The National Palace

Even though the visit to the pyramids was long and tiring, it was only part of the agenda for the day. If we skipped lunch, we could get to the next destination on the list, the Palacio Nacional, before it closed for the day.

The National Palace fills the east side of the zocalo. It contains the offices of the president, the Federal Treasury and the famous Diego Rivera murals. As one would imagine, the palace is heavily guarded with soldiers carrying machine guns. I was too nervous to even take out my camera! The murals along the main staircase occupy five immense panels. They were painted by Rivera from 1929- 1935 and show the history of Mexico from Quetzalcoatl to after the revolution. There are also nine panels along the north and east wall that depict indigenous life before the Spanish Conquest. Several of these panels were covered for restoration work, but the remaining were detailed and glorious.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Palace_%28Mexico%29

Teotihuacan- Piramide del Sol

To get to the great, ancient city of Teotihuacan, we hired a driver and upon arriving hired a tour guide for an hour. There was a light drizzle and overall gray sky. Not great weather, but the crowds were small! Our guide explained that the city began in the early part of the first century AD. The Piramide del Sol was completed first, in 150 consecutive years. (The guide explained that researchers believe the Pyramid to the Sun was originally red and gold, colors created from native plants.) The rest of the city developed between AD 250 and 600 with a citadel, temples, and pyramid. However, by the 8th century, what was once Mesoamerica's greatest city, collapsed, and the civilization vanished.

The Pyramid of the Sun is the third largest pyramid in the world. (The largest is in Egypt and the second largest is also in Mexico.) It is possible to climb to the top of the pyramid- 248 steps to get an aerial view of Teotihuacan. Of course, I had to make the climb along with all the other visitors! It was a bit unnerving- wet stones, narrow steps, hand railings only part of the way. Plus, I have a bad case of vertigo. According to custom, once you climb to the top, you look up to the heavens, extend your arms upward, close your eyes, and absorb the mystical energy from the sun. Even though it was rainy, we put down our umbrellas to follow this custom. Once we took a couple of pictures, we were faced with getting back down to level ground. The really eerie thing about the construction of the pyramid is that you cannot see the steps from the uppermost landing. When you look toward the edge, it looks as if the platform just ends and you'll take a step into air. My strategy was to keep looking down, and repeat "one step at a time" until I reached the bottom. It worked!

The two large pyramids (Piramide del Sol y Piramide de la Luna) are connected by a long avenue, Calzada de los Muertos. The Avenue of the Dead got its name from the Aztecs, who believed that the great buildings alongside the avenue were tombs. After the adventure and sore legs from climbing the sun pyramid, I was happy to just look at the Pyramid to the Moon. Throughout the grounds are vendors selling all sorts of memorabilia- woven cloths, obsidian figurines, beaded jewelry, toys. Even the rain did not deter their efforts to get me to buy something. This time, I resisted.

Museums and Mezcal in Mexico

The Museo Nacional de Antropologia and Castillo de Chapultepec are in the neighborhood called Roma, about a 15 minute cab ride from my hotel in the zocalo. The museum is new- built in the 1960's. In the interior courtyard, a large stone fountain that seems to be raining onto the concrete rises up out of the center. The twelve halls (salas) that surround the courtyard have a wall of glass that faces into the courtyard. It's all very modern looking which creates a striking juxtaposition to the ancient artifacts inside the ground-floor rooms. On display are temples, stone carvings, a replica of Teotihuacan, and the famous sun stone (incorrectly called the "Aztec Calendar"). A surprising aspect of the museum is that when I wandered to the far side of each hall, there are doors that lead to outdoor exhibit spaces containing additional temples and carvings in a "natural" setting. All the spaces, indoors and out, were impeccably maintained- not a smudge on the glass, speck of dust on the floor, or weed in the garden.

Across from the museum is Bosque de Chapultepec, Mexico City's largest park. There are lakes, a zoo, broad avenues for strolling, and many, many vendors. It contains the current presidential residence as well as a former imperial palace called Castillo de Chapultepec. I walked through the avenue of vendors thinking it would lead directly to the castle. It did not. "Donde es el castillo?" I asked several times before I finally headed almost all the way back to the main entrance to find the castle. It's difficult to believe, but you can't easily spot the castle if you're just strolling along! A long uphill road leads to the top. Then, there are magnificent views of the city, as well as lavish furnishings inside the castle. While it's not as large as the Biltmore House in Asheville, North Carolina, it is more ornate. I would be happy to occupy Carlota's bedroom and adjoining bath!

For all of the above touring I was on my own, but by late afternoon my student Jay and his girlfriend arrived by car so we could head out together for Friday drinks and dinner. Our first stop was to a mezcalaria. Mezcal is made from the agave (or maguey) that is abundant in Mexico. It is like tequila, though a bit less refined and smokey to my taste. Often, a bottle of mezcal contains a worm. The mezcal is served in a shot glass along with a plate of orange slices sprinkled with chili powder. The idea is to take a sip of the mezcal and then eat an orange slice. Somehow, the orange with the chili soothes the taste of the mezcal. While Jay is a big fan of mezcal and seems to have a goal of sampling many of the possible varieties, I was happy to have a beer!

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mezcal

http://www.mezcal.com/

D.F. Mexico, Day 1

During this adventure in Mexico, I was partly on my own and partly in the company of an old student and his girlfriend. The student is part of a family I have known for many years, and after a few conversations and emails, we worked out a plan. I arrived at Terminal Two at the airport in Mexico City midday on July 22. This terminal is modern and efficient, so I had a quick and smooth transition into this new country. From my student, I had detailed instructions on how to correctly arrange a cab so I would select one that was government regulated. All went well and within an hour I was in the lobby of the Holiday Inn Zocalo, in the middle of the historic district, the Plaza de la Constitucion.

Determined to get out before the rain, I walked across the square to see the Catedral Metropolitana with its huge gilded altar. It felt good to be out in the cool air after such hot weather in NJ! But, I was hungry and soon headed to the hotel's sixth floor outdoor terrace for pozole (corn soup) and quesadillas.

At 6:30 my student, Jay, met me for dinner. We walked a few blocks out of the heart of the historic district where traffic is horrendous and picked up a cab to get to the trendy neighborhood of Condessa. There we ate at his favorite restaurant, La Capital. Somewhere between lunch and dinner, my view of Mexican food completely changed. Again and again throughout the week, I would feel that someone had been holding out on me because Mexican food in Mexico is nothing like Mexican food that I have eaten in the United States.

http://www.opentable.com/la-capital

Pre-History/Pre-Mexico

Hola mi amigos!

I'm writing this post a week after returning from Mexico. I didn't blog when I was away, but did send a few emails about my activities. Now, time to "formalize" the writing.

This first entry is called "pre-history" and essentially refers to me because before I went to Mexico, I knew very little about the history of this country: there was a revolution; there are ruins; many people travel to the beach resorts on the coasts; there are drug cartels and killings; it's the homeland of Rivera and Kahlo, two artists of which I knew some biographical information. I don't speak Spanish and before I went to Mexico, I didn't love Mexican food. You might wonder why I went? Simple: it's long been on my list of travel destinations and a perfect opportunity arose.

To start: Mexico City is one of the largest cities in the world, with a population close to 22 million people. In Mexico, there are 31 states and one federal district (Mexico City). Often in writing the city is referred to as D.F. (Distrito Federal). I read that the city itself is 30 times the size of Manhattan and the country three times the size of Texas.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mexico
http://www.state.gov/r/pa/ei/bgn/35749.htm