Museo Nacional de Antropologia

Forth and Final day with the in-law in Chapultepec park!
Chapultepec is a 1,655 hectare park here in Mexico City. It's huge and hosts several lakes, a large zoo, the largest Children's museum in Latin American, the Castillo Castle, many museums including the National Anthropology Museum, an amusement park, botanical gardens, an amazing cemetery, and well you get the point?
We quickly visited the Castillo Castle, and then set of to the National Anthropology Museum.

I failed to take any pictures of the outside of the castle. Maybe this was due to the pure ginormous-ness of it? Maybe it was because I was more occupied with my younger daughter who "legs are about to shatter!!!" I did take some pictures of the murals inside which I was very impressed by.




Apparently, so was Teagan.



In the courtyard over looking Chapultepec.




After Castillo, some food, and a complete mental break down by Ari. We arrived at the Anthro Museum.
Be forewarn: If you ever go to this Museum give yourself AT LEAST 2 hours!
It took us about four, which included some coffee in the cafeteria about half way through.

Start out in front, where you can see indigenous dancers and the famous "fliers" from Veracruz.





Some pictures from the inside along with silly girls in foreground.









And here's a little beauty that I just add to add ;)
Squirt! Gotcha in the eye!!



The National Anthropology Museum really is a must for anyone visiting Mexico City.
In fact I am making it mandatory!

Xochimilco revisted...

Third day with the in-laws. Sore and tired. Maybe a nice boat ride will be refreshing and peaceful?
Well... anyways.

Without saying something that made get me in trouble, we finally managed to get the Anderson clan onto a trajinera (boat) and set off for 2 hours.
I think after all the complaining was over, the complainee admitted that they actually really enjoyed the ride?
We thought this was an important way to show really Mexican culture. These boats are more popular with local Mexican people celebrating birthdays and anniversaries, than they are with American tourists. I love the party atmosphere and the friendliness between other people on the boats.
Plus it gave us an excuse to take the Anderson's on the Metro! If there was ever a real Mexican experience, taking Metro is it!
Afterward, we all went to Museo de Delores Olmedo. Pretty and relaxing, and delicious hot chocolate!





I think this may actually be a life size bronze of Diego Rivera's head?



Hehe.

Teotihuacan

The one question everyone asks us here in Mexico City is "Have you gone to the pyramids yet?" And by "the pyramids", they mean Teotihuacan.

Well, now we can all comfortable answer "Yes."

Of course to answer a simple "yes." means that you are lying and wish for them to stop talking to you.
So you have to add something like "Wow, it was just unbelievable!" Or "I never thought I was going to make it up all those stairs!" Just to validate what an amazing place Teotihuacan really is and prove that you are sincere.

The pyramids at Teotihuacan really are astounding, and everyone who climbs up and down The Pyramid of the Sun deserves a metal in my book!

Here is the family fresh and awake and ready for our adventure!
On The Pyramid of The Moon.




The girls starting off on the long trek down The Avenue of the Dead. Notice how energetic they look?



There they are about to climb up The Pyramid of the Sun. And yes, they ARE wearing flip flops!



Half way up....




YAY!!!






Going down was almost as hard as going up.




Silly Auntie Julia...



Look at those ants climbing up that anthill...



Ari pooping up. We aren't even near the The Pyramid of Quetzalcoatl yet.



Actually, I don't even have any pictures of Quetzalcoatl.. because I pooped out too towards the end.

Today we took the microbus to San Angel, went to an old 17th century convent, AND got to see mummies!

Teagan refused to look at the mummies, they were pretty ghastly.






The story is that these were wealthly socialites that paid to have the convent preserve them. When the Zapatistas raided the old convent in search of gold these are what they found instead. Wha-wha.
After we went to the convent, we went to lunch. It poured the whole time we ate, and we we came out it was still raining and the streets where all flooded. We had to swim home.





Worst of all, how could I possibly get to Hooters?!!!

Templ Mayor

The first place in Mexico City we took our outlaws was Templo Mayor right next to the Zocolo. This is a large Aztec pyramid with twin towers right in the middle of downtown Mexico City.
This pyramid was built in stages, one layer on top of the other making it larger and larger over time.







According to legend, the Aztecs traveled from Aztlan and were told by their god to build a temple where they found an eagle eating a serpent on top of a nopal. The Aztecs found this here and built Templo Mayor on what was the then an island on Lake Toxcoco.



This is now the symbol of the Mexican flag.
Kinda put our Bessie Ross story to shame, huh?

The twin temples on the summit of Templo Mayor were dedicated to Huitzilpopchtli, the god of war, and Tlaloc, the rain god. Theses god were often appeased by human sacrifices.
These sacrifices were done by ripping the hearts out of people while they were still alive and then throwing them down the steps.




This circular stone was foud at the bottom of the stair case, it's believed to have been placed there to stop the sacrificial bodies as they fell down.



It symbolizes Huitzilpopchtli's disembodied sister Coyolxauhqui. Who he killed in a legendary battle.

The Outlaws

Don's parents and his sister Julia came and visited us in D.F. for a few days this last weekend.
As you can see Don's folks are pretty serious kinda folks.
You would never think they lived in the wine country of Sonoma County.



I like to refer to these pictures as "The Quesadilla."





Two tortillas with a lot of cheese in between them.


And of course I had to dress appropriately to fit in with these folks.
Can't upset the out-laws, by any means, and otherwise I would have looked totally out of place!



"We don't care who gets elected on July 2, because whoever it is will be overthrown."
-Sumcomandante Marcos
spokesperson for Zapatista Army of Natural Liberation

Sorry for this brief interruption....

Happy Mexico City posts will be briefly interrupted by this following message.

I miss my dog Carmen!!!
I hope she is well and happy.
I wish we could have brought her with us, but there was no way.
Three months is such a long time to be away, and I'm sure she thinks we abandoned her.






Hoping that she is being loved.


Will now resume back to happy posts.
Sorry for this brief interruption.