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Showing posts with label Zocalo. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Zocalo. Show all posts
Friday, February 4, 2011
On my parents' second full day in Mexico we visited the Historic District.
Our first stop was the Zócalo (the main plaza), including the Catedral Metropolitana. My second time seeing the Pope John Paul II statue made out of keys and locks I actually read the sign: it's made out of keys donated by Mexicans because the people of Mexico "gave the keys to their heart" to the Pope (or something along those lines...)
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| statue of Pope John Paul II |
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| statue of Pope John Paul II |
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| Catedral Metropolitana |
From there, we went to visit the Templo Mayor, which was the center of the Aztecs' Tenochtitlan. According to tradition, this is where the god Huitzilopochtli gave the Mexica people his sign that they had reached the promosed land -- an eagle on top of a cactus with a snake in its mouth. It was built sometime around 1325, but was rebuilt six times, alway built on top of the previous construction. What we saw is located just behind the Cathedral -- though the Cathedral is built overtop parts of it.
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| disk depicting Coyolxauhqui, painted in what is thought to be the original colors |
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| I spy: a lizard |
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| the space between the walls reflects different constructions -- it would have been filled in to create a newer structure built upon the older structure |
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| Chac mool figure |
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| view of the Cathedral from Templo Mayor |
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| please note the skulls used to "decorate" |
We ate lunch at a restaurant overlooking Templo Mayor and the Zocalo.
Next, we visited the Palacio Nacional (National Palace).
We visited Bellas Artes (the Fine Artes Museum)
And then we enjoyed the view from the top of the Torre Latinoamericana. The building was the tallest in Mexico from 1956 (when it was built) until 1984. It is apparently the first major skyscraper successfully built on highly active seismic land. The view was incredible!
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| You can see the Zócalo in the distance (follow the middle street to the open plaza) |
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| Bellas Artes, form above |
We finished our tour of the Historic District at Café Tacuba -- a cafe that opened in 1912 and had its heydey in the 1950's. A band credited as a pioneering group in the Rock en Español movement took their name from this cafe. I ordered a sweet tamal and atole for my parents to try. Tamales are made of masa (a starchy dough, often corn-based), which is steamed or boiled in a leaf wrapper. They can be filled with meats, cheese, vegetables, chiles, etc. Ours was a sweet tamal, made with pineapple. Atole is a hot drink usually made from masa, water, piloncillo (unrefined cane sugar), cinnamon, vanilla and sometimes chocolate or fruit.
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| sweet tamal + atole in the background |
Tuesday, December 14, 2010
Today was attempt #2 at iceskating and fortunately -- after a few hours of wait time -- we were successful! We got to the Zócalo around noon and waited in line for about an hour to get our bracelet and time -- and the first available time wasn't until 5:30pm! (It was strange waiting in line for iceskating in December and yet the sun was so strong I got a bit sunburned!)
So we decided to stay in the area. We toured inside the National Palace (Palacio Nacional), which includes the President's office, the Federal Treasury and the National Archives. There's a museum with the various versions of the Mexican flag and historical maps/paintings/artifacts from the Spanish conquest to present day. We also saw the Hall of Presidents, with the various presidential portraits, and the president's office, dining room and other (very extravagant) rooms. Apparently it was not open previously to the public, but was opened this year for the bicentennial.
I couldn't take pictures in most of the rooms, but did get these shots:
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| Diego Rivera's mural depicting Mexican history |
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| courtyard |
From there, we went for food. After waiting for about an hour before finally getting soup and dirty silverware, we gave up and grabbed McDonalds to eat in line for SKATING!
I enjoy iceskating and it was neat to be surrounded by the Catedral Metropolitana and the Palacio Nacional. Skating was a bit of a challenge with so many people -- including those going at various speeds and falling all over the place (and of course the steady stream along the wall), but definitely fun!
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