Mexico City

Below is a list of what I have visited in Mexico City.

Day 01: Friday July 1st
* Arrival in Mexico City (ask hotel for reservation for tours with ESTUR – Teotihuacan pyramids and city tour)
* need a voucher before taking the taxi

Day 02: Saturday July 2nd
* Basiclica de Guadalupe, church is sinking because Mexico City was a river, the soil is very soft, architectures around the world tried to solve the sinking issue, church is sinking on the front left hand side
* on the 45 minute drive to Teotihuacan, we passed houses that were plain white grayish looking where the poor and middle class people live, they don’t paint their house because there is a charge if you paint the house
* education at Mexico City for college is practically free, except for a small fee
* Quetzalcoatl Temple and the fortresses (Feathered Serpent Temple) @ Teotihuacan
* North of Mexico City, to the Teotihuacán Pyramids, Sun and the Moon Pyramids, climbed both pyramids; and moon pyramid has the best view, the sun is taller than the moon pyramid, but when you look at the sun and moon pyramid it looks like the same height because the moon pyramid is on elevated ground, good thing the pyramids have hand rails because the stairs are so steep
* Madero, main street for coffee shop and internet café
* Belle Arts Palacio (fine arts palace), trying to copy France architecture
* Alameda Central park for cheap food
* celebration at Zocalo for 5th year presidential election

Day 03: Sunday July 3rd
* Angel statue signifies independence on paseo de reforma
* Diana goddess statue on paseo de reforma
* Museum of Anthropology at Chapultepec park, museum one of the world’s 10 best museums, I visited the Aztec and Mayan hall, the Egyptian exhibit had a very long line to get in because the Egyptian exhibit will only be there for July, Chapultepec park is the 2nd largest park in the world after Central Park in New York City
* Buena Vista market – biggest store in Latin America
* visit historical center, main square (Zocalo), performances of the Huacan (spelling?) culture
* national palace, famous murals of Diego Rivera, he did not finish painting all the walls on the 2nd floor, his favorite mural was his last mural (Spanish conquest)
* cathedral – can’t read the description of the art in the chapels because it is in Spanish
* templo mayor, templo mayor museum, can’t take bottled water inside, this place is free for Mexican residents on Sunday but visitors had to pay
* Castillo de chapultepec, rode metro and it cost only 20 cents, can’t read the description on the paintings because it is in Spanish


Day 04: Monday July 4th
* Zocalo square, protestors, lots of pick up trips parked on the square, Zocalo means the base of the column because the square is empty except for the Mexican flag