museum. We want to go shopping. You know, we're just gonna go shopping and have some fun. You don't have to keep telling us stuff. It's totally cool. And she was like, yeah, cool. And then she started going again and again and again. And I literally said, like, I felt like I was Larry David. I really did. And, you know, I was like, listen, I said, we just want to go shopping. I'm going to be very shallow right now, okay? I don't care about history. I don't care about the act. Like, whatever. And so we went to this. We were looking for, like, a really authentic indoor Mexican market where, where, where locals shop, you know, where they spend their weekends. Cause this is where they spend their weekends. And you can buy everything there from like fresh fruit to electronics to like anything you want. It's there. So Arturo, our intrepid videographer and local, who knows, like, he's like a. He's like one of those middle aged men who's like, still a hipster. Like, they know everyone, they know where all the lovers are, they know who to talk to. So he took us to like one of the best. And it was no frills. And it's like, you know, you're moving in like these very narrow hallways and there's just like all this stuff. And like this older woman running a market, like, just kept giving us all this fresh fruit that was native to try, you know. Tracee Ellis Ross thought she was being really sophisticated when she went to an olive oil shop to buy olive oil so she could, she could bring home some, some. Some organic, authentic stuff. And she went into that shop. I'll never forget this. And you know, this is the wit and witticisms that come off the top of the head of one Tracee Ellis Ross, who loves to speak extemporaneously and say a lot of nothing. She says to the shopkeeper, you know what's really funny and interesting about me? Oh, my God, it's like nobody wants to hear ever when they meet a stranger. She goes, you know, I love olive oil. She loves trees, she loves hotel pools. She loves olive oil. How basic can you get? I love olives. Like, since I'm a child. My sister said I smelled like olive juice.
- [15:08]
B
So I also love olive oil.
- [15:10]
A
And the shopkeeper's like, oh, you know, the poor shopkeeper's like, this is clearly a very wealthy dumb American who's going to spend a lot of money at my store. So I got to tolerate this shit. And then Tracy buys like a bunch of really expensive, you know, specific to the region. Olive oil that you can't get in America. And she goes, yeah, can you ship it to Beverly Hills? And they're like, no. And she can't believe it. She can't believe that they won't ship, you know, rather than arranging her own shipping or whatever. But it seems she was without a personal assistant for that little jaunt. I don't know. But anyway, anyway, so we go to this incredible authentic indoor Mexican market. And Arturo brings us to the best food stalls. And again, like these places, if you're like, live in like New York, for example, it would be the equivalent of, like, plunking down. Just like, you know, a bodega in the Bronx. In these places, they're not fancy at all. But are they making real deal Mexican food that you're paying, like, four bucks for and you're dying over it? Yes, they are. So we're seated at one of these, and then behind us, there's this group of young men in a circle, and an old man is holding. Holding what looks like a World War II, like, radio, but there's a wire that they're all holding or they're all, like, somehow connected to it. And he keeps pushing this button and. And the boys keep, like, jumping up and, like, leaping and, like, yelling. And I was like, what is that? And Belinda goes, oh, that's a game that they all play in bars at, like, the end of a work day. They all get electrocuted, and it's fun for them. And I was like, how so? So? And she said, well, it's a way they. They prove their masculinity. And I said, we got to show it to the rest of the Western world, you know, where men are, like, in crisis. And it's like, what is a man? I think that's a man. And anyway, Belinda was like, I'll do it. I'll go join in the game. I mean, I was not going to do that. But Belinda is a far more intrepid traveler, as we saw earlier, than. Than I am. But so she jumped right in there with them. And. And, Yeah, and so then we skedaddled out of there and we gave them our preamble. Like, this is a show. We're in no way trying to insult your beautiful, incredible culture. We. We. We went downstairs and. And. And this restaurant, this space, I wish we had had time to really sit and eat there, because there were just these incredible everything, like Christmas in Mexico City. They do not play. I mean, it is huge. And there was actually a nativity scene that. You know, I'm not a practicing Catholic anymore, but this nativity scene was almost like sculpture. I wanted to bring it home. I really did. I knew it wouldn't travel well, like, either on my person or, like, being shipped, but it was so beautiful. And, you know, it reminds me, too, of the day before that I believe we had. We stumbled upon this place. I don't think it was planned, but this was a restaurant deep in a cave, like, in an ancient cave that you went down, I'm going to say, like, six to 10 stories to eat in the bottom of it. And Arturo made us try these