Mexico Trip Revisited

Well after a long trip and a long first week of grad courses, I'm finally beginning to feel up to speed and back into the swing of things, and thus, finally finding time to blog. So, with no further ado, I'll include some highlights of our Mexico Trip...

On Day two (Dec 28th), we around just one tiny portion of Mexico City where we visited the Diego Rivera Museum where we saw his most famous mural "Dream of a Sunday Afternoon in Alameda Park" which includes dozens of famous individuals representing virtually every aspect of Mexican history since Cortes set foot on the continent (the boy next to death is a young Diego Rivera). Here is just one of the many amazing Rivera murals we saw throughout the trip (if you want to see more check out my photobook on facebook). One could stand in front of his murals for hours studying the intricate painting and contemplating the vast historical and sociologica points being addressed.

After lunch, we visited the Zocolo (Mexico City's main square) where a huge church is located that was built by the Spanish upon their conquest of the indigenous people. In fact, it is built right on top of a ancient site of pagan worship where people dressed in traditional ceremonial garb still come to perform REAL worship ceremonies including dances, offerings, and music to ancient deities. Interestingly enough, since Mexico City is built on a lake, the original steps of the church are 6-10 feet underground and can only be seen from above through a thick layer of plexiglass.

On the 29th, we visited the Government Building which housed many more Diego Rivera murals and visted the ruins of the Great Temple in Mexico City (which isn't really much to talk about now). Afterward, we made out way to the city of Puebla, the location of the battle of Cinqo de Mayo. This involved a long metro ride along with a really long, bumpy, foul-smelling bus ride (there was a poopy baby sitting next to me and a really stinky bathroom at the back of the bus). Needless to say, I was quite sick by the time we made it to the hotel... which involved another bus ride upon reaching Puebla. In Puebla, we stayed in an amazing hotel - especially in comparison to the hostel we had in Mexico City - for a mere $30/person for the one night we were there. That night, we also sampled mole (Puebla is the home of this interesting Mexican dish) which didn't settle too well with my stomach... However, the dinner included after dinner mints that were like fortune cookies. On the outside of the wrapper, each mint had a quote. Mine said, "Time is gold." Amber's said, "The bush keeps on growing fruit." (lol).