Mexico City – Day 2

We knew Wednesday was going to be a busy day and was it ever! We boarded our bus at our usual 9:00 a.m. and headed to the historic district. After a brief intro from our host reminding us that Mexico City was settled where it was by the Aztecs because they found the eagle sitting on the cactus eating a snake in that location, we headed to the Templo Mayor where the Aztecs first built their temple.

After a brief walk through the ruins we entered the museum and enjoyed seeing many of the artifacts that were found throughout the ruins. We had a lunch reservation at La Opera, a beautiful, historic restaurant that opened in 1876. It is within easy walking distance of the Zócalo or main square and it became quite crowded during the lunch hour, so it would be best to secure a reservation rather than just showing up and hoping to get a table.

After lunch we walked over to the Palacio Postal built in 1907 by Adamo Boari, who also designed the Palacio de Bellas Artes’ where we would see the Ballet Folkloric later in the evening. Next we meandered back toward the square to see the Catedral Metropolitan. Entry is free but check the hours because there are masses still held in the church.

We had a bit of time between the cathedral and the show, so we headed to the Secretary of Education building that also houses one of the world’s largest collections of Diego Rivera murals with some work by Frida Kahlo. Entry is free but you need to stop at the front desk and get a ticket. This stop is well worth it and perhaps not as well known as other tourist attractions. Our host had worked in this building in the past and knew it well so it was quite the treat to be able to stroll around the building taking in the exquisite selection of murals.

We were all pretty exhausted at this point and wondering whether we were going to be able to stay awake during the upcoming show. In fact, we all plotted how we could take mini naps. It ended up being quite unlike anything we had expected and was so worth the long day to get there. Although it is called a ballet, it is more of a music and dance extravaganza that is quite rousing and joyful. We had terrific seats and no one fell asleep!

The show itself was about an hour and a half and at 10:30 we headed to our busses to take us back to the hotel for a much needed rest since we knew that Thursday would be similarly busy.