things that like, we never would have even thought to order or that on it on like on paper would have sounded like, I don't think that's going to taste great. And he said, no, I'm going to order these things. You definitely have to try them. And we didn't. It was all amazing. And again, the wonder of travel, right? You're eating like authentic Mexican food inside an ancient cave. And a fire broke out in the cave, by the way. They had all these votive candles, all these votive candles on like different steps in the cave that had not been like modernized, you know. And we started smelling smoke and we just thought it was like the kitchen up above us where you could watch them cook. And then we looked over there and now there was a fire in full flame going and the waitstaff was totally calm. Like just some waiter strolled over and he had like a fire extinguisher and he went. And that was it. Everybody rolled on. You know, it wasn't like in America where everybody would have whipped out their iPhones and been like, oh my God, I narrowly escaped with my life. No, it wasn't like that at all. Today's show is sponsored by Cowboy Colostrum. Colostrum is the first milk that calves receive from their mothers after birth. It's often referred to as liquid gold because it is packed with proteins, natural growth factors and antimicrobials. Three factors that can enhance your immune response, reduce inflammation, repair and balance gut lining and reduce bloating. These can even make your skin and hair look amazing. Cowboy Colostrum offers the highest quality cow colostrum in the US and they don't process or overstrip their colostrum. They leave it whole with full fat and high protein for ultimate nutrient density. It is sourced from 100% grass fed cows here in the US with all natural ingredients and no artificial flavors. You can add cowboy Colostrum to your coffee or your smoothie. It's simple and it's easy to drink. I do it and I love it. You got a little frother and it's just a great whole little ritual. For a limited time, our listeners get up to 25% off their entire order. Just head to cowboycolostrum.com Maureen and use code MAUREEN at checkout. That's 25% off when you use code MAUREEN@cowboycolostrum.com SL MAUREEN and then after you purchase they are going to ask you where you heard about them. Please identify as a troublemaker and tell them that the nerve sent you. I really wanted to see two big religious spots. Our lady of Guadalupe, where I understand you can pronounce it both ways. Guadalupe or Guadalupe, where legend has it the Virgin Mary appeared to a humble worker, a man, a young man, and nobody believed him. And he wound up like crawling like miles to prove that it was a real visitation. And she is depicted in the church and in the souvenir shop as how she was said to appear to this worker, which was, as a Mexican woman, mind blowing. I love this stuff. Then we went to an ancient cathedral that dates back to the 1500s. And I'm not sure if it was Guadalupe or this cathedral, but Belinda was telling me there's a ritual in which believers literally crawl. Like it must have been Guadalupe, like they reenact that, that crawling. And you know, it's honestly part of the reason I'm no longer a practicing Catholic. There's a lot of mortification in that religion, A lot. Anyway, the cathedral that dates back from the 1500s, which this thing, mind blowing, it was like a major cathedral. And then attached to it were like other little churches inside the cathedral there was a wedding going on. It was incredible. But then when you exit the cathedral, there is a dig going on, an active archeological dig. And what they are digging out is an ancient pyramid. So you see the part of this pyramid that has now been dug out from the current surface and we're not sure how far down it goes. And it's basically attached to this church. And Belinda was saying that based on her reading, which she's come to understand in her travels, is that sacred spice. Excuse me. Sacred sites are often built upon ancient sacred sites. And sometimes it is a conscious thing a civilization does, and sometimes it's a wholly unconscious thing a civilization does. And when you see just the wildness of an ancient pyramid that is being excavated next to a centuries old Catholic church, you're just. Your mind is blown. It's blown. So the next day, this was something Belinda and her husband do just about every Sunday. And she really wanted me to experience it. So every Sunday morning it's called the Reforma, which is like just the main, main roadway in Mexico City. And it runs alongside the anthropological museum, which I had been encouraged to go to both by Belinda and the people at my hotel. And like, I just didn't have time to get it in because Belinda and I had to get massages. Because if we really wanted to travel like Tracee Ellis Ross, we had to be the kind of intrepid travelers that she was. And so would Tracee Ellis Ross have built in time to go to an anthropological museum? No. Would Tracee Ellis Ross have built in time to get a spa treatment at her hotel? Fuck yes. Okay. I went and got this massage despite my trepidation. And I was actually so nervous that Belinda came in to check in on me. And here's how that went. How nervous I am to embark on this. So why are you nervous? What?
