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MEXICO CITY-TEOTIHUACA
CUERNAVACA-TEPOZTLAN

November 21 to 28 2009

&

MEXICO CITY
March 12th to 15th 2011



This break was more than needed.  15 continuous weeks of teaching without a day off!
We left Torréon Saturday night at 8:30pm with an overnight bus to Mexico City. 
The bus was super comfortable with big reclining VIP seats. 
The trip took just under 12 hours and the next morning we were in Mexico City.

MEXICO CITY
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Bellas de Artes

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Day 1: It is too early to check-in at the Mexico Youth Hostel (which by the way, I highly recommend), so we went to have breakfast and explore the city.  The first thing that really struck us is how most of the colonial buildings in Mexico City are all tilting!   Just like Pisa!  We walked around town most of the day, visiting the amazing Bellas the Artes, the colonial Post Office and half a dozen of amazing 16 century churches build by the Spaniards.

Day 2: We continue our tour of the city by visiting the Palace of Inquisition where thousands were executed, cool markets, more colonial churches and interesting shops selling dolls, costumes, pirated CDs, items to honour the dead and much more!  We stop for lunch in a restaurant situated on the 7th floor at Zocalo (Plaza the Armas), central Mexico City and we are amazed to see snow-capped peaks mountains and volcanoes.
We visit the art craft market in the afternoon and buy few souvenirs before indulging in an amazing Mexican Meal.

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Museo National, Mexico City

Virgin of Guadalupe Pilgrimage, Mexico City

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Cathedral, Zocalo, Mexico City
Vendor, Teotihuacan

 

TEOTIHUACAN
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Theotihuacan

Alixe at Theotihuacan

Day 3: For 250 pesos ($19US), we leave on a day tour, where we visit the three generations` square, the Basilica of the Virgin of Guadalupe and the pyramids of Teotihuacan.

The Basilica was very interesting.  Six churches were built there to recognize the miracle that took place in the 1600 where the Virgin of Guadalupe appeared 4 times to Juan Diego (declared Saint by Jean-Paul II).  The last time she appeared, she left an imprint on his clothes.  His ``jacket`` is still there with the imprint that has been classified as a miracle by the Vatican.   I’ve never seen a miracle before, so it was really cool to see the image and mostly, the nuns, priests and people from all over Mexico that came here to pray and witness the image.

The pyramids at Teotihuacan were very impressive, and I tried to compare them to the pyramids of Egypt, but it is simply impossible.  Too different!  Size, landscape, people around it, reasons for building the pyramids, etc.
Nevertheless, the pyramid del Sol and the pyramid de la Luna are very impressive and the views from the top (yes, you can climb both) are phenomenal.

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CUERNAVACA
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Alixe climbing a pyramid, Cuernavaca

Day 4: We left for Cuernavaca early in the morning.  I was expecting Cuernavaca to be smaller of a town, but it was still busy with buses and traffic.  The colonial area is still very charming and there are many worth seeing attractions.  I started running again and this was great terrain to workout: lots of hills!  We had dinner by the Palais de Cortès and went early in our suite!  TV with cable!  A splurge!

Day 5: We walked around town all day, visiting the cathedral, museums, le Palais de Cortès, art galleries and markets.  A great day around town! The zocalo (plaza the armas) gets really busy at dawn and is a great place to hang around at night.
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Cuernavaca


TEPOZTLAN

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Eating in Tepoztlan

Day 6: This day trip to Tepoztlan was really worth it.  A small (very small) colonial town with art crafts, galleries and super mountains all around.  Tepoztlan is worth seeing just for the view of mountains surrounding the town.  It was warm and the town was very pleasant to walk around.

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Market, Tepoztlan

 

Day 7: We visited a small archaeological site in Cuernavaca (another small pyramid), visited an interesting museum (Robert Brady) and headed back to Mexico City to get a flight back to Torréon.  Overall, a very relaxing warm trip!

 

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