The Aztecs

The Aztecs are still very evident in Mexico City.  After visiting the Metropolitan Cathedral in the Zocalo district, we found many Aztecs at their market stalls nearby.  This area, by the cathedral, is a vast open plaza that was once the ceremonial center of Aztec life.  What colorful people! And how happy they all looked as they danced.

You will probably not be surprised to hear that we didn't sample the typical Aztec foods however - which we saw both in Mexico City and in some restaurants in San Miguel.  It includes such delicacies as escamoles (ant eggs), chapulines (crispy fried crickets) or gusanos (worms of the maguey cactus),  rolled up in a fresh tortilla and eaten live with salt and lime.  I blame my dad. He had food poisoning from the night before from just eating chicken so it didn't encourage us to be adventurous!!

Any of you eaten the eggs or worms before?  Lorena - is it one of your favorite dishes??? :-D

Teotihuacan Pyramids

On the way to Mexico city with my parents this week, we stopped to see the Teotihuacan Pyramids.

Our trip there began with some Papantla Flyers - "Voladores de Papantla".  This is a group of 4 men dressed in traditional Indian costume gathering around the top of a tall pole.  They climb the pole and one plays a flute. Then they all "fly" down the pole, supported by a rope connected to their ankle.  The guy with the flute keeps playing all the while.

The origins of Teotihuacan are uncertain but it is thought that construction of the city started in the first two centuries BC.  The civilization reached its high point around 500 AD.  One of the great mysteries is that no one then knows where the huge population that lived there eventually ended up.

The original city was about 10 square miles but the ruins are now about one square mile.  There is citadel, the main avenue "Calzada de los Muertos", Templo de Quetzalcoatl and two large pyramids - Piramide del sol and Piramide de la luna. 

The citadel, city and avenue of the dead

The pyramid of the sun is the third largest pyramid in the world.  You can climb to the top of it - so both John and I did that. Mum started the climb but felt a little uneasy without handrails. And dad stayed at the bottom taking photos!  The climb wasn't too bad - easier than I had thought - and the views at the top - along with a nice breeze, were definitely worth it.

The sun pyramid

The moon pyramid

It was a great place to stop so if you are ever in Mexico city - make sure you take in the pyramids.
They are only 30 miles northeast of the city.....While that sounds like nothing, it wasn't quite our experience however, as it does help if your driver knows where he is going!    Hours later....we arrived at our hotel in the city - all with crooked necks from trying to peer out of the van to look for signs to at least the district we wanted! But that's another story.......

Weekly Bird in the hand

It's Saturday - so time for my weekly bird in the hand - the things I am grateful for:

Photo by PinkStock Photos!

 

• The metal clay community.  We visited Mexico city this week and while there, I managed to meet up with a metal clay friend - Rosa Martha!  How amazing that I can be miles from home and still manage to feel part of the metal clay community. Rosa Martha and I did our certification program together a few years ago, and then met up again a couple of years ago at the PMC conference.  Maybe we will meet again this year in July.....  Great to see you Rosa Martha.  How wonderful to have such a group of friends with a common interest all over the world.
• Mexico bus service - we took a First class bus from Mexico City back to Queretaro last night. It was wonderful! So comfortable, showed movies (albeit in Spanish), and efficient too.  I think we might be using the buses again while we are here!
• My parents.  Had to say goodbye to my parents  yesterday as they flew back from Mexico city to England. We had such a good time with them  and they were real troupers - giving everything a try! Poor dad even tried food poisoning on his last night here!  An experience he could have done without. Hope you are feeling better dad. Miss you both already xx.
• My friend Sharon.  Unfortunately I heard this week that my friend Sharon from Sonoma died.  I got to know her while on the board of the Sonoma Newcomers.  She was lovely vibrant person with so much style and joy!  I will miss you Sharon - as will so many other Newcomers.
• Guacomole.  I just love it! Could eat it every day!
• The opportunity to try so many new things in such a short time - from encaustics, to clay sculpture, to acupuncture (receiving not giving!!! :=D), to........

Hope your life is as rich as mine is!