Roof Tops and Pyramids

New Year's Eve seems so long ago!  In a moment of wanderlust back in October, I made plans to take a trip with my daughter the week after New Years day.  "Why not" I thought, it would give me a well deserved rest after Christmas.  Just what I would be needing... five days of eating out, touring and spending quality time with one of my daughters.  So, on January 2nd I bid "Adios" to Houston and flew to Mexico City.    It was really quite easy... board a plane... arrive 2 hours later in a foreign country!

You know you are in a great neighborhood when this is right around the corner!

I quickly shifted from Christmas hostess/wife/mother/Gigi mode to tourist mode.  I was greeted at the airport by my driver, (I've never had a driver before!) and when he got to our neighborhood he pointed out the 20 or so places to eat dinner, have breakfast or coffee, try churrros and hot chocolate, or buy groceries all within walking distance.  So far, my impression is quite favorable!  Our neighborhood continued to be a bright spot in the trip, it had everything!

We roamed around the area a bit, had sunset drinks on a rooftop bar and then headed to the restaurant where we had dinner reservations.  We found the restaurant, which was unfortunately closed for the holiday and realized we were a week early for our reservation.  Drat!  Back to the neighborhood for some comfort food and home.  This was about the point I realized I was VERY TIRED from the holidays!  The travel adrenaline had worn off and the harsh reality of exhaustion and possible illness set in.  My much needed sleep came with great difficulty and it became very apparent that a visit to a pharmacy and/or doctor was needed in the morning.  Luckily, we were in an awesome neighborhood and both were right down the street.

The view outside the "clinic"....

I visited the nearby pharmacy and found out that before I could get my prescription I had to see the doctor in the clinic next door.  A short 15 or 20 minute wait later I saw the doctor who was younger than my daughter, in a one room, tiny clinic.  We communicated in our best attempts at each other's languages and she confirmed my suspicion and wrote me 3 prescriptions to be filled next door.  250 pesos or $12 later I had three prescriptions and a doctor visit under my belt.  I felt better already!   I needed to rally....we were doing a 5 hour food tour that afternoon.

I muscled my way through the food tour.  After all, I'm not a quitter!  Five hours, six stops, multiple interesting food tastings and a lot of history and culture mixed together kept me putting one foot in front of the other.  I was full after the third stop....I so wish I could have enjoyed the food truck ceviche tostada as much as I know I would have on an empty stomach!

"Avocados, the bacon of Mexico!" 

Spicy Crickets!

Our food tour was a little bit of everything. The food market was a visual treat as well as the stop for our most unique tastings.  We were introduced to spicy crickets and grasshoppers and some other insects (the new protein).  I bravely tried the little crickets and some other bug that reminded me of a doodle bug but the grasshoppers were just too big for me to handle!  At one stall, a cute little girl and her mother proudly served us many different types of herbs along with a root that made your mouth go numb and tingly all at the same time when chewed up.  Her grand finale was a cup with an edible rose and other flowers, fruit and some yummy chocolate pudding.  It really was delicious!

There was also plenty of normal food at the market!

After our food tour we walked around the Zocalo (main square)with our new found appreciation for the history of the area and admired the cathedral and it's surrounding buildings.  We were done for the day and spent the rest of evening digesting!

The Museo Nacional de Anthroplogia was our activity the next day.  It was very near our neighborhood and situated in the Bosque de Chapultapec or as I referred to it, the Central Park of Mexico City.  You can spend an entire day in that park!  Between the museum, the castle, the walking paths, paddle boats, hundreds of street vendors and restaurants, the area is worth at least a day of your time if you visit!  The museum was a walk through history from 10,000 BC to the early 1900's.  Too much to cover on this amateur blog but absolutely worth a visit.  The castle is at the very top of grasshopper hill (they really like grasshoppers here!) and has a view worth the climb.  Considering Mexico City is at 7,300 ft. what is another 2 or 300  ft?  We huffed and puffed our way to the top and the castle and view were worth the climb.

The "lungs" of Mexico City, working hard so you can breathe!

After an afternoon of culture and history not to mention altitude and low humidity, we were thirsty!  We found yet another roof top bar for a happy hour treat.  This time it was near what will be referred to as the Katniss Everdeen fountain.

My name is Diana, not Katniss!

No wimpy drinks here!

Our final day was spent exploring the pyramids of Teotihaucan.  My body was only beginning to adjust to the altitude.  These pyramids are amazing and the challenge of going to the top was more than I could bear so to the top we went.  I didn't feel too bad when everyone was stopping at each level to catch their breath.  7,300 ft. is no joke!  I really did not expect the altitude to be so noticeable but it took it's toll on my lungs!  The view from the top was cool and the fact that they even exist is even cooler.  The Pyramid of the Sun is the larger one but the view from the Pyramid of the Moon is nicer if you ask me.  The steps to the top of the Moon are also each at least a foot and a half high, talk about a challenge.

All the way to the tip top of the Sun!

Kelly considering whether we really need to do 2 pyramids in one day....

Yes!  We do!  To the Moon!

We decided to be adventurous on our way back to the city and took the bus.  Seemed easy enough, there was a stop at the pyramids and several other people got on the bus with us back to Mexico City.  Our first stop was in a small town and 2 police climbed onto the bus and walked the aisle, checking out each person.  They were followed by a man with a video camera who recorded each passenger and then proceeded to record each person who boarded the bus.  I am not sure whether I felt more or less secure after this.  One thing for sure, even though I was hot and tired, I did not close my eyes to rest on the ride back.  We arrived at the chaotic bus station, found a ramshackle taxi and arrived safely in our cozy, cute neighborhood!  We had a very typical Mexican lunch of tacos and beer.  Kelly then stated that she could  just sit there all afternoon and drink beer!  It seems so long ago, already!

You gotta love a place that serves 7 different kinds of salsa with their chips!

Mexico City... where the dollar goes a long way, the food is great, the history is interesting, the air is thin, you can't drink the water, the traffic is epic, and there is never a lack of things to see or do, and alas...no rest for the weary!