Our first
morning in Mexico City started with a little walk through the city center, from
the hotel through the Alameda Central park to get to a café, which Emmanuel had
recommended for breakfast. Typically Mexican and very popular, but we quickly
got at table and ordered orange juice, a tamale, and eggs with beans. We also
got bread (with and without chili!) and butter for our delicious meal. And
coffee for Sofie, of course!
Afterwards
our tour continued to Zócalo, where we hardly got to the catedral, before a guy
asked us if we were interested in a guided tour. He dragged to the guide, and
old man speaking fairly good English, and we asked for the price – 100 pesos.
We decided it wouldnt hurt with some historical introduction to the church, and
accepted to offer. The cathedral is build on top of old Aztec ruins in an
island in an ancient lake, and as the ground is unstable, the building has been
sinking for many years. Hence the floor and walls of the church make you feel
somewhat sea sick while walking around inside! Special expeirence… The catedral
is very beautiful, and the guide took us around to the different shrines and
told us some things about the traditions and history. When finishing the church
he took us to an excavation site just behind the church, where the Aztec
buildings are being dug out. Like Vicente mentioned the other day: “It’s a
dilemma; should the historical buildings build on top of the even older
buildings be compromised to learn more about the ancient history?” We decided
not to visit the site itself, but the guide’s introduction to the nearby
Presidential palace and its murals by Diego Riviera convinced us to join him
there as well, for no extra charge. He showed us around in the magnificent
buildings, and told us about the Mexican history based on the murals. Really a
well-spent couple of hours and money! J
Again
outside we checked out the public transportation system by taking a trip with
the metro. Costs 3 pesos pr. trip and is easy to navigate, though rather hot
and crowded. We went to Chapultepec where there is large park and lake, and we
had lunch in a place that was a hybrid between a street vendor and a
restaurant. Considering how hungry we both were, it felt worth the risk of poor
hygiene! And for the record, none of us had any problems afterwards! ;) For
dessert I dug out two Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups, slightly smashed, but very
delicious! :D Then back home with the metro to take a nap before meeting
Emmanuel for dinner 19.30.
The nap was
not the world’s best idea, as we both woke up feeling exhausted. No wonder for
Sofie, whom with jetlag would feel like it was 2 AM. Anyway, we grabbed another
metro, and waited for a while for Emmanuel, who’s phone stopped working so he
didn’t know we were waiting. When he picked us up we went to a restaurant/bar
with some of his colleagues, to celebrate a birthday. We had a bit of food and
some entertainment from a magician, who did a really good job in making us
astonished by his tricks! Around 11 PM we gave into the tiredness, and Emmanuel
took us home.
Saturday
morning started again too early, this time with breakfast in the hotel café –
cheese omelettes with bread and jam and juice. At 9 AM Emmanuel picked us up to
take us to the nearby ruins in Teotihuacan, app. 1 hour drive outside the city.
It was a warm and sunny day, so we were soaked in sunscreen! Well, Emmanuel
wasn’t, and got slightly sunburned… :) The
ruins were very impressive, and arriving before the loads of tourists from the
city arrived in large busses some hour later allowed us some space in the
beginning. Very nice! We climbed all the different buildings and enjoyed the
view, though also feeling the exercise in our muscles! At a souvenir place I
found on of the Mexican things I had already planned to bring home: a large
ceramic sun in orange-reddish colours! Its really nice and will fit well in my
living room! Also I got 3 little similar suns, and I am really looking forward
to see them at home! I hope they will survive the trip…
Home by 5
and going out for dinner at 7, we had a bit of time to rest and shower to get
rid of the dust! At 7 we grabbed the metro once again, and went for dinner with
Emmanuel and two of his friends. We were in Coyoacan in a really nice
restaurant serving mescal (similar to tequila, but stronger). With our dinner
we had mescal drinks, mine with pulparindo. More special than delicious… Same
goes for the guacamole we got, served with fried crushed grasshoppers… Yes,
really. And they didn’t tell us what it was till we had tried it! Didn’t taste
like much, though afterwards I really didn’t feel like eating more of them,
recognizing legs and bodies on top of the otherwise delicious guacamole… After
dinner we went to a salsa club to dance a bit. Not that either Sofie or I are
very strong dancers, but with the 3 guys we really had a lot of fun! We didn’t
keep track of time, and I was surprised to see that it was 3 AM when we finally
got home!
Though I am
usually not so good with big cities, I must say that I got quite a good
impression of Mexico City. Maybe because of our personal guide and driver, I
don’t know – we just had a really nice couple of days!
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