Ciudad de Mexico 9.10.11 to 9.14.11

Jeff went on a language class in Oaxaca and we decided to meet in Mexico City on the tail end of his vacation. I have been here before with my family and remembered it being wonderful despite what my American friends say about it being dangerous and filled with crime. Exact opposite!!! Mexico is one of the most beautiful and safe cities I have been to and the people are amazing. I hope you all enjoy my little album about it. We stayed near the Zocalo, a vibrant and busy part of the city where the Catedral Metropolitana is. I forgot about the cathedral's famed miraculous Crucifix of the Lord of Poison so I was pleasantly surprised when I saw Him. Belief has it that the corpus turned black and raised its legs when an unscrupulous enemy of the Bishop tried to kill him by lacing the statue's feet with poison. Outside the Cathedral walls is the hustle and bustle of a Mexican weekend. I was arrested by the site of La Casa de los Azulejos, a wonderful building decorated with tiles. This is where we had dinner later that evening. Tired from my flight, here I am resting at the plaza in front of the Museo Nacional del Arte. Below is a street performance of some sort. I had to take a pic of Mexico's Metro system. Beautiful grey marble against an orange train, I was amazed and unlike DC's Metro, their's run every 5 minutes. Mexico is very close to my heart even when I was still living in the Philippines because of La Gran Señora de Guadalupe. So, the following day, Sunday, I made it a point to drag my Jewish husband to attend Mass with me. Beneath the moving ramp I took this photo of the famed tilma amidst tears and emotion for her words were echoing in my head: ¿No estoy aquí que soy tu Madre? (Am I not here who am your Mother?) The old Basilica. Notice how it is tilting. At the steps to the Capilla. The apparition chapel... ...and its wonderful view of the old and new Basilicas as well as the city of Mexico. After Mass, we headed to the beautiful Palacio de Bellas Artes, the cultural center of Mexico. U2 performed there a couple of years ago accoding to my cab driver. But aside from that, the building itself is a fusion of Neoclassical, Art Nouveau and Art Deco architecture. The murals within are both powerful and thought provoking. Sadly, no photos inside. Next stop, Museo Nacional de Arte! My favourite painting was El Holocausto by Manuel Rodriguez Lozano, a very handsome and gay painter. Check out his autorretrato. The museum was filled with paintings from different periods of Mexican art. A must see en la ciudad. Of course, I gravitated to the "Vuitton" windows. Monday was a beautiful day to check out the ancient city of Teotihuacan. It was a marvel to see! Unlike Egypt, you can scale these Pirámides. My homage to Angelina. The colours are still vivid despite the passage of time. Me on top of El Pirámide del Sol It boggles Jeff's mind that after seeing the pyramids, I was still excited to see Mexico City's very own Louis Vuitton!!! Hey...to each his own, right? They had a lot of exotics in the window and I saw each and every Runway 2011 2012 piece. Interestingly enough, you can't purchase any of them. They were owned by LV PR. Of course, I was familiar with the waitlist for some, but others, they can't even order it for you and they remain only as display pieces. My favourite is the Addiction with its resin handles and quilted lining. The Voyage is HUGE!!!! Sigh...I LVoe these!!! This day was a day for musuems. So I psyched myself for sensory overload and I gotta tell you, Mexico did not disappoint with its rich culture and history. Our first stop, “Bosque de Chapultepec, literally means "grasshopper forest". During pre-hispanic times, this is where the Aztec rulers used to relax due to its calming vantage point. In the colonial period, the Castle would be built and became the residence of Heads of State until 1940 when it was converted into a fabulous museum. Could you imagine arriving in this? The green pedestals were a gift from Russia. One of the many abanicos in this museum. Mexicans do LVoe their murals. Last stop of the day, Museo Nacional de Antropología. We reserved a huge chunk of our time to spend in this museum. Jeff has been wanting to come here ever since he was a lil' kid so I shared his enthusiasm. A magnificent monumental sculpture, "El Paraguas", greets you as you enter the inner courtyard of the Muesum. At first glance, I thought...hmmm....seems small enough. I bet we could do it for a couple of hours...I was sadly mistaken because there was so much more that I wanted to see. Any LV LVoer knows the Jack and Lucie Bag Charm that came out around 2007. So when I saw in the guide that a wax figure of what Lucie really LVooked like when she was roaming the earth was the first stop, I was thrilled beyond measure. After which, it was room by room of ancient Mexican cultures. Photographed here is a guardian priest with an interesting pair of pants. Gosh, ancient peoples really LVoe grand scale. Ahhh...the impressive Aztec Calendar that dominates the room. I LVoe Olmec Heads!!! I don't even know what to tell you guys about this. On our way back to the hotel, we were at a Metro station that had a Metro Mania type exhibit on the walls. I was excited to see that Washington's Metro was featured there. Our last day was spent in the "recently" discovered Templo Mayor, parts of the old Aztec City that the Spaniards built on top of it. According to historical notes, the Catedral Metropolitana as do most of the city, sits on top of ancient Tenochtitlan. Archeologists at work. Artifacts found from the Templo Mayor. My last view of El Señor de Veneno. I would like to think that the ray of sunshine falling on the centuries old miraculous crucifix was His way of saying, "Thank You" for visiting my city. Thanks for bearing with my numerous photos. LVoe, LVoe, LVoe Mexico!!! Muchas gracias!!!