Mexico City & Around

We made the decision to spend a weekend in Mexico City on a whim. I was extremely excited. I had read so much about the area that I felt like I had already been there.

After a bumpy redeye we arrived early at our hotel, the Gran Ciudad in the historic city center. Shortly after that, we were on a bus and then climbing the pyramids in Teotihuacan. For all their starkness, they are exceptional. Towering pyramids of chiseled stone line the Avenue of the Dead. They conjured all the stories I’d read, all the mysteries that surrounded the place. It was an exhilarating experience.

Later, we visited the Metropolitan Cathedral in the city center. The conquistadors razed many of the temples in Tenochtitlan, and the cathedral was built on part of the ruins of the Templo Mayor compound. In the ground outside the cathedral are large plexiglass panels allowing you to see some of the ruins below.

The primary complex of Templo Mayor is nearby, and we walked a long ramp that snaked around the remaining ruins of what was once a massive sacred site for the Aztecs. The ramp ended in a fantastic museum featuring artifacts recovered from the temple.

The next day we visited the Museo Nacional de Antropologia, which was captivating with its reproductions of famous temple sites. It was so fun to have a glimpse at what the elaborate structures would have looked like in their time.

Afterward, we met one of A’s colleagues and his girlfriend for drinks in a posh neighborhood nearby. It felt so much like being at a cafe on Melrose that I couldn’t believe it. We drank mezcal cocktails in the late afternoon sun, and watched street performers joke with the city’s well-to do. It was an amazing weekend.