More observations on Mexico while it's fresh

Before we left Mexico City we did -- with the help of the hotel staff -- discover the sections of the burg that have earned it a reputation for culinary currency in recent years, and we ate some very good food and saw some lovely and hip neighborhoods. But most of the voices we heard in those places spoke English and it was hard to escape the feeling that we might as well have been in some place named Portland. Not that I begrudge the town the tourist dollars in any way.

The Monday we were in Mexico City we learned that, unfortunately, all the museums were closed. The ever helpful staff at the hotel suggested we hire a car and driver -- through them, naturally, at a non-trivial rate -- to take us out to Teotihuacan -- a site with some truly impressive pyramids about 20 miles out of town. So we pulled the trigger while biting the bullet and rolled with it, and a nice fellow named Victor in suit and tie rolls up in a black SUV to take us out there. Thankfully, he took off his tie as soon as the hotel was in the rearview. He suggested that we visit the shrine of Our Lady of Guadalupe on the way out. Having not done my reading to prep for the trip, I wasn't aware that it was so close by.

Our Lady of Guadalupe was an appearance of the Virgin Mary to a peasant back in the early 16th Century, not long after the Spanish got there. It was really considerate of her to visit so early. She visited not once, but four times, and she impressed herself on a cloth in a way that is really reminiscent of other images of the virgin in Europe.

OK. I see I am running on here and should hang it up for today. I was glad Victor took us out there and really glad we rode with him, because he was a super nice guy and we had great conversations with him about Mexico and learned a lot. Really it was one of the best days of our trip.