A Tale of Two Cities - Mexico City.

The colours of Mexico - even in the snack food!
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We thought that staying in Mexico City over NYE would be mad, bad and dangerous...but instead it was quiet, closed and empty. The main plaza was very beautiful with the lights on the buildings surrounding the Plaza, but where were the people? And more importantly, where were the open restaurants? Finding somewhere to eat became the bane of our public holiday nights and mornings...and we had to resort,with awful results to tourist style restuarants with photos of the food on laminated menus. Yuk, Yuk, Yuk! We also discovered on a several occassions the nice little trick...that the English menus don't get updated regularly...so the meal you ordered has now gone up in price!

View from the top of the temple of the Sun...Teotihuacan.
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Food aside, we had some great experiences in Mexico City. Our free (Sunday) visit to the Museo de Anthropoligies was overwhelming. This museum is definitely one of the best in the world...and we could only lament that our Australian indigenous communities have nothing like this. Similarly the Museo de Arte Moderno was fantastic. Great art, lovely circular building that made viewing more interesting...and a great way to whet our appretitie for Mexican art and culture. We also enjoyed watching the local families eat and play together in the park on Sunday.

We thought that staying in Mexico City over NYE would be mad, bad and dangerous...but instead it was quiet, closed and empty

New Years Eve...the main square.
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Our visit to Teohituacan was fascinating. This city of about 2km in length was built by the Aztecs over 2000 years ago...and is in incredibly well preserved shape. It must be the altitude! We climbed all over the Temple of the Plumed Serpent and then joined the long New years Day holiday queue to climb to the top of the the worlds third largest pyramid...the pyramid of the Sun. Well worth the wait and the climb.

On our last full day in Mexico City...we got to see some of the real city. All of a sudden our quiet street of closed up doors swung open and there we were surrounded by shops and market stalls of all descriptions. Local eating choices multiplied enomously, as did the numbers of people on the streets. We stumbled upon the fabulous Museo of Popular Culture...a great showpiece of current Mexican art and culture...and loved seeing the most famous of the Diego Riviera murals now ensconsed in his own museum.

Our last meal was in a locals eating place with freshly squeezed juices, enchiladas and tacos (soft shelled here). Cheap as chips and delicious. Mexico -This is more like it!!!!