Mexico City, Mexico: Anthropologic Wonders and Goodbye

Mama Camacho and I spent the day getting lost in the National Anthropology Museum.  Impressively thorough exhibits and well-done models made this complex a delight to explore.  Our tour began with a view of Tlaloc, the rain god.  This massive statue--23 feet high and weighing 168 tons--was successfully transfered from the village of Coatlinchan to its current location in 1964 (during a rainstorm, of course).

After paying our dues to Tlaloc, we headed inside to begin our exploration.  Though the museum does an excellent job covering the history of man, the highlights were definitely the rooms devoted to specific Mexican cultural groups.  For instance, the facade of the Pyramid of the Feathered Serpent, above, which was removed from the site of Teotihuacan for display in this museum, was the anchor of the display on Teotihuacan culture.

The picture above shows one of the many impressive sculpture works on display in the Toltec room.

This stone, called the Aztec Calendar, was designed and carved by the Aztecs at the height of their empire.  It features the days of the week, the seasons, and the times of day.  Ironically, it was not a calendar at all, but was actually a sacrificial altar devoted to the sun (hence all the carvings about time, which, in the Aztecs' view, was controlled by the sun).

Mama Camacho and I in front of the facade of a Mayan pyramid.  Vastly different from the architecture seen in any of the aforementioned civilizations, the Mayas built superb cities and temples on the Yucatan peninsula.  The empire--strengthened by the fact that they were brilliant mathematicians (yay zero!), astronomers, warriors, and builders--was the last to fall to the Spanish conquistadors, and people living in the way of the Maya could be found undisturbed until the early 18th century.

After spending hours exploring the culture-specific rooms, we took a quick trip through the ethnographic part of the museum, which was organized by current Mexican state (the tapestry above is from the state of Nayarit).  Mama Camacho was most helpful in explaining this section of the museum!

Sadly, it was then time to go home to pack, though the flag did give me a lovely wave goodbye.  Though it has been a whirlwind, my trip to Mexico City was fantastic, and I can't wait to come back and see more of what this great city has to offer.  Thank you so much to Mama and Papa Camacho for opening their home to me and for showing me their city...I had an amazing time!

Mexico City, Mexico: The Grand Tour

Today, Mama Camacho and I took the Turibus around Mexico City.  The Turibus is the classic double-decker red bus that caters to tourists around the world (think London), and though I felt a bit foolish taking it after laughing at the droves of these buses scattered around Europe this summer, it really was a great option to see as much of the massive Mexico City as possible in one day.  Above is the famous Columna de Independencia (or simply El Angel), a victory column in downtown Mexico City that still draws massive crowds for everything from national holidays to big soccer wins.

This is the Metropolitan Cathedral of the Assumption of Mary of Mexico City, which forms one side of the Zocalo (the others are formed by government administration buildings), Mexico City's central plaza.  Huge and beautiful inside and out, this cathedral was built in sections from 1573, making it the oldest and largest cathedral in the Americas.

We got off the Turibus to visit the Templo Mayor, or Major Temple, an Aztec construction that was built in seven stages from the early 1300s to the late 1400s.  What is fascinating about this archaeological site is that despite that fact it is nearly adjacent to the Zocalo, it wasn't discovered until 1978, when the building that had been built on top of it back in the 1700s was torn down.  Fortunately, the site was not destroyed in the demolition, and continued excavations are revealing more and more about the Aztec ways of life.

After the Templo Mayor and some lunch, Mama Camacho and I stopped by the Palacio de Bellas Artes (Palace of Beautiful Artes) to admire the all-marble, French-style building.  This picture doesn't really do it justice, as it was taken from across the street, but it really is something to see.

After the Palacio, we got back on the Turibus to complete our circuit of historic Mexico City.  Unfortunately, we got stuck in Mexico City's infamous traffic.  My friend Gala tried to explain it to me before I got here, and I am trying to show it with this (somewhat blurry) picture, but it really is indescribable.  Not only do you only move maybe 30 ft. in a minute, but you simply can't escape it--literally every tiny side street and back way has just as many cars.  It's crazy!

Despite the traffic, Mama Camacho and I had a wonderful time on the Turibus, and I really feel like I saw a lot of the city.  After our excursion, we headed back to the house for some delicious dinner and canasta (yay!) with Mama Camacho's friends, who are awesome.  Fun times!

Mexico City, Mexico: The Adventure Begins with the Pyramids

Welcome to the next adventure!  On my way down to Chile, I stopped for a few days to see my dear friend Gala's parents, Mama and Papa Camacho.  After arriving yesterday evening and being treated to a delicious meal at a local taquiera, Mama Camacho and I got up this morning and went to explore the pyramids at Teotihuacan.  The biggest and central pyramid is the Pyramid of the Sun, so our first task was to climb the 285 steep stairs to the the top.  Here we are in the middle...

...and at the very top!  The Pyramid of the Sun was a focal point for the Teotihuacan people, who lived from around 150 BC until 650 AD.  This pyramid was part of a city, also called Teotihuacan, which at its peak (350-550 AD) had a population of over 100,000 people and covered an area of over 20 square km, making it the world's sixth largest city.  Even more impressive is that this pyramid, all of the lesser temples, and all of the city's apartment buildings were built of stones that were hauled by hand (no carts or horses) from the other side of the mountains ringing this valley--a distance of over 20 km.

