Mexico City

Hi All,

Sorry it's been a while but I haven't really been home for a little more than a week.

Let's start with my weekend in Mexico City...

We left for Mexico city on July 24th at like 8:00AM. We got there around 1:30 or 2:00 and then had lunch before being able to check into our hostel across the street. Where we stayed was in the main Zocalo area which is close to a bunch of interesting sites. First we went to the Templo Mayor which are old Aztec ruins right in the middle of the city. That was pretty interesting & I also learned here that Mexico City is actually built on a lake, so there are various places around it that are sinking.

Templo Mayor

After that we headed to the Palacio Nacional which was about a 5 minute walk away. This is where the President comes ever Independence Day and gives a big speech and rings the bell of Miguel Hidalgo. Also inside are many paintings by Diego Rivera - I absolutely loved this. Not only is his style unique but he painted about such political issues, it's really interesting to depict what is represented through his paintings. It is also where his famous painting "Historia de Mexico" is. If you don't know what it looks like, check it out on google...it's incredible. It basically covers 3 sides of this huge wall when you are walking up to the second level. The only bummer was that it was covered up mostly due to renovation...I really wish I could've seen the whole complete painting.

Inside the Palacio Nacional

Painting by Diego Rivera

Then our last stop for the day was the Catedral in the Zocalo. I'm always a little bummed to mention that I'm a little tired of seeing Cathedrals after going to so many in Europe when I was in high school. Regardless, this was another huge one with many small chapels along the sides. The main altar is also amazing....it's made out of gold and has the most intricate detail I've seen in a while. What is interesting is that there is this thing that hangs down from the middle of the Cathedral that determines the exact middle of the building due to it sinking every now and again from the lake.

Cathedral in the Zocalo

By the time 7:00 rolled around we had free-time for the rest of the night. Some friends and I had a few drinks at the hostel...well more than a few you could probably say haha. Plenty of 40 oz. bottles as well as many mojitos. Later in the night we decided to walk to a bar. After wandering around for a while, we found one that looked promising so we headed upstairs. Immediately after sitting down with my beer, some guys asked us to dance, so of course we did since it doesn't seem very polite to decline a dance request. The guy I danced with was really patient and was trying really hard to teach me the steps....I still am not very good, but I can only hope to get better after spending many months here.

The next day we departed from the hostel early for an all-day city tour. First we found ourselves at the Plaza de las Tres Culturas and the Basilica de Guadalupe. This was a big place with many cathedrals, and of course the Basilica which was incredible. Imagine a huge church that seems like it was built in the 1970's. It was great however because we got to see the actual picture of the Virgen de Guadalupe; if you don't know the story about her, you should check it out on Wikipedia or something, she's really iconic here...I think every house has her image in the front lawn or somewhere like that.

Basilica de Guadalupe

Virgen de Guadalupe

Then, we headed to this Onyx Store where we first learned about different types of Agave plants. After, the whole group had 3 different shots - one was a type of sweet tequila, one was mezcal, and I can't remember the other. We also learned a little about rocks, which was a little boring at the time so I can't really tell you much about it...maybe I have ADD? We had a really great, home-cooked, lunch here before we proceeded to the Piramides de Teotihuacan.

The two main pyramids here are called Sol (sun) and Luna (moon). The sol is a lot bigger than the luna and we had the opportunity to climb both of them. It wasn't too bad going up, but the descent was pretty steep so you had to watch your step or hold onto the ropes. After reaching the top of the sol pyramid, my friends and I sat up there for probably a half hour, just relaxing and looking down at everything...it was perfect. I think this is when it finally hit me that I am in Mexico (okay, so it only took a few weeks!).

Me with Luna in the Background

On top of Sol

Free time came around 6:00 and we decided not to go out again since Sunday would be another early morning. Instead, we just stayed at the hostel for a while and had a few drinks. We were all pretty tired so no one minded having a chill night.

Sunday was our final day in Mexico City and we only had a couple of things planned. First we went to the Frida Kahlo's Casa Azul (blue house). This was the house that her and Diego Rivera lived in for part of their lives and it is filled with their artwork. Unfortunately we were only able to take pictures on the outside, but let me tell you, both of their artwork is incredible. My friend Sarah and I were the last ones to exit out of the group because we literally looked at everything.

After the Casa Azul we went for lunch at Xochimilco, which is a river that you take these flat boats down. After sitting down, we were on our way and lunch was being passed around the table (of course a bucket of beer was included as well). We came upon a boat with a Mariachi Band, so they serenaded us pretty much the whole time; we all had a really great time and the food again was amazing. We were on the river for a little less than an hour and after we headed back to Guanajuato.

Casa Azul

Boats at Xochimilco

Our director Karen told us before leaving that we would all be happy to return to Guanajuato because it will feel like we are coming back "home". I have to say, she was definitely right. Although it's always nice to get away for a while, it always feels good to go home, and coming back from Mexico City made me realize that now it really feels like home here.