Recap: Mexico City

It has been a fairly busy couple of weeks down here in Mexico.  Trying to cover everything in one post would be information overload, so I will probably break things down into a couple of different posts over the weekend.  However before we get to the recap of the events of the past few weeks, a soccer note.  Mexico is most certainly in the thick of World Cup fever.  The past few weeks of group play have been exciting and the Cup seems to be the primary topic of conversation for just about everyone.  Even us Americans at the language school find ourselves trying to sneak a peek at games during our breaks or even during class every now and then.  I figure if the commentators are speaking in Spanish, it counts towards learning Spanish.  With group play now over things have intensified as the tournament enters its elimination rounds.  The US bowed out this morning against Ghana and the Mexicans play tomorrow against Argentina, which will certainly be interesting to watch/experience.  The rest of this post will cover Chris and I's trip to Mexico City last weekend.  Yes there are pictures and again I will put them up once I get home and find my cable.

Last weekend Chris and I ventured to Mexico City for a whirlwind trip.  We left on a bus at 11:30 PM Friday night and got into Mexico City just about 6 AM Saturday morning.  Before any of you conjure up images of a horrible Greyhound trip it needs to be noted that there are actually some extremely nice bus lines down here in Mexico, some might even say luxurious.  The bus line we took from Guadalajara to Mexico City and back certainly fit into this category, with only 3 seats a row (1 seat - aisle - 2 seats) with plenty of leg room and a fair bit of recline to be about as comfortable as you can be on a bus.  Each seat also had a personal entertainment system fully stocked with all sorts of TV shows and movies, of course all in Spanish.  Anyway after making it to Mexico City at 6 AM Chris and I quickly familiarized ourselves with the Metro and went straight to the Basilica of Our Lady of Guadalupe to see Our Lady on Juan Diego's famed tilma or cloak (the primary purpose of our trip).  The Basilica of Our Lady of Guadalupe really is not so much a singular church as it is a complex.  The actual Basilica is a relatively modern church built in 1976 after the original Basilica began sinking into the ground and was deemed unsafe.  It is the current Basilica that currently displays the tilma of Juan Diego and in which St. Juan Diego was canonized in 2002 by John Paul II.  After Mass and some time to pray in front of the image of Our Lady (which is made slightly difficult by the moving sidewalks that are employed to keep people moving) Chris and I headed to the Old Basilica, which was eventually shored up by engenieers, though still very much tilts to one side.  The interior of the Old Basilica however is quite stunning.  The third major building in the complex is the Chapel of St. Michael which is at the top of Tepeyac hill and provides great views of Mexico City and the Basilica complex.  Our Last Guadalupe related stop was the museum our Our Lady which is more or less in the sacristy of the Old Basilica and houses some great religious art in a variety of styles.

After finishing up at the Basilica Chris and I headed to Chapultepec Park, Mexico City's version of Central Park, the park is very large and home not only to green space, but also to several museums, a zoo, and other odds and ends.  We headed to the Museum of National History and the Chapultepec Castle (they're next to each other).  These two buildings sit at the top of a hill in the park and provide more spectacularly great views of the city.  The museum itself details the story of Mexico from its indigenous beginnings to the present day, with much emphasis on its colonization and its war for independence.  The Castle has played home to a variety of things over the years, but is now a tourist attraction, being re-decorated to appear as it did when it was home to Emperor Maximilian I of Mexico, during the short lived Second Mexican Empire.

After the park it was downtown to the Zocalo or main plaza of Mexico City, with the Cathedral on one side of it and the national palace (think the West Wing, or the offices of the President) next to it.  The plaza itself which is usually wide open was occupied by tons of high end booths and several large TV screens because it was declared the national gathering spot to watch the World Cup, but alas Chris and I were not deterred. While the national palace was off limits (we didn't have our passports), Chris and I made our way to the Cathedral which is certainly unique, with a strange interior design, it is sort of like 3 different worship spaces in the body of 1 church.  The highlight of the visit however was certainly a trip up to the top of the Cathedral bell tower, which again led to some great views of the city.

After finishing up at the Cathedral many of the museums and public buildings were closed so Chris and I planned to walk around the downtown area and get a general feel for the city and to see what might cross our path.  This was going well until it started pouring torrentially which drove Chris and I into a random mall to come up with a better game plan (and have a beer).  After leafing the guidebook we came upon the Torre Latinoamericana, one of the tallest buildings in Latin America, and conveniently nearby and open late with several indoor observation decks and a bar at the top.  After taking in a little museum on the history of the tower and the view of the city from the observation decks, Chris and I capped our day in Mexico City with a drink or two at the Bar on the 41st floor with a great view of the city.  Then we caught the 11 PM bus back to Guadalajara, where we arrived 6 AM Sunday morning.  While there was a minor stir when I left my wallet in the cab that took us from the bus station back home, all eventually ironed itself out after someone graciously found my wallet (with my phone number in it) and graciously returned it and importantly everything that was in it, later in the day.  This certainly counted as a minor miracle, but was a great reminder that there are still people in the world who have the best of intentions and are willing to do that which is right. 

That's all for now, more to come later in the day!