Weekend Coffee Share is a time for us to take a break out of our lives and enjoy some time catching up with friends (old and new)!

If I was having coffee with you I’d tell you, that I’m watching (or came from just watching) Notre Dame in flames. It’s shocking to see such a beautiful, iconic building destroyed. I’m watching France 24, the English French news channel now.

I’d then change the subject to my weekend. Saturday a friend came down from Milwaukee and we went on walking tour of the Pilsen neighborhood, which is known for its colorful murals. First we started with lunch at Rabanitos Restaurant and Taqueria, fitting as the neighborhood is primarily Hispanic. After lunch we had time to explore the National Museum of Mexican Art. (Some on Trip Advisor rightly point out that most of the collection and the exhibits are by Mexican-American artists.) We loved the vibrant art that ranged from Pre-Colombian to today with most of the pieces by contemporary artists.

The walking tour itself was terrific. I wish it were longer so we could have seen more. I’m already planning to take friends back to Pilsen. I know they’ll love it. I highly recommend tourists see Pilsen in addition to the downtown sights.

I’d mention that I went to my Great Books Discussion this morning. We read a passage from Tocqueville. For background I listened to In Our Times, the BBC liberal arts radio show’s Tocqueville episode. If you like the arts, science or history, I highly recommend In Our Times. They gather great experts and tackle fascinating areas of world literature, culture, philosophy and science. The radio program taught me that Tocqueville was an aristocrat and was interested in visiting America to get a sense of the society’s aristocracy, i.e. he wanted to find out how to preserve his class’ standing. His English wasn’t terrific so misunderstood some of what he was told. Nonetheless his insights are interesting, but should be taken with a grain of salt, as is the case with most such works.

I’m reading Andrew Klavan’s memoir The Great Good Thing, about his spiritual story of growing up as a secular Jew and eventually converting to Christianity. Klavan is an exceptional writer and I’ll pick up one of his suspense/crime novels soon.

I’ve got to mail off my taxes. I should have mailed them on Friday, not knowing how long the lines are today. I did go this morning, but just didn’t have the time to wait.

How was your week? Share highlights or links to your blog post below.