Mexico City

For Spring Break this year I went to Mexico City with a friend. I loved it! The capital has so much to offer compared to the rest of Mexico - it's modern and has tons of things to see and do. On the first day we took the 5 hour busride and arrived in the late afternoon. Later we rode a tourbus around the city. It was cool to see all the buildings lit up at night.

The second day we visited the Basilica. It's located on a hill on the edge of the city and apart from being beautiful itself, it has a beautiful view of the city. That day there was also a little earthquake in the city! Kelly and I were in the hotel room and for about 10 seconds we felt the ground move and the light fixture and doors sway. It was no big deal (no buildings fell and no one was hurt) and happens a lot in the capital since the city sits on top of 2 plates. But still - what an experience!

Another great thing about Mexico city is the subway system. Kelly and I rode it everywhere - we never took a taxi! It's very efficient and can take you anywhere you need to go. Plus, it wasn't dangerous (there are actually different sections for women and men).

On the third day Kelly and I went to 4 museums. The first one was Bellas Artes. There they had a special exhibit on an artist I really like called Botero. Look up his work - I think you'll find it humorous! Next we went to a musuem that features a mural by the famous Mexican artist Diego Rivera. Later we went to the National History Museum which is located in an old castle! It's called Chapultepec Castle and the USA fought there during the Mexican-American War of 1846-48. Finally we went to the Anthropology Museum. It's very nice, but I think Kelly and I would've appreciated it more if we were Mexican, hehe.

On the last day we explored Templo Mayor: the ruins of an Aztec pyramid that is located in the middle of downtown. It was cool to see the remains of something 500 years old, and archeologists are still excavating the site and discovering new things! After that we went to Coyoacan, a southern part of the city that is quiet and has a lot of trees. There, we visited the blue house where Frida Kahlo grew up and later lived with Diego Rivera. Finally, we went back downtown to watch the Mexican army take down the huge flag in the main plaza (they take it down everyday at 6pm and raise it at 8am). It was quite a procession.

I really enjoyed my time in Mexico City, and hope to return in the future to see even more of what it has to offer.