- [25:12]
B
Why are you so nervous?
- [25:14]
A
Well, this is a spa I've never been to before with, like, a masseuse I've never had before.
- [25:19]
B
Oh, my God.
- [25:20]
A
I'm not even in the United States.
- [25:21]
B
Oh, my God. Don't freak me out, you know?
- [25:24]
A
I mean, this is. I'm pushing the envelope of my adventureness. My adventuresomeness. What's the word?
- [25:30]
B
Adventure?
- [25:31]
A
Sense of intrepid kid curiosity.
- [25:34]
B
I'm too tired. My brain can't. Won't function. But I don't. You know something?
- [25:38]
A
I wouldn't.
- [25:39]
B
I think we should just be cautious. Okay.
- [25:42]
A
Okay. So I think maybe we have a. A signal we send. We send to each other.
- [25:47]
B
If a ring two two R2, you can call me and give you, like two rings.
- [25:53]
A
Okay.
- [25:54]
B
Means that you're in trouble.
- [25:55]
A
Okay.
- [25:55]
B
And I'll be rushing in right away.
- [25:58]
A
Okay. And if it's three rings, you might want to call the embassy.
- [26:02]
B
Okay.
- [26:03]
A
Okay.
- [26:03]
B
Okay. Yeah.
- [26:04]
A
I'm not trying to be alarmist, but, you know. Okay. Good luck. Good luck with yours.
- [26:09]
B
I'll need it, I think.
- [26:10]
A
Thank you for checking on me.
- [26:11]
B
Okay.
- [26:14]
A
So anyway, we did the Reforma ride that morning and it was so fun. And this is so salient because one of the reasons we really wanted to do Mexico City first is because the messaging that we get in America, in North America, is that you would be crazy to go to Mexico. Okay. Unless you're like a Jennifer Aniston and you have a private plane and you have a private villain, you have security guards or whatever, you would be crazy to go because, like, it's run by the cartels and it's just violence and kidnappings and murders and all of this. Not so. Not so. Mexico City is one of the most vibrant, beautiful, culturally, historically significant places I have ever been. And there's something else about the city that is ineffable. And no amount of tourism writings or guidebooks will ever really convey. And that is what a joyous city it is. The people are happy and it transcends socioeconomic status. It really does. They are hardworking people. They are happy, happy people. I had so much fun when I was in Mexico City. It's impossible not to. It's impossible not to. And when you do that ride on the Reform in the morning, that bike ride, there are people out there on rollerblades, There are people out there running. There are people out there that we, we passed by a group class that was doing trampoline jumping on mini trampolines. And you're just, you're, you're, you're going through park. We went through a park that was as gorgeous as Central park in New York City. As gorgeous, as placid, as peaceful, as awe inspiring. It was such a great way to open up a day that was also going to be, sadly, our last day of travel. I could have stayed like another week. So then after that, we got really serious about our shopping. Like, really serious about our shopping. And for those of you who are wondering, by the way, about the rose gold sequin top I wore on a very recent nerve and the green sequined top I wore on a very recent nerve, we went shopping at a boutique that is owned by one of Belinda's friends. Belinda wore one of her dresses to an Elton John gala. And it's an incredible dress. It's a long white dress and it's got colorful beading all down the center of it. It just goes vertically, straight down. This friend of Belinda's, her name is Raquel Orozco. Her store is in a part of Mexico City called Polanco, which is an incredible space. It's like, it's, it's, it's, it's a really cool neighborhood. She makes this stuff and she'll make, she'll like customs customize stuff for you too, if you want it. And Belinda was also working with Raquel while I was trying on a bunch of stuff and spending too much money. But it was money well spent. You know, I have a shopping problem. So does Belinda. So another thing we have in common. So she was working with, with Raquel on a. On another possible creation for another big event she's got coming up. And I. You can shop Raquel's stuff on her website. If you happen to be in Mexico City, go to her boutique. Okay? You will not be sorry. This is an original eye and an original mind at work. So we did that. And Raquel could not have been lovelier either. She was really, really nice and really cool. We spoke for a bit. Oh, baby, this your. Is incredible. We're. We're dying. We're already. We've already. That's true. And Bonedisho Media, the dress she wore to Alpe Drama. Stunning.
