Mexico's end
Well, here we are in the center of town… and what a town. And what a center.
Most of the next few days passed wandering around the zocalo – one of the beautiful squares in the “Centro Historico”. Other than that we’ve been to Teotihuacan – the ancient city where you can find the piramide-del-sol and the piramide-del-luna and to Azteca – the great soccer stadium.
But let’s do it step by the step.
We got to Mexico City on the morning of Oct. 31st.
We went to the zocalo, and headed to a hostel we heard about. After making a few inquiries we found out that accommodation is quite scarce due to the dia-de-los-muertos taking place the very next day.
Still, we ended up in a nice, not too expensive hotel not far from the zocalo that turned out to be the center of all the happening!
Well, later we handed around in the city, looking for the offices of the flying company for Roy and Chen. They moved their office, so it took us most of the day.
Coming back to the zocalo we found out that the area is bubbling with activities in preparations for the dia-de-los-muertos (the day of the dead).
So instead of resting in our hotel, we wandered around and checked out the food stands. About 9 of them (Chen didn’t feel well so it was only Roy and me).
Well, after that we went to sleep…
Next day was dedicated to strolling in the streets around the zocalo, admiring the buildings and taking advantage of the hubbub in honor of the dia-de-los-muertos. We even saw a parade and a few local performances.
While wandering I saw something that was new to me (though Roy and Chen saw it a lot in their trip). Next to an abandoned stand there stood a stool and a cardboard box. Inside the cardboard box there was a little baby! After a few seconds her big brother (almost 4 years old) came, but at first she seemed to be left alone. In a cardboard box…
The following day – Nov. 2nd was the actual dia-de-los-muertos.
In the morning we went to a few markets. Due to the holiday, we got to the first two before they were actually opened, but we managed to stroll in 3 different markets all the same.
Later Chen stayed to rest in the room (still feeling bad) and Roy and I strolled a little in the Zocalo.
Nov 3rd we decided to do something different, so we took the bus to Teotihuacan and explored that site for a few hours.
Magnificent!!!
The 2 pyramids, and the “way of the dead” were just beautiful. The most impressive ruins I’ve been to in Mexico. In fact, I think it’s the most impressive ruins I visited out of Israel. I liked it better than Greece, and I think that better than Rome too.
But – after taking 6 photos, the camera shut close because the battery went dead.
And we didn’t have a spare one.
But knowing the camera, I guessed we still have 2-3 photos. So we used them very carefully and very sparingly.
Well, we took almost 20 photos more. And in fact, we played with the camera quite a lot in order to finish the battery, but to no avail…
By the way, by the time we left the site, the moon had risen. So we have a few photos with both the moon and the piramide-de-la-luna!!
And on our way back, in the metro we had a weird experience (at least for us). The metro is full with people trying to sell books, CDs etc. but this time, a guy came in, put a shirt with broken glasses on the floor and started rolling over on it.
Next day the world was against us. And yet we still had fun.
It started with Chen’s parents convincing her she should take antibiotics due to her illness. So we spent some time finding antibiotics for her.
Afterwards we went to the national palace, which was very interesting – with a large Mural made by Diego Rivera.
From there we went searching for the ministry of education – a beautiful building with magnificent murals, open for visitors – but not on Saturdays… the Mayan Medicine Museum was closed due to maintenance works.
Well, we went to the national world-cultures museums. It was nice, but weird. Some of the rooms were closed. The room about Africa was closed, but someone entered just when we got there so we were admitted inside with a few people and we were all locked inside – until we asked to get out.
Anyway, after that we planned on going to a soccer game in the very big Azteca stadium probably the world 2nd biggest stadium – after the Brazilian Maracane. Can hold ~150,000 people.
We were told the game starts at 15:00. We wanted to set out at 14:30, but my nose start bleeding, so we set out a little later than we wanted.
We were a bit late, but on 15:30 we were 1 metro station away from the stadium, when a nice Mexican asked us politely, in English where are we heading. When we told him he looked a little puzzled, made a few inquiries in Spanish, and told us in English we’re on the wrong way.
