DF (De-Eff-eh) = Ciudad de Mexico Sun 18/05/03   Waited for almost an hour outside of the subway station which only opened at 7am and shortly after arrived at the Hostel Catedral close to the Zocalo. Met a couple of people right on arrival and ended up joining the mixed group on a trip to the Museum of Anthropology that day. The museum is truly amazing yet the sheer load of information that is compiled in their exhibits is somewhat overwhelming and seems quite unmanageable in one visit. (which costs 37 Pesos even on Sundays, which is the free museum day for Mexicans) The exhibits starts with two halls covering the anthropological "groundwork", before displaying various artefacts outlining the evolution of the Aztec culture and its predecessors, such as the Olmec. In addition to this chronological presentation there are several individual halls dedicated to other cultures found in various geographical regions around Mexico, for instance the Mayas (an exhibit which was closed at the time of writing 05/03) Made our way back to the hostel stopping of at La Merced one of the largest covered markets in Mexico and on the way changed trains twice. During this process I was foolish enough to let go of my wallet which I had been holding inside of my pocket most of the journey whilst I was trying to exit the train. A couple of quite fat women blocked the way at which point I had already realised that my wallet had been stolen. Since I was being careful only 100 Pesos and some unimportant cards were inside the wallet. Still yet another interesting lesson. Cooked at the hostal that night and met a group of architecture students which had been doing a project in Mexico city for some weeks and were due to return to London the following day. Interesting mix of people from all over the world.	Hostel Catedral - Mexico City #3 Guatemala / Crn Brazil - Ph: (5)56628244 120Ps Dorm incl Breakfast
Zocalo Catedral Catedral Interior - Side Wing Catedral Interior - Main Wing Catedral Interior - Main Wing Deidad del Aqua Museo Nacional de Antropologia Voladores Sculpture Inside Anthropology Basics - Migrations Aqueducto Statua Olmec Mural y Statua del Tlaloc Armadura Olmec Mascaras Olmecas Aztec Sculpture Aztec Sun Disc Calendar Pelaton Players Shaft Grave View from Rooftop Terrace
Architecture & Chinese Food Mon 19/05/03   In the morning I joined the "architecture group" for a visit to the Casa Louis Barragan (Gral. Francisco Ramires #14, Tacubaya) a famous Mexican architect, who died in 1988 leaving behind a variety of interesting buildings throughout Mexico, his own home being a prime example of his extremely interesting, and inspiring work. (Well worth the somewhat pricey 70 Peso donation and one of the only museums which are open on Mondays - make an appointment before visiting) Arrived back at the hostel after having done some shopping together with Jing a Chinese architecture student who had foolishly agreed to cook a Chinese dish for lunch. She however ended up recruiting the help from some of her countrywomen to "put the finishing touches" on the somewhat interesting creation (in reality her friends did nearly all the cooking), sadly in the end the flavour was hampered by the burned rice. Worked on the huge amount of pictures that I still had on my laptop in the late afternoon and spent the evening talking to the rooftop crowd: Carlos (Uruguay), Eduardo (Mexico), Mauro (Brasil) and another Carlos (Costa Rica) on the truly awesome hostel terrace overlooking the Zocalo and the Cathedral.	Hostel Catedral - Mexico City #3 Guatemala / Crn Brazil - Ph: (5)56628244 120Ps Dorm incl Breakfast
A Long Walk Around Town Tue 20/05/03   Since I had not seen enough of town and a lot of the museums had been closed on Monday I decided to go for a walking tour around the centro, university district and the Bosque Chapultepec which houses some of the museums of modern and contemporary art. Started off on Av. 5 Mayo walking past the inclined Iglesia San Felipe Neri and some other interesting buildings, such as the Casa Azulejos with a beautiful tiled outside. From there onwards to the Palacio de Bellas Artes and the Almeda Central park, close to which I visited the Museo Franz Mayer, which houses a collection of mainly Mexican art collected by the German born Industrialist. Continued to the sculpture "El Caballo" and paid the national lottery a brief visit before heading to the Plaza de la Republica with it's Monument de la Revolucion. Walked along Insurgentes, the commercial centre of Mexico City where I stumbled across an interesting new restaurant called "Alcazar" (Reforma #483 - Ph: 52860066) in an old church, housing an after hours club upstairs. Arrived at the the Bosque Chapultepecc walking up to the Monumento de los Ninos Heroes, commemorating a group of 6 Mexican cadets who during the 1847 war with the United States defended their school (the Castillo de Chaputepec) as long as they could and then wrapped themselves in Mexican flags leaping to their deaths rather than surrendering. The Bosque houses (among other things) the Museo de Arte Moderno and the Museo Rufino Tamayo (Contemporary Art), which I both visited and liked the former better. Walked through a residential district back to Insurgentes, on the way discovering the "Colegio Superior de Gastronomia" (Av. Sonora #189, Hipodromo Condesa, Ph: (5)5843800 ) which serves haute cuisine, or at least tries to, at a reasonable prices since the students are doing the cooking. Caught a bus out to the UNAM - Universidad Nacional Autonomia de Mexico and walked around the busy campus in the late afternoon, returning to the hostel by metro during rush hour, a very interesting experience. (didn't get robbed this time though haha) Worked on the bunch of photos I had taken during the day and ended the evening with a late dinner on the rooftop terrace, which would in the early hours of the next morning proved to be much less healthy than I originally expected. Read on .. Stomach Troubles Wed 21/05/03   Woke up at 4am feeling lousy and after some futile attempts in going back to sleep spent about 1 hour on the toilet followed by a short break and another 30min session at around 6am. (I am sure you really wanted to read this) Packed up my bags and checked out of the hostel catching a cheap, safe and reliable taxi ride to the airport with Miguel Angel Morales (Ph: (445) 511 606 842) whom I had met the day before and asked for his phone number. Did manage to change my flight to the time I wanted, yet had to pay a whopping US$ 75 whereas the change in Santiago had only cost me US$ 50. Left on time and as I was feeling pretty rough, I was quite happy that the plane was nearly empty leaving enough space for me to lie down on 3 seats in the middle row. The flight arrived into Santiago at around 8:30pm (time zone one hour ahead of DF) and from there quickly made my way to the Bellavista Hostel, on this cool and rainy night.	Hostel Catedral - Mexico City #3 Guatemala / Crn Brazil - Ph: (5)56628244 120Ps Dorm incl Breakfast
Info on Casa Conde Valparaiso Casa Conde Valparaiso Casa Azulejos Pano Casa Azulejos Edificio Cerca Bellas Artes Palacio Bellas Artes Palacio Bellas Artes Palacio Bellas Artes - Lobby Palacio Bellas Artes - Pano Interor Museo Franz Mayer Museo Franz Mayer - Courtyard Museo Franz Mayer - Gustavo Perez Museo Franz Mayer - Jarro Gato Pano El Caballito Monumento de la Revolucion Restaurante Alcazar Avenida Insurgentes Monumento Los Niņos Heroes Museo Arte Moderno - Entrada Museo Arte Moderno - Siqueiras Museo Arte Moderno - Kahlo Museo Arte Moderno - Morales Museo Rufino Tamayo Museo de la Ciudad de Mexico Palacio Nacional