I took a quick 5-day visit during Spring Break to Mexico City. I only include 1-2 photos per day below. My blogs are notes to help me prepare for my future visits! I only posted 1-2 photos of each day for time, so I will let you know when I get home and post all of my photos!

Dr. Neufeld's BLOG on his visit to MEXICO CITY

Day #1: Saturday, March 30

I was to depart on an early flight, but it was of course delayed. The delay was due to the heavy rain on the west coast of the U.S. This short distance to Mexico City is only 3 1/2 hours, but I slept for 3 hours on the flight.

I arrived in Mexico City where is was warm day...85º F. Though it was quite warm now, there were be a great, cool breeze in the evening throughout the city. I was greeted by Erick, a guide from TourRadar. He said that traffic was incredibly light because most people tend to go on a quick vacation during Easter Weekend. Despite the light traffic, it was difficult getting to the hotel because of the roads closed for the parades that were taking place.

After a couple hours in the hotel, Erick was to pick me up and take me to dinner that is provided by the tour company, a dinner at Bellini Restaurant. It is quite a classy restaurant in Mexico City as I noticed by how the locals were dressed. What this restaurant is known for is that it rotates while one is dining. It takes an 1 hr. 45 minutes to rotatate. I had a beautiful view of the city at night...I can only imagine the view of the city in the daytime. One of the employees at the restaurant told me that the best time to see the city when the air is clear is February when there are high winds that cleans the air in Mexico City. My next visit to Mexico City will be in a February.

Erick picked me up at 9:30 p.m. and then took me to see the famous Garibaldi Square, known for its night life and mariachi music. Though I thought the square was crowded, Erick said this was "empty" since it is Easter weekend. Besides listening to many mariachi groups outside in the square, I also sat down for a while in the Guadalajara de Noche Club to hear some more mariachi music. After a busy day, I got back to the hotel at approx.11:30 p.m.

Day #2: Easter Sunday, March 31

The hotel flyer and concierge told me that the breakfast room opens at 6 a.m. I got there at 6:45...they didn't open until 7 a.m. I wonder if this was because it is Easter Sunday today!

I was told by Erick yesterday that he would be picking me up at 8:30 a.m. to then proceed on to pick-up 2 other people at another hotel. But instead, someone else met me outside my hotel and walked me around the corner to another hotel where the company van was waiting. I just learned that there are 12 people on today's tour. There are 3 of us from the Los Angeles area (the other two are from Culver City and Torrance, and in fact one person works at

the Skecher's corporate building on Sepulveda Blvd. in Manhatttan Beach! Small world. The other 8 people are from different countries: Mexico, Costa Rica, Venezuela, Colombia, Peru. The language for all of the other guests is Spanish, so our guide, Urlia, will be presenting all information today in English and Spanish.

Our first journey was to visit the remains of the original city built by the Aztecs--the Templo Mayor de Tenochtitlan. This is an area I cover in world history. At this stop, we could see remnants of the original pyramid where the Aztecs had sacrificed many people to their gods. We could also see the first church that the Spanish and the Christian Church built to cover the old Aztec City. And we can also see at the site the modern day buildings of today's society. This will be another reason why I would like to revisit Mexico City.

We then stopped at a location to shop for trinkets. Though there was a lot of items I would love to have purchased, I did not...it is too early in the trip.

Next, we drove through the city to visit the stadium built in 1952, but used in the 1968 Olympic Games. Since then, the university located at the same site now uses the stadium, called Estadio Olímpico Universitario, for their college athletes. The 1968 Olympic Games are known for uncertainty and protests during the games because of the student protest of the government using funds for the games instead of the university that was 10 days before the games. In the student protest, over 200 college students were killed. It was an incredible site to see today. We also crossed the path to take a look at the university college sites. The name is National Autonomous University of Mexico City (UNAM) What incredibly beautiful buildings designed by famous artist Juan O'Gorman. I can't wait to show you my photos of their great, artistically historic buildings. They have been proclaimed as a UNESCO site by the United Nations. I have so much to share just about the library at the university! The university system is similar to that of UC or CalState in California. In Mexico, UNAM has 342,5442 students at different sites across Mexico, but only approximately 5,000 are at the Mexico City site.

We then moved on to take a quick look at the Estadio Azteca built in 1966. It is the largest stadium in Latin America and the 8th largest in the world. It also was used in the 1968 Olympic games. It was used for Mexico-Brazil soccer game in 1968 and held 119,853. It was also used for a boxing tournament in 1993 and held 132,247 people!

