City, Mexico City

Churros Rellenos
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Mexico City is huge and hot and full of people and as my host Rúben explained to me when we met at the Balderas metro stop on Sunday the 24th, "in D.F. ("D.F." being the abbreviation used by to refer to Mexico's Districto Federal--Mexico City), anything is legal."  Five full days later, I understand what he meant.

As I have already related, the afternoon of the 24th I met my host and his girlfriend at a metro stop in downtown D.F.. They were both smiling and happy and full of energy and after dispensing with formal introductions we were off to see the Museo del Templo Mayor before my cousin Cyrus was due in at the airport and we were due to pick him up. The museo, which chronicles the remains from the Aztec ruins of Tenochtitlán, is located in downtown D.F. and just off of the Zócalo and is full of Aztec artifacts and provides a walking tour around the partially excavated ruins. No time to waste, we rushed our way through all that history and in just over an hour and a half found ourselves outside of the international arrivals gate at the Aeropuerto Internacional Benito Juárez.

In D.F. anything is legal

Cyrus and Ruben
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We found Cyrus and caught a cab back to Rúben's apartment that he shares with his brother and sister-in-law (David and Margarita), and after some takeout tacos, fell asleep. The next day (the 25th) we were back at it. Cyrus and I left Rúben's at 8:15 in the morning. We visited Teotihuacán--the gigantic Aztec ruins located just outside of the city,--ate an assortment of Mexican foods including guajalotas (a tamale sandwich), and managed to wander around downtown a for a fair bit of time before winding up back at the apartment at 7:30 that night.

Yum
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The following day we did it all over again. This time, however, it was not Teotihuacán but the Museo de Bellas Artes (featuring a great Frida Kahlo exhibit) and the Catedral Metropolitana. That night we went to see Lucha Libre. For those are unfamiliar with Lucha Libre, it is a sport/spectacle (very similar to WWE in the U.S.) involving masked wrestlers who fight/act-out bouts against each other in teams in order to gain respect/renown. And it's great; Cyrus and I both bought masks.

Flautas
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Dawn dawned on the morning of the 27th and before we knew it Cyrus and I were on the hunt for handicrafts, colorful, mexican blankets known as serapes in particular. Unsuccessful as we were after an entire morning--and a large portion of an afternoon--in markets as far as the eye can see, we stopped in at a liquor store to buy specialty tequilas for some of Cyrus' friends in California. Here again we were met with failure and, as such, we sought refuge in tacos smothered in salsa verde and topped with diced pineapple; they helped a whole lot.

On the 28th, our last day in D.F., Cyrus and I ran around tying up all of our loose ends. We visited the Bosque de Chapultepéc, home to the Castillo de Chapultepec (the only castle in the Americas), and also the Museo de Antropología. We also tried, and were again met with failure, to visit the Modelo brewery (where Corona among many other beers are brewed), but we made up for it by finding the serapes and tequilas we had been looking for. That night, Cyrus and I took our three hosts out for dinner in order to thank them for all of the many ways in which they had helped us before we rushed back to the apartment where I grabbed my bags and struck out for the bus station and thereby Villahermosa.