Slept in today, after an exhausting day yesterday with little sleep. My main aim today was to find a money changer, as had changed a minimal amount at the airport on arrival, thinking that better rates could be found in the city centre.
Finding a money changer in Mexico city was a lot harder than I expected! Walked over 3 hours in the downtown area and only came across 1 money changer with a very bad rate, which I wasn’t keen to have. I had better luck finding money changers in other Latin American countries before… very strange.
Had to attempt getting access to free wifi access at a restaurant to google for options, and results seemed to indicate most money changers were concentrated around Chapultepec area. After walking to the few money changers in the area, the best rate I got was still slightly lower than what I found at the airport. Lesson learnt – change more money at the airport in Mexico in future!
Nevertheless, had great weather for exploring Mexico Downtown. We tried visiting Zocalo yesterday, but it was closed and most of the area around Palacio de Bella Artes was also fenced up – something to do with protests over a weekend?
I must say, I am impressed with the downtown area, and enjoyed walking the streets – beautiful architecture on numerous buildings, mostly European style, bustling street hawkers lining the streets, etc. There were also police at almost every corner, so unlike most stories I heard about Mexico City being unsafe, I didn’t feel unsafe at all.
Catedral Metropolitana
As usual, most write ups in each attraction in Mexico are in Spanish.. so tapping on my best friend’s (Google) expertise… Catedral Metropolitana is the largest cathedral in the Americas, and seat of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Mexico.
It is situated atop the former Aztec sacred precinct near the Templo Mayor on the northern side of the Plaza de la Constitución in Downtown Mexico City. The cathedral was built in sections from 1573 to 1813 around the original church that was constructed soon after the Spanish conquest of Tenochtitlan, eventually replacing it entirely. Spanish architect Claudio de Arciniega planned the construction, drawing inspiration from Gothic cathedrals in Spain.
Beautiful and massive building from the outside.
Palacio Nacional (National Palace)
The Palacio Nacional is the seat of the federal executive in Mexico. This site has been a palace for the ruling class of Mexico since the Aztec empire, and much of the current palace's building materials are from the original one that belonged to Moctezuma II.
There is apparently free access to the building via a guided tour, which is limited to 150 people per half hour slot, but it must have been because it’s a Monday, and was told by the security guard to come back the next day.
Just as I was leaving the entrance, a black guy wearing a suit, stopped me and asked if I was able to speak English, which of course I said I could. He then told me he is from the US, and is a pastor. He was travelling with his wife and 4 kids on a bus when his luggage got misplaced upon arrival. He added on that he had reported to the police as well as gone to the US embassy for assistance, and is being put up in a youth hostel by the embassy.
Then he showed me his watch and asked if he could get a loan from me and use the watch as a collateral so that he and his family can catch a bus back to Cancun. I said no. Sounded to me like a scam artiste!
Palacio de Bellas Artes
It has been called the "Cathedral of Art in Mexico"and is considered to be the most important theatre and the most important cultural center in Mexico. It was declared an artistic monument in 1987 by UNESCO.
Access to the upper floors of building were fenced off. There were some nice art murals on the 2nd and 3rd floors, which could be partially seen from the ground floor.
Museo del Templo Mayor
Templo Mayor (Spanish for "Great Temple") was one of the main temples of the Aztecs in their capital city of Tenochtitlan, which is now Mexico City.
Its architectural style belongs to the late Post classic period of Mesoamerica. The temple was called the huei teocalli [ˈwei teoˈkalːi] in the Nahuatl language and dedicated simultaneously to two gods, Huitzilopochtli, god of war, and Tlaloc, god of rain and agriculture, each of which had a shrine at the top of the pyramid with separate staircases. Construction of the first temple began sometime after 1325, and it was rebuilt six times. The temple was destroyed by the Spanish in 1521 to make way for the new cathedral.
Being a Monday, the access to the museum was closed today. However the sprawling site means that part of the old remains could be seen from the exterior.
Palacio de Correos de Mexico
Palacio de Correos didn’t look very impressive from the outside. Stepping in was a different story – Lots of gold elements within the building, marbled floor and pillars, designed in a classic elaborate style.
The building was built at the very beginning of the 20th century, when the Post Office became a separate government entity. It was designed by Italian architect Adamo Boari, who also designed the Palacio de Bellas Artes.
Street of Perfumes
What caught my attention was the inside of the store… just at the entrance are ladies standing behind a dispensary like counter, with shelves of silver bottles. From what I could understand, they were bottles with different aroma oils in them – must had been at least 400 different oils on the shelves!
Further into the store are different varieties of empty glass bottles in all shapes, sizes and colours. Super cool!
I was even more surprised that there were many people waiting to be served by the staff, some carrying slips of paper with items they wanted, which they handed over to the staff when it was their turn. I felt like I was in a pharmaceutical dispensary, just that this was for fragrances.
As I walked out of the store, I realised that the entire street were filled with other perfumeries, but with a more modern based design. Fragrances must be very popular in Mexico to warrant the numerous fragrance store in similar style.
Other Scenes from Downtown Mexico
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