Day 7

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Louis were supposed to go running this morning with Aly, but neither of us woke up. I guess I will just wait until we have access to the Tec campus gym to start working out. Leslie and Arturo picked us up at 9 am, and we drove to Mexico City. The other students from Tec couldn't come today, so it was just Louis, Sarah, Aly, and me until the new student from MIT arrived, whose name is Carol.

When we got to Mexico City, we first went to the nationa anthropological museum. It was huge! There are many different rooms, each with a different focus. We visited a room about the evolution of humans, which had the remains of Lucy. There was a huge room with Aztec relics, including the pierdra del sol, or rock of the sun. The Mayan room was very interesting as well. There are dozens more rooms that we didn't even see. I could spend days there.

After the museum, we walked to el castillo (the castle). On the way, we passed by tons of street vendors. Louis and Sarah bought some delicious sugar coated nuts that I got to help them eat :]. The castle was built by the Spanish ruler, Maximillian, during the early 18th century, so it is in European style. It is like a Mexican version of Versailles, or so Louis tells me. He should know because he studied in France for a year. There are gorgeous gardens with geometrically shaped shrubs, flowers, and fountains. We looked at different rooms and artifacts like expensive jewels, furniture, paintings, and clothing. There were also murals of the Mexican revolution, which is when Mexico fought for and won independence from Spain. I loved learning about the history of Mexico and can't wait to read the book that Arturo bought for us.

After the castle, we were starving and very ready for lunch. We drove into the downtown part of the city and walked to a restaurant called Sanborn. The building was beautiful because it used to be a rich person's mansion. I had spinach salad, bread, and guacamole. After, we went to get ice cream at a very popular Hidalgo chain called Santa Clara. After about five samples (the ice cream guy was not very happy with us!) I chose a delicious tiramisu ice cream.

Finally, we walked around the city and saw the central plaza where the cathedral and national buildings are. Before the Spainish came to Mexico, the whole area had been occupied with more than twenty pyramids. The Spanish demolished them and built a cathedral and other buildings. The foundation of one pyramid is still visible. There was also a group of indian dances performing, wearing beautiful headresses and filling the area with incense.

We drove home after that, and I really needed a shower. Unfortunately, the hot water doesn't work! That was not a fun experience.

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