Mexico, Murals and Mole

Robyn here. . .this is my last blog entry. From now on, Peter will be reporting to you on France, Madagascar and Tanzania. It is our last night on this side of the world for the next month and a half and that feels a little weird. . .we already feel that we´ve been on the road for a while!

Mexico City has been a good last stop in the Americas. We´ve been able to rest, do some laundry, eat some good food, and get adjusted to a city vibe before we hit Paris. Mexico City, we are told, is the largest city in the world--over 20 million people and (one policeman told us) 400 museums! No wonder we didn´t get to everything we wanted to do! What we did do, though, was great. We took in the humongous Anthropology museum, saw a comprehensive number of Diego Rivera murals, visited the National Palace, rode on the impressive subway, saw Frida Kahlo´s house, took in the Mexican National symphony, and were ferried through the canals of Xochimilco on the Mexican version of a booze cruise. We´ve sampled mole, chilaquiles, flautas, tacos, fajitas, tostadas, horchata, and beer (Mexico´s number one export, we´ve learned). (And , Peter reminds, don´t forget the hot fudge sundae we had last night!) So, it´s been a good visit. And, Mexican people have been very nice to us! Shortly before we left the U.S., I read an article that reported the results of a worldwide survey of people´s happiness in different countries. Mexico topped the list as having the happiest citizens. . .nothing we´ve seen would argue otherwise!

Now, a few words from Pedro (he is practicing blogging for his upcoming stint as blogger-in-chief):

Well, thanks Robyn. It is great to finally be here at WCOTW, strongest blog signal covering all the hemispheres. Anyhow, I just thought the readers should know a little something more about our symphony trip. We first went to the "Palace of Fine Arts¨yesterday afternoon in search of more murals. There were a few, but not as many as we hoped for. We ended up returning a bit later to catch a tour of the theater space , which contains an exquisite stained glass piece on the ceiling and a , get this, curtain made of crystal. The stained glass depicted Apollo surrounded the nine muses. The curtain was crafted by Tiffany in New York. It weighs 22 tons and depicts the valley in which Mex City sits. Both are unbelievably stunning. I almost cried. Most beautiful theater I´ve ever seen. So I made sure we went back. That same night. We saw the symphony play a stunning rendition of some Strauss piece that evoked the alpine spirit. We both were totally captivated. Never mind that due to that tricky daylight savings thing we had arrived an hour late and missed half of it. Back to you, R.

Gracias, amigo, and gracias to you, faithful readers. It has been a pleasure to write to you of our travels through latin america and I will miss the writing, but I know that I leave you in Peter´s capable hands!

Adios!
xoxoxo, r&p