We then moved on to the Floating Gardens of Xochimilco. This is another place I look forward to visiting again. It is an example of the times of the Aztecs when they found their eagle pearched on a prickly pear cactus eating a rattlesnake. Here, they formed their first city Tenochtitlan. (Later, the Spanish will destroy it and build Mexico City.) The eagle was found in the middle of a lake, so the Aztecs built their city on water. They also created chinampas which they used to plant their crops. The chinampas were more perfect than exepcted...they could plant many crops 3 times a year instead of one. These canals are remnants of the chinampas. Today, this part of Mexico City is used to plant beautiful flowers. We spent an hour on our sailing through the canals. We saw many tourists, but also many local families who were celebrating Easter by spending the day with their family to have a great fast. Many families, and our group, also hired mariachi groups to spend some time on your boat. What a fantastic time!

Day #3: Monday, April 1

This was another fantastic day, this one taking me to historical sites about which I have taught for decades. I have new and more accurate info to share with my students on our Americas Unit.

Today, there were 11 on our tour. About 5 were from the U.S., others from countries in the Americas. One family from the U.S. is more specifically from Georgia. Though they have lived there for many years, they all moved to the U.S. from India, so we had some great conversations about the U.S. and other world countries to which they have also traveled!

Our guide, however, was Ursula, the same from yesterday. Our first stop today was the same as yesterday--the site that has the remnants of the Aztec's first city along with the first Catholic church in the 1500s, and modern buildings of today. I used this time to ask more questions from Ursula about this site.

On our way through Mexico City to Teotijuacan, we learned about the "favelas" of Mexico called the "ciudades perdidas" or lost cities. It was tens of thousands of people who came into this hill part of Mexico City. Later, so many people had built homes here that the federal government made it all legal (gave people the right to own the land), and brought in water and electricity. We could see the gondolas or the forms of transportation that those in the ciudades perdidas used to commute into the work areas of Mexico City.

We then stopped at a site to learn about the rock and the resulting artwork made with local rock. One important rock is the lava from volcanic explosions. Also important product is their plant from this area of Mexico, the Agave. We saw how it was used in to many different ways from the making of beverages, to shampoo, to string, to a form of mirrors, and of course for beautiful artwork. We also saw how silver is generated in this area.

We then took a one-hour journey to see the city of Teotihuacan and the pyramids. I learned so much info that is more accurate than our textbooks. It is not that our textbooks are not accurate...they just give so little info, and since they give little detailed into, we all have different interpretations and impressions about the past. One thing about the past is that we tend to focus on the Aztec and the Maya people, but there were many other tribes in the Americas. (And when I say the Americas, I mean south, central [part of the north] and north Americas.) One example is the city of Teotihuacan. In the history I teach, the info is that this city was the 2nd for the Aztecs. It implies that they Aztecs built it, but in reality they did not. They found it, used it and its pyramids, then later abandoned Teotihuacan.

So the pyramids (see the video clip) above were not built by the Aztecs. But back then, it was common for tribes to build a pyramid, then 52 years later, rebuild it by adding another layer on the old one. The first large pyramid in the video clip, the Pyramid of the Moon, was rebuilt 6 times. That is why it is that large today. The next pyramid is relative small. Some tribes used it to sacrifice man to the gods. This is called the Pyramid of the Sun. Then, you look down the Avenue of the Dead to the huge pyramid...The Citadel. This pyramid was only once because it was so large and took so long to build.

One thing I learned is how I must also share with my students when we watch our reward movie "Apocalypto". The Aztecs were known to make their sacrifices from the the temple at the top of a pyramid. That part of accurate...for the Aztecs. Movies and so many other video clips show the Aztecs breaking through the bones on the chest to pull out a beating heart. But our guide said they could not easily break the bones on the chest, so they would pull open your stomach and reach up to pull out the beating heart. A point I will share with my students when we watch the reward movie. Another point in the movie...after the beating heart is pulled from the body, they cut off the head and toss the body down the pyramid. The movies stop there. In reality, the Aztecs were known to take apart the tossed body and use much of it to cook meals served with corn (pozole). Today, the meat is pork and chicken, but back then it was the human body.

After a couple of hours visiting the pyramids, we we to a local restaurant for lunch. This is when I shared exciting time with the family from Georgia (and from India). We then took an hour commute back into Mexico City, this time to visit the Shrine of Our Lady of Guadalupe.

