Long flights and long days

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Well, finally, after what has seemed like forever on aeroplanes I am here in Mexico CIty! Nothing much to report from the journey except that we were delayed due to teh French strikes and in Madrid airport the lady next to me purposefully (it was obvious) let out the biggest fart I've ever heard that made the chairs vibrate.

As I drove into the centre of the town at 7 this morning in a taxi I could see the mountain ranges which foirm either side of the valley in which Mexico sits, a rare and beutiful sight which I suspect I will not see again because, as the taxi driver predicted, by 8.30am the alrady unbearibly hot sun had risen enough smog to hide them from view. I went for a walk this morning including seeing the insdie of the cathedral, which I am somewhat sorry to say is much like all the other ones I've seen in SPain, Italy and South America, still it was nice. Then, since it was the only thing open at 9am this morning, I went to the Templo Mayor - the main temple of the Aztecs, thought to be built on the site on which the Mexicans believe the eagle was seen eating the snake on the cactus, Mexico's national emblem, and the sign that the wondering tribes people should settle here. It's such a shame that the Spanish, on their arrival here, felt the need to raze most of the Aztec city and build their lovely but pretty standard colonial houses over the top because what remains is pretty amazing, especially the artifacts which can be found in the temple´s museum. I can't wait to see some of the larger temples and sites which have been better preserved. After spying a market though the wall of the museum complex I decided that was to be my next stop and although it was nothing spectacular - a kind of claire's accessories meets primark explosion over 12 streets with taxis driving between stalls and people pulling huge stacks of boxes over your feet - I did manage to replace my scissors which were so rudely confiscated from me in Heathrow though. (Ok, I know I should have known but I am particularly upset about this because a sign at check-in implied that round ended kids scissors would be ok AND because the man was so rude AND because the guy pulled in infront of me in the security queue had a lethal looking liquidiser okay-ed, the blades of which are actually designed to cut things like meat, as opposed to my wont-actually-cut-thin-paper paper-scissors. Anyway rant over.)

So all in all a pretty successful morning, although now the strain of about 18 hours travelling and not much sleep (aeroplane sleep at that) has taken its toll a bit so I think I'm off to bed for a siesta before the rest of my sightseeing continues. More to come ...

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Photos

Templo Mayor
Decorative stonework in The Templo Mayor