Mexico City

I'm going to go back to the beginning of the race trip to Mexico this past October, starting with our 2-day stay in Mexico City. Because I didn't put many photos in the blog during the race, I'm going to re-post the posts but with more photos and adding more stories. So here we go:

Arrived in Mexico City Friday afternoon. What a beautiful city! I may not have said that a few months ago when H1N1 was the hot topic and breathing masks were en vogue. However, I felt like I was in Europe. It is a very large city with 8.8 million inhabitants. We are staying in the business district right on Paseo de la Reforma, a broad, tree-lined, monument studded, 6-8 laned boulevard fashioned after the Champs Elysees in Paris.

Paseo de la Reforma is 12 kms long running in a straight line cutting diagnally across the city. It has several large roundabouts with large monuments, one of the most famous is the Angel de la Independencia. She is bronze (originally gold, but that one fell down in the earthquake of 1957 which majorly rocked Mexico City). She represents Winged Victory, built in 1910 to celebrate the centennial of Mexico's Independence. The base contains the tombs of several key figures in Mexico's war of independence.

It has become a popular gathering place for both celebrations and protests. In the brief while that we were there we saw 3 different Quinceanera parties taking pictures.
Mom and Dad discussing the monument

The food was FABULOUS. Last night we dined at Villa Maria in the Polenco district (hip, nice neighborhood). Had a phenomenal margarita - Margarita Tamarindo. I don't even know how to describe the taste, you will just have to goto Mex City to try it. The best part is that it was so big that I almost had to hold it with 2 hands!

The food was DELISH. We had to try the chiles rellenos and tortilla soup everywhere we went.

We stayed at the Four Seasons, right on Paseo de la Reforma. I'm sure it would normally cost a herd of donkeys to stay there, but since Mexico is trying to promote tourism Dad got a killer deal on the rooms. Only ended up costing one donkey. It was so nice and peaceful that we didn't mind spending time in the hotel, especially for a few meals.

This is looking down at the courtyard from our room

Dad and Mom enjoying some Mexican Coffee at the hotel

Outside of the hotel on the sidewalk on Reforma was an open air market with venders selling plants and flowers.

Dia de los Muertos was coming up so there were lots of merigolds for sale

On Sunday we had a great tour of the historic (well, one of the historic parts) part of town to see the Government Palace, the zocolo (town square) and the cathedral. The Government Palace is home to beautiful murals by Diego Rivera depicting Mexico's complex history and colorful people. We were very moved by the stories of the paintings and details that Rivera painted are amazing.

The Palacio National has been the official seat of the Mexican government ever since the Aztec empire was in power from 1325 to the year 1521. It sits on the Plaza de la Constitucion (the Zocalo). In addition to being the seat of the federal government, the National Palace Mexico City also houses the Federal Treasury, the National Archives and the president's offices.

The palace was built where Moctezuma's palace had stood. Like most of Mexico City, the floor level is still shifting and sinking, as seen in the above photo.

Although most sections of the building have been remodeled through the years, the murals of twentieth-century artist Diego Rivera remain in their original states. The murals were painted over a period of 25 years and depict various scenes from the history of Mexico as seen through Rivera's eyes.

The murals include the subjects of The Epic of the Mexican People, the life of the Aztec god Quetzalcóatl, the Market of Tlatelolco, the Arrival of Hernán Cortés in Veracruz, the Mexican Revolution and the mixing of the Spanish with the native.

This is the view from the patio of the Best Western Hotel Majestic,where we enjoyed lunch, on the Plaza de la Constitucion (the Zocalo) looking at the Catedral Metropolitana de la Asunción de María and the Palacio National. The cathedral is the largest and oldest cathedral in the Americas, built in sections from 1573 to 1813.

The Cathedral is beautiful, emphazing the Mexican people's devotion to the Virgen de Guadalupe.

What is really interesting about this city is that most of it is sinking. It is said that the city sinks approximately 6 inches per year! It is really noticible on some streets where the sidewalks are 20 feet below street level. We felt the slant when we were walking from one side of the cathedral to the other and some doors and doorways are very crooked.

We're off to Huatulco next. We're in for a major temperature change. It has been 70 and cloudy here in Mex City and it will be 92 with 60 percent humidity. At least we will be at the beach!