- [30:03]
B
These are all your designs now, the.
- [30:05]
A
Design team or anything? Yeah. Oh, you do have a flower made by hand. Each of these flowers made by hand by Maxican Artisans. How long does it take to make a skirt like this? How long? I think it's maybe 15 days. 15 days? Yes, 15 days. It's a lot of work. So this, you've got other gorgeous dresses that are similar. What is the fabric? What are these made? Oh, my God. Yeah. For example, this is like. Oh, yeah, it's a coat. Yeah. Oh, that's stunning. Oh, look at that. Try it. I'll try it on. But for example, this is crepe. It's crepe. Yeah. Thank you very much. Oh, my goodness.
- [30:53]
B
Yes.
- [30:54]
A
Just her dressed in press or. It's stunning. Yeah, it's really. Wow.
- [31:01]
B
It's amazing.
- [31:02]
A
Here is coat. I'm ignorant black, but for me it's important. The color. The color for me is an expression. More tempo to see Mexico, because for New Mexico is color. Happiness. Yeah, happiness. I set some brilliant. It's a very happy city. Then to wrap out our last real event of the day. Before going for like a nice little end of day chat over like some beautiful macarons and coffees, Belinda was like, you've got to go see this thing with me that we love to do every, every Sunday at like 5 o' clock in the evening. This is like a real ritual there and it's a family oriented event which is wild. It's called Lucha libre and it's Mexican wrestling. And there are all different kinds of characters. There's female wrestling, we didn't see that. But they're like the thing about Mexican wrestling and none of this would ever fly in America and it's really too bad because the person who likes co ops this in America is going to make a lot of money. They really, really, really play it for laughs. Like they really lean into the characters that they're playing and some of them, you can tell they're like actually just being exaggerated versions of themselves. But there was like an amazing gay wrestler and he came in and he's. And they're all like, they all constantly throw each other out of the ring and then they're getting back in the ring and they're fighting, fighting everywhere and the crowd is laughing and the kids are loving it. And with the gay wrestler, like, you know, he was always getting jumped from behind because he was a little too worried about his hair, you know, and. And like he was preening and he had like, like a spandex. Costume on with, like, one leg cut off so you could see, like, you know, his, his muscly, like, waxed leg. And then there was another wrestler who was a little person wrestler and again, would never fly in America. And when I tell you, everybody was having the most fun and laughing and including, like, the wrestlers were having a hard time keeping a straight, choose to lean into it. Every Mazda is engineered to give you.
- [33:31]
B
Effortless control.
- [33:35]
A
Awake, up face. That was incredible. So then after that, we went back into town to see all of the Christmas lights, to talk about the trip and to talk about our favorite moments. And I, I loved this exchange that we had because this actually kind of surprised me too. You know, Belinda and I are new friends, and we talk pretty much like, over voice memo or, you know, online or, you know, but this was the time, this was the, the first time we had actually spent, like, sustained amount of days with each other. And, you know, they always say the test of any real friendship or relationship is travel with that person, you know, And I, I, I really, when I was talking to her about the things that I really loved, like, I kind of took me by surprise, but it was absolutely true. And I, I told her this, and it was a great part of our conversation. Here we go. Mexico City is incredibly beautiful, and it feels very European, and it's just mind blowing. I actually don't want to leave. I would love to stay another few days. And you know, the other thing I just want to say, like, one of my favorite real parts, you know, yesterday we spent a lot of time driving back and forth in the car, and really one of my favorite parts was just chatting with you for, like, hours.
- [35:03]
B
In the backseat, just sitting and looking out the window and then go, oh, yeah, you know. Oh, my God. Yeah, it was great. I love spending time with you.
- [35:12]
A
I do, too.
- [35:13]
B
It's wonderful.
