Blogs from Mexico, North America - page 843

Geo: 31.7333, -106.483My parents drove my sister, Mona, and myself all the way across Texas to visit my other sister, Paula. It was a long, hot and fun drive. I remember I annoyed the heck out of Mona until she finally laughed ~ probably from hysteria at wanting me to shut-it-up! ;-) Ha! Mexico was dirty, loud, and fascinating. We bought puppet dolls, leather goods, and hard candy from the poor kids. It was definitely an interesting trip!... read more

The history of California makes for a fascinating story. Who would have thought the world's eighth largest economy was formerly part of Mexico? The US took control of several border states formerly in Mexico at the conclusion of a triumphant war, yet the enormous influence of their Latino neighbours to the south is still prevalent in California today. Continuing from the previous journal my American friend and his buddy offered to drive me down to Baja California for a weekend away from San Diego. Mate, the furthest I'd travelled before going overseas was the to the border with Queensland, and here I was preparing to visit Mexico as my second overseas country. How exciting is that?! We piled into the car, dear reader, and drove the twenty kilometres from downtown San Diego to the border. The ... read more

Taxco is known as the Silver City of Mexico. The city is located in the state of Guerrero, 106 miles (170 km) from Mexico City. Silver has been mined in the area since pre-Colombian times. The Spanish picked up the mining pace during the colonial era. The city preserved its Spanish colonial look with its narrow cobblestone streets and Baroque church. The city is known to visitors today for its craftsmanship in silversmithing and fashioning of silver jewelry. Shops selling articles of silver line the main street. My mother and I stayed overnight in Taxco before returning to Mexico City and our Mexicana flight back to Los Angeles. Mr. Stadleman had arranged with a tour company to provide a guide and car for us for the two-day overnight visit to Taxco. However, there appeared to have ... read more

Arriving in Mexico City, arranged ground transportation took us to the Hotel Reforma. Travel arrangements for the New York, Washington, DC, and Mexico parts of our trip had been made by Valene’s travel agent business partner, Mr. Stadleman. A day exploring Mexico City took us to the Zócalo or Plaza de la Constitución. It is the main square of Mexico City and was the central point of the Aztec city of Tenochtitlan. The Cathedral and Palacio Nacional are located here. The Palacio Nacional dates to 1522 as the house of conquistador Hernán Cortés. Rebuilt several times, it is the home of the executive branch of the Mexcian government. The Gothic and Spanish Baroque Catedral Metropolitana (Metropolitan Cathedral) was built between 1573 and 1813 on top of former Aztec sacred buildings. I had heard about the floating ... read more