The complex containing what is left of the city of Teotihuacan (pronounced tay-o-tee-wah-can) also has a nice museum, which houses some of the more impressive sculpture work that once adorned the various pyramids and temples.  Particularly impressive is the fact that this was done by people who didn't have metals--so the carving was done exclusively by stone, bone, or rock.

This is the best view of the ruins of the city, with the Pyramid of the Sun in the distance.  This picture was taken from the top of the Pyramid of the Moon, the second most important pyramid in the city, which sits at the end of the city's north-south artery, the Street of the Dead.  Quite a vista!

Me at the top of the Pyramid of the Moon, one of our last stops before leaving Teotihuacan.

The rest of the day was deliciously devoted to food.  Before we made the drive back in Mexico City, we stopped at this restaurant near the pyramids called La Gruta--aptly named, as it is in a sort of grotto created from volcanic rock.  It was used by ancient people as a natural shelter, but now it is a restaurant that serves up traditional Mexican fare...Aztec tortilla soup and mole, for example.

To cap off this wonderful day, Papa Camacho took us to Bellini Restaurante Giatorio, the world's largest revolving restaurant, to enjoy a delicious meal while taking in the lights of Mexico City...all 360 degrees of them.  What a fantastic start to this adventure!

Zurich, Switzerland and Fruitport, Michigan, USA: No Place Like Home

 Today was a day of travel.  I left from Zurich...

...connected in Washington, D.C....

...and made my final landing in Chicago, where Mom and Dad were waiting!  After that, we had a four-hour drive (made much better by homemade popcorn!), at which point...

...I finally arrived in Fruitport, Michigan!  While I wouldn't trade the past three months for anything, it really is nice to be home every now and again.  As this will be my last post until I leave for Mexico in a week, I would just like to express my gratitude to all of you who have been reading this blog, even if only every now and again.  It meant so much to me to be able to share my experiences with people I care about while they were happening, and to know that I was connected to you all in some small way.  So from the bottom of my heart, thank you, thank you, thank you...and I hope you will join me for my next adventure--Mexico and South America--which commences in t-minus seven days!  Hope to see you then :-)

Barcelona, Spain and Zurich, Switzerland: Coming Full Circle

This morning, Anna, Kassie, and I had breakfast together, and then my new Australian friends were off to Venice!  I had a few more hours before I needed to catch my plane, so I headed down to La Rambla for one last wander and to pick up some fresh fruit for the day at La Boquiera, which was fitting: I think one of the biggest things I am going to miss about Europe is the fresh food markets in literally every town.

After La Boquiera, it was time to fly to Zurich.  An uneventful but beautiful flight over the Alps, I touched down just before sunset.  After dropping off my bags, I walked down to take one last look at the lake.  Rather poetic that I have a picture in this exact spot from my first day in Europe three months ago, isn't it?

Fortunately for me, I was able to catch the last few moments of the sunset over Zurich.  Beautiful!

And not bad by night either!  Zurich was a lovely city in which to spend my last European night, and a great place for contemplating how amazing the past three months have been.  One more day until the USA...stay tuned tomorrow for a special message :-)

Tarragona and Barcelona, Spain: A Few Adventures

Today we ventured out of Barcelona to the little town of Tarragona, rumored to be home to splendid beaches and some interesting Roman ruins.  Upon arrival, we made our way to the top of the town hill, which happens to contain both the city center and the old town.  Fortunately for us, there was an outdoor escalator handy to assist us in our ascent!

Once at the top of the hill, we elected to visit the cathedral, part of which dates from the twelfth century.  While the cloisters and chapels were nice, we cannot attest to the actual cathedral itself, as it was inaccessible due to renovations.

After our failure to see the cathedral, we set out to see some of the Roman ruins.  Beautifully set against the Mediterranean, as you can see above, we were excited to explore them.  Unfortunately, this was as close as we got, as all of the sites bar one were closed on Monday.  The one that we did see was overwhelming underwhelming.

The failure of our Roman ruins adventure was slightly mollified by the fact that we still had the beach!  We weren't aware, however, that there was only one access point to the beach that runs the length of this little town, so it took us quite some time to actually reach the sand.  I was really excited to swim by the time I got there!

Despite some setbacks in Tarragona, it was still a really neat local town to see.  After all of our adventures, though, we decided we had better head back to Barcelona.  We got there just in time to check out the market, La Boquiera, which has lots of fresh food and some crafts as well.  What a great way to get one last little bit of Spanish flavor!

Barcelona, Spain: Dessert, Sleep, Music

Since we hit the sight-seeing quite hard the past two days, Anna, Kassie, and I elected to catch up on some much-needed sleep this morning, which worked out well, because nothing in Spain is open before noon on Sunday.  When we finally woke up, we headed out for some breakfast, and then dessert (gelato, of course).