- [35:14]
A
So fun, and I'm so happy I now have, like, a real, A real travel pal who loves travelers and friends. No, a real friend, you know, I don't know if you noticed this. I noticed it. I think by day three, I noticed it. Like, every time we would meet up in the morning, we were wearing the same color palette.
- [35:32]
B
I didn't notice that.
- [35:34]
A
When you'll look, it's like, day one, we had, like, tan sweaters and, like, the same wash jean. Day two, we had, like, black, same wash, jeans, sneakers. Today we're both wearing designer flats. Not for nothing.
- [35:47]
B
Oh, that is hysterical.
- [35:49]
A
Isn't that funny?
- [35:50]
B
That is really funny.
- [35:52]
A
So it was, it was such a.
- [35:53]
B
Yeah, I was I was a bit done with the trainers.
- [35:56]
A
Me, too.
- [35:56]
B
It was not my thing, really.
- [35:58]
A
Me too. But, yeah, it was just. It was the most fun.
- [36:02]
B
Yeah, it was great. I love seeing the place where I live through somebody's eyes who's never been here before. Yeah, it makes it really fun for me and showing. I mean, I love. I love the culture and the people are just so wonderful and friendly. I mean, it's. It's. I can't say enough about how great Mexico is.
- [36:22]
A
I don't think there's a better ambassadress for Mexico City than Belinda Carlisle, who got recognized, by the way, at wrestling. I know.
- [36:30]
B
That's a. That's a first. That is hysterical. That's. That's. Yeah, I didn't see that, but, Morgan.
- [36:35]
A
I didn't see that either, but your husband caught it. Yeah. It's so funny. All in all, Belinda and I both felt like the trip was a huge success. That as joint troublemakers, we accomplished everything we pretty much set out to accomplish. And that if you guys like our episodes, we would like to bring you more. And so we have a question for you. Here we go. We're not aware of any travel shows that are done by two women traveling together.
- [37:11]
B
No, that's true. That's true. I can't think. I can think of solo females, but no two women together that can, you know, have different points of view and laugh about things.
- [37:23]
A
And laugh about things. And, you know, traveling as a woman is so different. If you're a man, you can travel through the world differently. You don't think twice about a lot of stuff, but women move through the world differently. And so we've. We've loved bringing you this. And we are thinking if you guys liked this as much as we loved doing it, we have ideas for a potential second destination. Right, Belinda, do you want to start with. We have three.
- [37:55]
B
The first one being the Galapagos Islands.
- [37:58]
A
Yes. Both of us are obsessed with the Galapagos and have never been.
- [38:02]
B
Yes. Number two.
- [38:05]
A
Oh, well, before we get into number two, if we go to the Galapagos, it's not just about the animals.
- [38:10]
B
No. It's about the murder.
- [38:12]
A
The murders that took place. Or I don't know how many there were.
- [38:16]
B
I think I just know of the one of that socialite that was murdered. But who knows? Maybe there's more.
- [38:23]
A
Who knows, maybe there's more. And there's like, there's a murder hotel. It's run by the descendants of the utopians who tried to build their own paradise there in the 20s, so murder and exotic animals. Number one, Galapagos.
- [38:40]
B
Number two would be Egypt. Right, Egypt. And not going with, like, a normal sort of tour group kind of thing, Right, Exactly.
- [38:50]
A
Not normal tours at all. We want to do this. Our idea for travel and the way both of us love to travel is everything you would never see in a travel guide. Travelocity.
- [39:02]
B
Exactly. And there's so many new discoveries that are being made right now on the Giza Plateau and that the academia doesn't.
- [39:11]
A
Really want to talk about regarding the pyramids. Yeah.
- [39:14]
B
So there's, like, a lot of amazing sort of esoteric researchers and art archaeologists out there who are making amazing discoveries. So we're gonna find one of those guys to go with.
- [39:26]
A
Yeah. One of Belinda's hot guys from YouTube. And then also there's the newly opened Egyptian Museum, full of artifacts, mummies, antiquities that have never before been seen. They just opened after decades of developing this thing. So we want to bring you that.
- [39:51]
B
We do, we do.
- [39:53]
A
And then our third is a really, really interesting one. It's very tantalizing to me.
- [39:59]
B
It's south of France, starting in, like, a glam capital like Cannes and working our way southwest towards Toulouse through Cathar country in search of Mary Magdalene.