I know that Our Lady of Guadalupe was always an important saint for Mexico. According to tradition, the Virgin Mary appeared to Juan Diego, a man of Aztec descent, on December 9, 1531. She asked him to build a shrine on the spot where she had appeared. It was done. That is why at this site, there is in actuality 7 churches. We visited only 2...another reason why I want to return to Mexico City and spend a day at this site.

What is so incredibly beautiful is the Basilica de la Virgin de Guadalupe built in 1976. It is where I saw today the original painting of Our Lady of Guadalupe!

Another point of which I would like to learn more is the Basilica Bell Tower, the massive structure that has 3 different forms in history of monitoring time.

After visiting the Shrine for Our Lady of Guadalupe, we took another hour to return to our area of Mexico City. What a great day. When we returned, I just dropped my things and took a walk around this part of the city.

I must say that Our Lady of Guadalupe was always significant in my life. I was baptized and confirmed at the Our Lady of Guadalupe Church in Hermosa Beach. I was also altar boy there for many years and even attended the CCD classes there on Sunday from 1st grade to 12th grade!

I learned a couple tech things from this morning and from my afternoon walk. One thing is I called my CitiBank credit card before I left to tell them I would be using the card in Mexico. Today, when I tried to buy something, it wasn't working, despite my informing them. I did use their international phone number on the back of the card and was able to get it to work. I had tried using my other credit cards (Chase Bank), but none would work. I never did inform them that I would be in Mexico...why? The last few times I did call, they always told me that I no longer had to inform them if I would be using the cards overseas. I don't believe them.

A new point...in my travels, I have always found American banks around the world where I would use their ATM. I didn't find any in Mexico City. I tried calling two banks, but all phone numbers I found on the Internet and on the credit card would not work from here. So I checked the Internet and learned that if I use an American card at a large Mexican bank, it should workl I tried one, and it did! Hooray!

I also thought I would find American businesses, more specifically fast food companies, throughout Mexico City. So far, I've round a few Starbucks, and only one Carl's Jr. I am very surprised!

I am glad that I have a relatively good sense of direction. But I thought I would check it out. I went on a walk from the hotel walking in a rectangular share of streets, sitting to people watch along the way. When I tried to go back to the hotel, the Apple app "Maps" kept giving me wrong directions. If I had followed the app, I would have never made it back to the hotel! This is something I need to keep in mind for future travels!

And a final note...my good friend, T (the person I've told my students in class that we met in 7th grade a few decades ago), said to use the Apple app "Health" to help me keep track of distance in my walking. I had forgotten to keep track of something which I do monitor at home. So I turned it on for the first time at the end of the day...and it worked! It had been keeping track of my walking each day. So I was glad to learn that I walked 7.1 miles today. Quite a distance...but I can feel it. What a fantastic day! I look forward to my last full day touring Mexico City tomorrow!

Day #4: Tuesday, April 2

A weird thing to start Day #4 of my adventure in Mexico City. I received a message via WhatApps as I had been receiving all info on my trip from the tour company that I would be picked-up at 8:15 a.m. on Tuesday. So I waited outside from 8:10 a.m. as I had the previous 3 morning, but no one showed, so 40 minutes later, I sent a message on WhatApps informing the tour company that I had been waiting for 40 minutes and asking if they tour van was still on its way. I received a message telling me that they would check...5 minutes later, I received a message that they had made a mistake and that the van was on its way again to retrieve me and that they would be there within 10 minutes. However, 10 minutes later, a car appears with the driver getting out looking for me. The driver's name was Humberto and he said he would give me a personalized tour for today! It turns out that the guide for today was in a van that was completely different than the brand new on the side of the van from the last few days. And the guide today did not hold a sign with my name on it looking for me. This guide for today went inside the lobby of the hotel, asked for me, called my room, etc., couldn't find me and left. I told Humberto how the guides and vans were different from the previous 3 days. Either way, I am so impressed with "Destination Services Mexico" that they corrected their mistake by giving me a private tour for the day...I think most companies would have apologized and cancelled the day, so I am very impressed on how today developed!

Day #5: Wednesday, April 3

I've always said that I really like the long trips--4 to 6 weeks--for travel, but I must say that I did enjoy this 5-day trip. I was ready to do some school work in the evenings, but I would spend all day traveling around, spending an hour or so on my Blog each evening, then I would be dead tired. I am also glad to have a few days before school starts again.