Templo Mayor
ancient Aztec holy site found under the corner of the main Zocalo in Mexico City in 1978

I was in Mexico City for my first time in 1978 and saw the beginning of the excavation
it was a very exciting find and an exciting time to be there

now the excavations are more extensive
4 city blocks

ancient ruins right in the heart of the city

if you took down the buildings surrounding the square
I bet there are many more

the Spanish first saw the Templo Mayor in 1519
as soon as they could they tore down it down and built their temple on top
the great cathedral
you can see it in the background of the above photo

this describes how the Aztecs re-built this temple at least 7 times

they had the remodel bug bad too

the site was pretty amazing
especially since it jumped out of the past
into a modern world

they had some death fetish for sure, rows of carved skulls...

little men holding little bowls to hold the hearts of sacrificed victims,

too much information?

right around the corner on our way back

Eduardo causally says, that is where I went to high school

we thought he was kidding

no, he really went to school there, literally over ancient Aztec ruins!

we were so beat after all that walking in the sun

(Mexico City is over 7,000 feet above sea level)

we took one of the electric/petal cabs back to the hotel

nice and open air

manana - Teotihuacan

an ancient city  that was  abandoned even before the Aztecs got there

ps manana does not really mean tomorrow, it just means, not today.......

it was wonderful for me to be able to visit Mexico City again

I had lived there for a short time, almost 30 years ago

one hears all kinds of things about the dangers of Mexico

we got off the plane and entered a very quiet and non crowded airport

went to a taxi booth and bought a ticket to our hotel

our friends surprised us by meeting us in the airport

it was so fun to see them and we talked, talked all the way to the hotel

never felt safer

we stayed downtown in the Centro Historico

at the Hotel Isabela de Catolica

an awesome hotel, over a 100 years old

3 levels around a center courtyard

Jacquie and Eduardo outside their room

our room had a balcony - una balcon

we loved it, it was so fun watching the street below

cars with cool paint jobs

old trucks

at this point Betsy commandeered the camera - she said I was not taking enough pictures

I was too busy looking up at the amazing buildings

every other building was a historic relic

amazing architecture, amazing rock work

amazing that people lived in these mansions of stone

this was once a single family house...

now known as the House of Tiles

the story goes that the father said to the son,

you will not amount to a hill of tiles

so when the son inherits the house he covered it with tiles

a sort of f-you at his father I guess,

 some things never change

except now it houses a fancy restaurant

I have come across this in Latin American literature,

"they met at the House of Tile".....

first thing after leaving our things at the hotel, Eduardo walks us down the street to a restaurant

the Casino de Espanol

this building has a great history, it was built by the Spanish as a place to meet and eat Spanish food,

over 100 years ago

it is an amazingly ornate building

this is not our photo, as soon as Betsy started to take a photo a man came running over

no photos

she tried to get a photo of the doors, she was into doors,

when we left but the told her again, no photos

after the Spanish Club moved on they rented it to the American Club in the late 30ths and 40's

I could almost feel the wealth and sophistication of those Americans

in De Efe at that time

the lunch was fantastic, lasting all afternoon

with Eduardo telling stories of his father working there all those years ago, running the switchboard

and he a young boy, running the elevator

mi 3 amigos at the Palacio de Belas Artes

wow

some amazing buildings in the city

next - the Aztec ruins under the Zocalo

being a tourist in Vallarta in June was great!

off season prices, no crowds,

no kidding - Vallarta almost empty.

Betsy arrived on time

the view from our room was great

and we found these cute dresses on sale

right around the corner from the hotel

on our way to get beer

we tried not to wear the dresses at the same time

another gorgeous tropical sunset

next morning we are pretty happy

in the Vallarta airport, flying to Mexico City

DF as the locals say

nice murals in the PV airport

flying out of Vallarta

I came there 25 years ago

it has changed, but I still love that bay

next stop - Mexico City, DF,

De Efe

after a 6 hour delay in San Francisco - Puerto Vallarta!

fog in San Francisco delayed the flight - imagine that

down to one working runway the plane coming in that we were suppose to take out

could not land

it finally had to go to San Jose to re-fuel and get back in the cue

at least we got to wait in the airport, on the way home I was not so lucky

got to Vallarta at 9 pm instead of 3, glad I told Ariel not to pick me up

what to do?

Walk to the Plaza Marina, cross the street and wait for a bus to Las Palmas

do not shop at commercial as you are seriously late already

and it is staring to rain

at the bus stop you ask about the bus to Las Palmas

understanding that the buses to Las Palmas are on strike and

good luck finding a bus....

there is a cab there at the end of the seats of the bus stop

por favor, que pricio para Las Palmas?

thinking since this is outside the airport in Vallarta

and my dedestination is not only far, but not on the tourist trail

Cien pesos. Cien pesos? Sweet. 10 bucks.

It started feeling cooler once we got out of town

oh did I say it was sweltering hot?

when the rain started, soft and gentle at first

the driver and I agreed that it was mas fresca, more fresh

I did not exactly know how to direct the taxi to their house, so I got off at the church and

remembered how to walk there

they were glad to see me, nonplussed as the Mexican are about the late hour

or the rain.

Their house is also hand designed and hand built - it is wonderful!

it has been fun to see it go from one bedroom to a 2 story

L shaped house

this vine is one of my favorites

check out the flower, I love the color

I am growing it in Florida but it is not blooming.....

they too have a gorgeous view from their open air kitchen

Ariel in her kitchen on the phone like any young person these days

Monaco, after a nummy lunch of tacos from downtown

Las Palmas has the best food - really!

the guest room and massage room,

I love the bamboo Ariel and her mom painted

please come to my house and paint the same thing

I love it!!

we all went to Vallarta and got a room the next night

Angel had a blast in the pool

he literally had a water blaster and we had a great time

the water was warm and it was a little cloudy so we did not have to worry about sunburn

we ate dinner by the pool and guess what,\

it was happy hour too!

we had so much fun

sunset from our room

next - picking up Betsy and being tourists in Vallarta



after Sacramento -  Inverness, California and the gorgeous home of Willi's sister and brother in law

they have a very lovely home

they designed it

built it and have lived in it a long time now

it feels hidden and secluded in the front

and it has a great view out the back

we celebrated Willi's birthday which is only 4 days

after his mother's

it was a most wonderful chocolate cake

nummy drinks

brother and sister had a great time

thanks for having us

Next - on to Puerto Vallarta from San Francisco....

5 trips in one!


first - we fly to the west coast for Willi's Mom's 90th Birthday.... Sacramento, California, June 9th, 2011

balloons, 3 kinds of cupcakes and orchids

the birthday lunch

the birthday girl with her kids

the birthday girl on some birthday long ago.....

wow, even I am speechless.

tomorrow next post  - trip 2 :  visiting Willi's sister and brother in law in their hand made house in west Marin

curlers and curlers

the passion plants have amazing curlers....

growing like mad in the sun and heat here

and we have a girl with curlers

she just discovered them, she has always wanted curls

 it has been about 20 years since the last time I set someones hair

came out pretty good if I do say so myself

hard to go wrong with a pretty face like that...

we found that curls do not slow a girl up either