Apparently, though we asked twice – to make sure – we were sent to Azteca ciudad (a nearby town) and not to the stadium Azteca. And it’s on the other side of the city.
About an hour drive.
So we gave up on it.
Going back, we asked some Mexican passenger if he knows about a nice all-you-can-eat restaurant in town. He said he’s just going to such a restaurant, so we joined him.
He even has friends that moved to Israel (havatselet hasharon).
Anyway, we met his wife and went to the restaurant, and after a few embarrassing moments when we thought he meant for us to dine together, they left and we stayed for dinner.
Well, sitting and eating we saw there’s a soccer game on the TV. After a while, the game changed and when we checked what game is it, we found out it’s the game we were headed to. And it’s 18:10. And it’s a live broadcast!
Well, we decided to try and get in time for the second half.
But by the time we arrived the game was over – apparently what we saw on TV was 2 half and not the beginning of the game…
And the guards wouldn’t let us in.
But again, Chen’s willpower proved irresistible and both the guards and the cops couldn’t resist her. We ended up going inside the stadium just to look, though half of the fans were still there (the fans of one of the groups) and the word one of the cops chose to describe what’s going on there was “war”.
And it’s indeed a very big stadium.
Last day in Mexico was dedicated to museums.
We saw a Oxacan parade – there’s a civil unrest going on in Oxaca during the past few weeks, and someone even got killed there.
And we saw an art museum and the “Palacio de la Bellas Artes” – a very impressive building with a few beautiful murals.
Later we went to the Diego Rivera Mural Museum, saw his Mural, and off to the airport.
We said goodbye, and I found out that they also prepared a surprise for me. They bought me a present and wrote me a letter and they’ve put it into my bag (yes – I lied in the check in).
And why “also”? because they had surprises for their parents. Chen kept telling her family, friends and everybody that she's staying abroad, and Roy told everybody he was arriving a day later…
By the way, there are photos to go along with all the stories at: http://tomeraroundtheworld.shutterfly.com/action/?a=0AbNGzFq3Ys2LCEA
Well, that’s it for now.
Most of the next few days passed wandering around the zocalo – one of the beautiful squares in the “Centro Historico”. Other than that we’ve been to Teotihuacan – the ancient city where you can find the piramide-del-sol and the piramide-del-luna and to Azteca – the great soccer stadium.
But let’s do it step by the step.
We got to Mexico City on the morning of Oct. 31st.
We went to the zocalo, and headed to a hostel we heard about. After making a few inquiries we found out that accommodation is quite scarce due to the dia-de-los-muertos taking place the very next day.
Still, we ended up in a nice, not too expensive hotel not far from the zocalo that turned out to be the center of all the happening!
Well, later we handed around in the city, looking for the offices of the flying company for Roy and Chen. They moved their office, so it took us most of the day.
Coming back to the zocalo we found out that the area is bubbling with activities in preparations for the dia-de-los-muertos (the day of the dead).
So instead of resting in our hotel, we wandered around and checked out the food stands. About 9 of them (Chen didn’t feel well so it was only Roy and me).
Well, after that we went to sleep…
Next day was dedicated to strolling in the streets around the zocalo, admiring the buildings and taking advantage of the hubbub in honor of the dia-de-los-muertos. We even saw a parade and a few local performances.
While wandering I saw something that was new to me (though Roy and Chen saw it a lot in their trip). Next to an abandoned stand there stood a stool and a cardboard box. Inside the cardboard box there was a little baby! After a few seconds her big brother (almost 4 years old) came, but at first she seemed to be left alone. In a cardboard box…
The following day – Nov. 2nd was the actual dia-de-los-muertos.
In the morning we went to a few markets. Due to the holiday, we got to the first two before they were actually opened, but we managed to stroll in 3 different markets all the same.
Later Chen stayed to rest in the room (still feeling bad) and Roy and I strolled a little in the Zocalo.
Nov 3rd we decided to do something different, so we took the bus to Teotihuacan and explored that site for a few hours.
Magnificent!!!
