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March 2nd 2009
We had an early wakeup call for our day tour to Teotihuacan. It’s a long drive from the D.F., so we decided to take a bus tour. Our tour consisted of 2 Honduran ladies, one American, 2 Brazilian guys, and 4 French people. Only the French people didn’t share a common language with us - not even Spanish - otherwise, we chatted with everyone.
Teotihuacan was not what I expected. It is very restored, a lot of concrete. Metal railings guide you up the sides of the pyramids. If Tikal makes you feel like Indiana Jones, Teotihuacan makes you feel like Mickey Mouse at a Mexican Disney World. It was extremely hot as I had heard, with no shade. I ended up buying a silly Teotihuacan hat just to protect my skin. Being pregnant, I couldn’t run up and down the pyramids like I used to. We only made it up to the top of the temple of the sun, and didn’t climb any more after that. There is a lot to see and it’s spread out over a huge area - I can only recommend others to bring hat, sunscreen and lots of water!
But before we went to Teotihuacan, where there were handicraft vendors everywhere selling things very cheap, we had to go to a hard-sell, high-priced “Handicrafts” center. Now, I enjoyed learning about how Mezcal was made (only wish I could have tasted it), but I’m old hat at these handicraft places by now. If you go on organized tours - like we did in Egypt - or even have a driver - like we had in India - you’ve been to these places. The cheap items were very overpriced, but if you bought an expensive item, they would throw it all in for free.
We were also forced to have lunch at a crappy tourist place. It was packed with tour groups, and not easy to get napkins, fresh silverware (ours was leftover by the last group!) and plates. The buffet was mainly bland European food, which the French went for. That salad bar looked like a recipe for Montezuma’s revenge to me! We ordered off the menu. Alli’s tacos were OK, but my enchiladas were the worst I’ve ever had. I feel sorry for anyone who thought this was real Mexican food. The restaurant also had live mariachis and
Aztec dancers, wearing only feathered loincloths. It was almost hilarious - you had to laugh!
Afterwards, we went to see the Virgin of Guadelupe. I was exhausted, dehydrated and tired of the traffic and pollution. I could care less about the Virgin of Guadelupe. I am too colored by my opinion of the Catholic church right now.
Our evening made up for the long day. We had reservations at Izote, owned by one of the most famous female chefs of Mexico. It is located in the beautiful upscale district of Polanco. Izote had modern clean design, but traditional dishes. The tamale plate was a total Yum. I ordered Camarones Al Sureste - the most awesome shrimp ever. We had two desserts, tequila poured over home-made sorbet, and crepas con chocolate. We capped off the meal with Café de Olla. A true fine dining experience and not even that expensive! The downside was that the restaurant was frigid.
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