Mexico City

When we arrived at the airport yesterday, we were a little tired, having gotten up early after not getting to bed early enough (on my side at least). Not much jet lag, but the altitude does make a difference. Mexico City is at about 7,350 feet above sea level, which is not chopped liver.

The drive from the airport was not inspiring. I was a little surprised at how junky everything looked, and assumed we were still out on the outskirts, when the driver told me that the Zocalo, the massive square at the center of everything, was maybe 100 meters to our right. It was pretty dirty looking, and I was fearing that I might have brought my mom to the wrong place. Turns out, that's just not the right side of the Zocalo.

But our hotel is quite nice, as it better be, as it's the frickin Four Seasons, and we settled in and rested and hydrated (the canonical recommendation for altitude sickness). Then in the evening we went for a stroll along the lovely, tree-lined Paseo de la Reforma, on which the hotel is located. All the big multinationals are here: Aon, Deloitte, Citibanamex, Chubb, etc. etc. The Mac store is across the street. The Central Park analog is just to our left. So we are at the heart of the First World in Mexico.

From here we branch out.