The 2 pyramids, and the “way of the dead” were just beautiful. The most impressive ruins I’ve been to in Mexico. In fact, I think it’s the most impressive ruins I visited out of Israel. I liked it better than Greece, and I think that better than Rome too.
But – after taking 6 photos, the camera shut close because the battery went dead.
And we didn’t have a spare one.
But knowing the camera, I guessed we still have 2-3 photos. So we used them very carefully and very sparingly.
Well, we took almost 20 photos more. And in fact, we played with the camera quite a lot in order to finish the battery, but to no avail…
By the way, by the time we left the site, the moon had risen. So we have a few photos with both the moon and the piramide-de-la-luna!!
And on our way back, in the metro we had a weird experience (at least for us). The metro is full with people trying to sell books, CDs etc. but this time, a guy came in, put a shirt with broken glasses on the floor and started rolling over on it.
Next day the world was against us. And yet we still had fun.
It started with Chen’s parents convincing her she should take antibiotics due to her illness. So we spent some time finding antibiotics for her.
Afterwards we went to the national palace, which was very interesting – with a large Mural made by Diego Rivera.
From there we went searching for the ministry of education – a beautiful building with magnificent murals, open for visitors – but not on Saturdays… the Mayan Medicine Museum was closed due to maintenance works.
Well, we went to the national world-cultures museums. It was nice, but weird. Some of the rooms were closed. The room about Africa was closed, but someone entered just when we got there so we were admitted inside with a few people and we were all locked inside – until we asked to get out.
Anyway, after that we planned on going to a soccer game in the very big Azteca stadium probably the world 2nd biggest stadium – after the Brazilian Maracane. Can hold ~150,000 people.
We were told the game starts at 15:00. We wanted to set out at 14:30, but my nose start bleeding, so we set out a little later than we wanted.
We were a bit late, but on 15:30 we were 1 metro station away from the stadium, when a nice Mexican asked us politely, in English where are we heading. When we told him he looked a little puzzled, made a few inquiries in Spanish, and told us in English we’re on the wrong way.
Apparently, though we asked twice – to make sure – we were sent to Azteca ciudad (a nearby town) and not to the stadium Azteca. And it’s on the other side of the city.
About an hour drive.
So we gave up on it.
Going back, we asked some Mexican passenger if he knows about a nice all-you-can-eat restaurant in town. He said he’s just going to such a restaurant, so we joined him.
He even has friends that moved to Israel (havatselet hasharon).
Anyway, we met his wife and went to the restaurant, and after a few embarrassing moments when we thought he meant for us to dine together, they left and we stayed for dinner.
Well, sitting and eating we saw there’s a soccer game on the TV. After a while, the game changed and when we checked what game is it, we found out it’s the game we were headed to. And it’s 18:10. And it’s a live broadcast!
Well, we decided to try and get in time for the second half.
But by the time we arrived the game was over – apparently what we saw on TV was 2 half and not the beginning of the game…
And the guards wouldn’t let us in.
But again, Chen’s willpower proved irresistible and both the guards and the cops couldn’t resist her. We ended up going inside the stadium just to look, though half of the fans were still there (the fans of one of the groups) and the word one of the cops chose to describe what’s going on there was “war”.
And it’s indeed a very big stadium.
Last day in Mexico was dedicated to museums.
We saw a Oxacan parade – there’s a civil unrest going on in Oxaca during the past few weeks, and someone even got killed there.
And we saw an art museum and the “Palacio de la Bellas Artes” – a very impressive building with a few beautiful murals.
Later we went to the Diego Rivera Mural Museum, saw his Mural, and off to the airport.
We said goodbye, and I found out that they also prepared a surprise for me. They bought me a present and wrote me a letter and they’ve put it into my bag (yes – I lied in the check in).
And why “also”? because they had surprises for their parents. Chen kept telling her family, friends and everybody that she's staying abroad, and Roy told everybody he was arriving a day later…
By the way, there are photos to go along with all the stories at: http://tomeraroundtheworld.shutterfly.com/action/?a=0AbNGzFq3Ys2LCEA
Well, that’s it for now.
posted by הזידנרים at 4:04 AM
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