Christmas Break Fun

After finals ended a few weeks ago, we wasted no time getting out of snowy Boston and heading South.  The first stop was Rockville, MD where both my brother and Cynthia's parents live (what a coincidence!).  We spent about four days relaxing in MD, seeing some of Cynthia's friends, spending time at National Harbor, and slack-lining for the first time (for me at least!).

Slack-Lining Like a Pro

If you take a picture fast enough (before I fall), then it almost looks like i know what I'm doing!

Dumpling Party!

In front of the tree at National Harbor

From Maryland, I flew down to Mexico City to spend a week with with my family and my sister-in-law's parents, one of which happens to be the US Ambassador to Mexico.  We had an absolutely amazing week down there, getting spoiled by delicious food prepared by professional chefs and having private tours of all the popular sites around the city.  It seemed like everywhere we went, doors would open and we would gain access to incredible opportunities!  Here are the highlights:

Incredible Accommodations
It turns out being the US Ambassador has some fantastic perks, such as getting to live in a beautiful home with a full compliment of chefs, butlers, maids, and security folks.  The whole time we were there it felt like we were staying at a 5-star resort, but even better because everything had a personal touch.
 

Starting the day right with a great breakfast!

Looking over the grounds of the house

Many an afternoon was spent in this pool!

Chapultepec Castle
During my first afternoon there, we headed to the Chapultepec Castle, which is situated on a hill in the middle of downtown.  The castle has a long and storied past, including being a military academy, imperial residence, presidential home, and observatory.  Now it houses the Museo Nacional de Historia, or the National History Museum.  We were fortunate to be driven to the top of the hill, right up to the entrance of the castle.  From there, we wandered through the museum and took in the great views of the surrounding city.

Entering the grounds of the Chapultepec Castle

Beautifully manicured garden on the roof of the castle.

View from the castle

Museo Nacional de Antropologia (National Anthropology Museum)
On Christmas day, after opening presents and relaxing at the house, we headed downtown to visit the Museo Nacional de Anthropologia, which is the most visited museum in Mexico.  It contains many large artifacts from throughout the history of Mexico, dating back to the time of the Aztecs and Mayans.

Outside the museum, we watched a performance of the Danza de los Voladores, or the Dance of the Flyers.  According to one myth, the ritual was created to ask the gods to end a severe drought many years ago.

Watching the Voladores

Inside the museum.  Note the large roof supported by a single pillar!

And ancient Aztec "sacrifice stone".

The Pyramids at Teotihuacan
The next day we drove out to the pyramids and ancient city of Teotihuacan.  The city was built between 100 BC and 250 AD and at it's peak was the largest city in the pre-Columbian Americas.  The site has two large pyramids, the Pyramid of the Sun and the Pyramid of the Moon.  We climbed both and got some great views of the surrounding landscape.

The Pyramid of the Sun

Climbing the Pyramid of the Sun

On top of the Pyramid of the Sun

The Pyramid of the Moon

Mexico City Cathedral
Our trip to the Cathedral was one of the highlights of the trip.  After arriving through a side alley, we were whisked into a back entrance and met by the head priest who gave us a private tour of the whole interior.  He led us around many of the side chapels and told some amazing stories from throughout the church's history in Mexico.  From there, he handed us off to the man in charge of the bells for the cathedral and he led us up to the bell tower and across the roof where we had some incredible views of the downtown plaza.

The front facade of the Cathedral

One of the alters inside the cathedral

Looking out over the roof from one of the bell towers

On the roof, in front of one of the bell towers

Looking out from the face of the clock, at the main plaza of Mexico City

National Palace
After the cathedral, we headed to the National Palace, which houses many of the murals painted by Diego Rivera depicting scenes from throughout Mexican history.

Mexican history as painted by Diego Rivera

Inside the National Palace

Templo Mayor
Our final stop that day was a quick visit to the Templo Mayor, which used to be the central temple of ancient Mexico City.  It was expanded seven different times over the course of about 200 years, and each time they just built on top of the old construction.  Archeologists used to think that it was buried directly underneath the present-day cathedral, but in 1978 two utility workers dug into it as they were constructing a new drainage system for the city.  Since then, a large portion has been excavated and you can now walk through all seven layers of construction, all the way to the central temple.

Central temple at the Templo Mayor

Chapultepec Zoo
One of our last excursions of the trip was to the Chapultepec Zoo, home of the only panda bears in Mexico.  It turns out that it has one of the most successful panda breeding programs in the world.  We managed to get a private tour of the panda exhibit, thanks to the director of the zoo who came and found us as we were wondering the exhibits.  We watched as one of the trainers worked with one of the pandas, getting it to stand, lay down, and open it's mouth on command.  By training the bears like this, they can avoid putting them under during routine vet check-ups.

Getting a panda to stand on command!

Checking his teeth!

Shopping
Our last stop of the trip was at a huge market to pick up some souveners.  We drove out to an expansive open-air market and wandered through rows and rows of vendor booths.  There were lots of gems in there, but I settled on a Mexican blanket and a coupe T-shirts.

After stopping in Maryland for a few days and celebrating New Years with Cynthia, it was back to Boston just in time for Winter Storm Hercules, which dumped about a foot of snow on the city and sent temperatures plunging below zero.  As I write this, we're getting ready to head up skiing tomorrow.  Then on Sunday we leave for the LGO Plant Trek!!!

Landing in Boston yesterday, and missing Mexico!