On my first morning in Mexico City, I started out by consulting an online Mexico City tourist map to try and determine where my hotel was located in relation to the bigger tourist attractions in Mexico City. It turned out I was pretty darn close.
I could see the Paseo de la Reforma from my hotel room window. The Paseo de la Reforma is pretty famous in its own right but, more importantly for me, it links to many of the attractions that I wanted to see. During my first walk down the Paseo de la Reforma, however, I was on a quest. I needed some coffee. Fortunately, there are as many Starbucks in Mexico City as there are in Washington, D.C. At the point where the Paseo de la Reforma meets Avenida Juarez, I stopped at a Starbucks for some coffee and to leer at the architecture in the neighborhood. I have to say that I am really impressed with the architecture in this city.
I knew that if I turned right onto Avenida Juarez, I would eventually end up at the Plaza de la Constitución or Zócalo. Even though that was my primary goal of the morning, I saw a structure down the left side down Avenida Juarez and I went in that direction instead. The structure that I saw turned out to be the Museo de la Revelución. I didn’t go in, thinking that I may get back to it later but there were other things that I wanted to see. Nevertheless, I found the building in which it was housed to be fascinating.
After strolling around for a while and taking some photos, I turned around and headed towards the Zócalo, knowing full well that there would be other things to see on the way. Not too long after re-crossing the Paseo de la Reforma and heading down Avenida Juarez, I came across a little park. I don’t know the name of it, but there were numerous little statues throughout the park and several vendors selling touristic goods. (When I walked back through the park in the afternoon, the number of vendors had quadrupled.) As I walked through the park, I discovered even more interesting architecture and statues. It was a great place to sit and rest for fifteen minutes before heading on down the Avenida.
A little beyond the park is the Palacio de Bellas Artes (Palace of Fine Arts), which is yet another example of the brilliant architecture in this part of the city. I took some photos of the façade, but I don’t know if there’s enough room in this entry to post all of the photos that I’d like to add. Make sure to check out my Mexico City photo update on Facebook whenever I get around to updating it.
Eventually, I made my way down to the Zócalo. The Zócalo is one of the largest public squares in the world. It was pretty deserted while I was there, so I kind of felt like I was walking around in a large, empty parking lot. The Zócalo is bounded by La Catedral (Metropolitan Cathedral of the Assumption of Mary), the oldest and largest cathedral in the Western Hemisphere, and the Palacio Nacional, the executive seat of power in Mexico. The entire areas brought back memories of Tiananmen Square, even though I was in Tiananmen Square on National Day so there were about a million less people in the Zócalo while I was there.
Adding to the majesty of the experience was the fact that the weather was absolutely perfect. The temperature was in the mid-70s and there wasn’t a cloud in the sky. I have no idea how this will compare to the rest of my trip in Mexico City, but I am really enjoying the start.
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