Though the gelato was amazing, we decided we could stand more dessert, so we went to the local churro shop with our couch-surfing host, Max, to sample some of the local treats.  We then finished off our tour of desserts with another round of gelato (I didn't include a picture because I thought it would be excessive).  Up for four hours, dessert three times...I love Spain!

After the desserts, it started to rain, and everything closed, so we took a Sunday afternoon nap.  When we awoke, we headed to Santa Maria del Mar, one of Barcelona's beautiful churches.  Built from 1323-1389 at the height of Spain's maritime dominance (hence the name 'Maria of the Sea'), this medieval church is beautiful in its unity and simplicity: hardly anything has been added since it was finished, and the walls and alcoves remain nearly unadorned.

After the church, we met Max at a local jam bar, Jazzsi.  Max--a cartoonist and video game designer by trade--also happens to be an amazing alto saxophone player, which we were fortunate to witness firsthand tonight.  This bar had bunches of local musicians, some of whom were actually members of famous bands that happen to be from Barcelona, and everyone was just out to make some good music and have a good time.  If you felt like playing, you just walked on up, picked up your instrument, and jumped in, and the resulting compilations were fantastic!

After Jazzsi, Max, who you can see above, took us to another jam session, which was held in a dark room in the back of a bar.  Full of talented musicians (many of whom had come over from Jazzsi), this bar had more of a rock-funk feel to it, but the quality of the music was still stellar.  This side of Barcelona--the non-touristy, musical side--is probably my favorite side thus far!

Barcelona, Spain: Some Sights and a Ride

We began our day with an accommodation change to the lovely flat of a couch-surfing friend of Anna and Kassie's.  We then headed over to check out the Barcelona Cathedral, an 11th century Romanesque church that had a Gothic facade tacked on in the 19th century.  Though it is currently under extensive renovations, it was still lovely, and worth a stop.

After the Cathedral, we set off to find a tiny and hidden (but highly recommended) churrascaria: a churro shop!  We were successful, and also elected to try some of the other delicious pastry offerings, the whole of which we took to a plaza (see above) and consumed with gusto.  We ate them so fast, in fact, that we didn't get any pictures...at least we captured the plaza!

We then took a quick look at Barcelona's distinctive Torre Agbar, which houses the water company.  One could imagine that it has many nicknames (!!), but we thought it looked like a cucumber in the sunlight, and since we had purchased a cucumber for a lunch, we thought a joint photo would be appropriate.

We rented bikes!  In addition to it being great fun, it allowed us to get way out into the suburbs of Barcelona and ride much of Barcelona's coastline.  It was Kassie's first time on a bike in over ten years, but she rode like a pro after the first ten minutes or so, and we all had a fantastic time!

Before returning our bikes, we locked them for a bit, and spent a few hours on the beach.  The wind kept it from being too hot, which allowed Kassie to take a nap, and the water was cool and refreshing, which allowed Anna and I to take a 45-minute swim out into the ocean and back.  What a great day!

Barcelona, Spain: Gaudified

Today was a day of Gaudi...Antoni Gaudi, that is!  Arguably the most famous architect of the modernista movement, Gaudi was a Spanish Catalan who spent the majority of his time living and working in Barcelona, and his works are still here for all to enjoy.  Highly individualistic and all different, they really are something to study.  The first building we perused was La Pedrera, which is actually an apartment building.  It's wavy walls made it anything but a typical apartment building, though.

Our next stop was Gaudi's final, largest, and most magnificent work--and Barcelona's most famous building--La Sagrada Familia.  Construction on this church was began in 1882, the interior was completed in 2010, and it is estimated it will be complete sometime after 2020 (no, these aren't typos).  With three huge facades--one of the Nativity of Jesus, one of the Passion (see above), and one of the Glory of Jesus (each with its own distinctive style and feel)--18 towers over 100m (the 12 apostles, four evangelists, Mary, and Jesus), and some amazing doors, the partially completed church is simply breathtaking.

After that introduction, it would be hard to believe that the inside of this massive edifice could top the outside...but it does.  There are literally no words that can express how beautiful the balance of stone and light (largely inspired by nature--see how the columns represent trees near the top?) is when you are in its midst.  It is breathtaking.

A shot of one of the wings of the interior.  Given that there are still five towers, one facade, and lots of lights to complete, I can't wait to come back and see this amazing church when it is complete!

After La Sagrada Familia, we hiked up to Parc Guell, one of Barcelona's highest points and another Gaudi masterpiece.  Originally designed as a self-sufficient community in 1900, the city took it over and turned the area into a park in 1914.  However, many of Gaudi's paths, pavilions, and houses remain, like the one pictured above.

There were some really nice benches near this pavilion as well, and Anna and I took this opportunity to take some glamor shots...Russian style (for those of you who have seen the epic posing that occurs in Russia, you know what I mean!).

The lovely view from the top of Parc Guell, with Barcelona and the Mediterranean in the background.

The final stop on our Gaudi tour-de-force was a series of three houses Gaudi designed for private owners in the early 1900s.  The houses above, Casa Batllo and Casa Amatller, now house Gaudi museums, as well as some small shops.  Their facades, however, are virtually untouched, and are spectacular.  It was a great day, and definitely fostered a new love of architecture in me.