Teotihuacan

TD and I hadn't even thought to visit Teotihuacan, so its a good thing Papa FE spoke up about wanting to visit (I believe the words he used were "I've been wanting to visit mywhole life...". We rented a car Saturday afternoon and so were able to arriveearly on Sunday before the crowds.

The site was incredible - the scale and layout reminded me of Tiwanaku in Bolivia - but much more impressive because of the pyramids

In front of the pyramid of the sun

sooooo steep!

Pyramid of the Moon

the frugal family at the top

Which we shared with these pilgrims (?) dressed in white singing hymns. We were lucky to arrive early - the pyramid was crawling with folks after a few more hours.

Incredible to think that at one point all the pyramids and structures were covered with stucco and murals like this one. Also incredible that these are original pigments from 1500 years ago!!

The temple of the moon

These structures lined the Avenue of the Dead and had temples or other religious buildings on top.

The sun was intense - this was TD's solution...

Looking down the Calzada del Muertos (Avenue of the Dead) towards the pyramid of the sun and the Ciudadela (the citadel). The avenue is over 2 miles long!! At the height of the city, at least 150,000 people lived here.

 Pyramid of the Sun from the south west.

More bones...over 160 people were sacrificed during the construction of the Pyramid of the Plumed Serpent.

Temple of the Jaguar

The Pyramid of Quetzalcoatl (plumed serpent)

Museo de Anthropologia

We had an excellent visit to the anthropology  museum with our friend the Architect. Living and working in the southern part of the city, we haven't explored many of the highlights of the city, especially in the center.

The building is quite spectacular- a long rectangle around a central courtyard with an amazing "umbrella" fountain - which was even more impressive at night. I have no idea how that giant roof is supported by the single pillar - but it looks incredible.

 TD was of course fascinated with skulls & snakes.

Amazing Mexica (Aztec) calendar stone

Mama & Papa Ecologist come to visit

My parents came to visit this weekend and we had a blast! We gave M&P some immersion therapy into DF by taking them on the Metro on Friday night - the metro is a bit trying any day, given that its about 500 degrees and often very crowded. But Friday was something else - Picture a train car so full of people that no one can move at all, people holding their backpacks above their heads to just squeeze on, people on the platform shoving people as hard as they can to get them just far enough into the train so that the doors will close. Luckily we all made it off together and in one piece (no small feat). And after that trial by fire - a very real reminder that there are A LOT of people in DF - we had an excellent dinner in Polanco and smooth sailing for the rest of the trip. Here are some highlights...

Delicious brunch in San Angel before shopping til we dropped in the San Jacinto Markets.

Food featured highly over the weekend - here is some Saturday morning Posole Rojo.

It was a fun weekend for visitors, because it was the 100th anniversiary of the Revolution on the 21st. Lots of festivites including this Saturday night concert in Coyoacan.

Heroes of the revolution!

We focused most of our trip on much older history - Mama & Papa FE are history buffs - we visited the pyramids of Teotihuacan, the Templo Mayor of Tenochitlan, and the amazing anthropology museum, which all merit their own posts.

Mescal at home

We drank a little mescal the other night, Mexican style - with oranges and chile salt.

I love breakfast after a dinner party...

San Jacinto Markets

We checked out the San Jacinto markets on Saturday in nearby San Angel. There were a ton of paintings, but also a lot of artesania and some of the nicest things we saw were embroidered textiles. I'd love to have a giant embroidered bedspread like the one below! We managed to buy a few Christmas gifts, and we look forward to going again next weekend with my parents.

Rajas y pollo con crema

(chiles and chicken with sour cream)

This is Tom's new favorite dish. Rajas (strips of peppers) con crema is a popular dish here, and I added chicken to make it a bit more substantial. This is a very simple recipe, and the quantities aren't exact.

1/2 chicken cooked and shredded (rotisserie is fine here, though I usually boil bone-in chicken breasts)
3-4 poblano peppers  seeded, and cut into small strips (I usually cut in half and slice crossways)
1/2 onion diced
1 c water
8 oz sour cream

Sweat peppers and onion in covered pan for 10 minutes or until soft. Add shredded chicken and 1c. water. Cover and simmer until water is absorbed, about 10 minutes. Remove from heat and sir through sour cream. Serve with refried beans, guacamole and tortillas.