- [40:14]
A
Where you told me there is.
- [40:16]
B
There's a basilica there, the Basilica of Saint Maximin, where it's not marked. It's really weird. And I discovered it around. What was that? Da Vinci Code. And if you go to this. This basilica, there's a sign with it says crypt. You go down the crypt and you walk through to the end, and it lights up and there's a skull and. And a vial of skin, old, leathery skin from Mary Magdalene with Saint Maximin on one side and Saint Sidouin on the other side. And it's fascinating to me because I don't. I mean, why isn't that not. Why don't people know about that? And then if you go that whole south of France west towards the Camargue and towards Toulouse, there's a lot of really strange stuff there.
- [41:02]
A
A lot of really strange stuff. Interesting stuff. It's Da Vinci Code stuff, but even deeper and darker and more fascinating. So that's the kind of stuff we really would get into. And also we love to go find catacombs. Catacombs. Did I say that correctly? Catacombs.
- [41:19]
B
Catacombs. And there's also an amazing cave there that it wouldn't fly in America because people would say this. It's. You can fall pretty easily, but if you go towards the back you pass graffiti from, like the 1400s, and you go to the back of the cave. It's like cavernous. It's huge. It's like fairyland. You know, staggerites and lakes. I mean, it's. It's wild. And you go to the back of the cave, and there's ancient cave paintings that look like Mark Chagall.
- [41:50]
A
Like Chagalls. Oh, my God. So those are our three potential destinations. Galapagos, Egypt, south of France. Da Vinci Code stuff. You guys should vote. Tell us where you want us to go next, and we will come back to you with the results.
- [42:10]
B
Yes, we're excited.
- [42:12]
A
Belinda. What a trip. What a trip.
- [42:15]
B
I'm so glad you enjoyed it. I knew you were gonna. I knew you were gonna love was really, really fun for me. And I wish you were staying a couple days longer.
- [42:24]
A
Yeah, me too.
- [42:24]
B
There's so much stuff to do here.
- [42:26]
A
But there's always another trip to take. So you tell us where we're gonna go. So there you have it. We're going to post this as a poll on our social media. You can go vote over at the Nerve show or at Maureen Callahan, writer. Go chime in. Also on Belinda's IG, she is travels with Mrs. Mason. Where should we go next? Should it be the Galapagos? Should it be Egypt? Or should it be the spookier side of the south of France? Let us know. And that's it. That's it for our first edition of the Nervy Traveler. We hope you had as much fun watching it as we had making it. See you next year in, like, five days at the Nerve, where you will never guess what we're about to say next. The new year is just around the corner, as we know, but there is no space in my life. This is true for punishing resolutions. I don't believe in resolutions, okay? I prefer to focus on the positives. Self care is a major positive. And I love Oso body lotion. It is great for everything. Whether you have, like, a little bit of creepiness on your neck or your upper arms, it's gonna help really, really ameliorate all of that stuff. I mean, I love it. My skin feels denser. It gets like a sort of bouncy feel. And what makes one skin different is the science at the core. Core is their patented, patented, excuse me, OS01 peptide. The first ingredient proven to target senescent cells, which are the root cause of wrinkles, creepiness, and loss of elasticity, which are all key signs of skin aging. These results have been validated in five different clinical studies. Certified safe for sensitive skin Once skin products are free from over 1500 harsh or irritating ingredients. Dermatologist tested and has been awarded the National Eczema Association Seal of Acceptance by the nea, Delivering powerful results without irritation for a limited time. One skin is making it even easier to stay consistent with up to 30% off your first three subscription orders when you use Code Nerve at Oneskin co. Slash nerve. That's up to 30% off with code Nerve. After you purchase, they'll ask where you heard about them. Please tell them you are a troublemaker and the nerve sent you. Real talent is defined by what people can do, not where they learn to do it. So by stopping at the education section of a resume, you might throw away the perfect Hire Skills first. Hiring helps you see talent others miss. Like more than 70 million stars skilled through alternative routes, let their story unfold and gain a competitive advantage because hiring managers who start with skills are 60% more likely to find a successful hire. Hire skills first. Learn why@tearthepaperceiling.org brought to you by OpportunityAtWork and the Ad Council.