Mom Came to Visit (May 2011)

It's been a while, mom came to visit us in Mexico City for Mother's Day, and we had a blast. Visited Frida Kahlo's house (museum) then went to Malinalco a place where warriors would be trained. then when also visited the National Museum of Anthropology.

Easter Bunny (Honney Bunny)

This year, my husband was the selected Easter bunny bringing baskets, and hidding eggs for the little ones to find, this was a nice saturday, little kids that were happy to take a picture with the Easter Bunny.

Cantinas

In Downtown "Centro Historico" there are many things to see, they have a Cantina Tour, this is a walking tour, whe went to some old fashion stile cantinas, one of them had pulque, very known here, and strong, made from the plant that Tequila is made from, but it is some what slimy... (yuck) We did go to some other cantinas that don't just serve Pulque (those are called Pulquerias).

This register really worked... soo cool.

Teothiuacan Pyramids

Teotihuacan – also written Teotihuacán, with a Spanish orthographic accent on the last syllable – is an enormous archaeological site in the Basin of Mexico, containing some of the largest pyramidal structures built in the pre-Columbian Americas. Apart from the pyramidal structures, Teotihuacan is also known for its large residential complexes, the Avenue of the Dead, and numerous colorful, well-preserved murals. Additionally, Teotihuacan produced a thin orange pottery style that spread through Mesoamerica. The city was thought to have been established around 100 BCE and continued to be built until about 250 CE. The city lasted until sometime between the 7th and 8th centuries CE. At its zenith in the first half of the 1st millennium AD, Teotihuacan was the largest city in the pre-Columbian Americas. At this time it may have had more than 200,000 inhabitants, placing it among the largest cities of the world in this period. Teotihuacan was even home to multi-floor apartment compounds built to accommodate this large population.

Joaquin and I from the Pyramid of the Sun



From the Sun Pyramid, behind my head is the Moon Pyramid.




In the middle of the Sun Pyramid




After going up and down the Sun Pyramid!




From the Pyramid of the Moon



Training in Charleston

Had to go for a training in Charleston, here is a little history on Charleston...

Charleston is known as The Holy City due to the prominence of churches on the low-rise cityscape, particularly the numerous steeples which dot the city's skyline, and for the fact that it was one of the few cities in the original thirteen colonies to provide religious tolerance, albeit restricted to non-Catholics. Many Huguenots found their way to Charleston.^[5] Charleston was also one of the first colonial cities after Savannah, Georgia to allow Jews to practice their faith without restriction. Kahal Kadosh Beth Elohim, founded in 1749, is the fourth oldest Jewish congregation in the continental United States.^[6] Brith Sholom Beth Israel is the oldest Orthodox synagogue in the South, founded by Ashkenazi (German and Central European Jews) Jews in the mid-19th century

Me in the Hotel Balcony

Downtown Charleston

Market place in downtown Charleston

Afther a delicious meal at Haymans. (Mariana and Fabiola)

Chapultepec Castle

Nice stroll in the park, and then a visit to the castle, Chapultepec Castle (Castillo de Chapultepec in Spanish) is located on top of Chapultepec Hill. The name Chapultepec stems from the Náhuatl word chapoltepēc which means "at the grasshopper's hill". It is located in the middle of Chapultepec Park in Mexico City at a height of 2,325 meters (7,628 ft) above sea level. The site of the hill was a sacred place for Aztecs, and the buildings atop it have served several purposes during its history; including that of Military Academy, Imperial residence, Presidential home, observatory, and presently, the Museo Nacional de Historia.
It is the only Royal Castle in the American Continent, as well as the only one in North America that was used to house sovereigns: the Mexican Emperor Maximilian I, and his consort Empress Carlota, during the Second Mexican Empire.

View from a garden in the Castle.

Valle de Bravo

 The town has several names during its history including San Francisco del Valle de Temascaltepec, Temascaltepec de indios, Villa del Valle. The original names including Temascaltepec caused confusion with the nearby "Real de Minas de Temascaltepec", now Temascaltepec, so the county was known as "El Valle" (The Valley).^[2] "de Bravo" was added later to honor Nicolás Bravo who fought at the Castle of Chapultepec during the Mexican-American War. Its glyph includes the image of a temascal in reference to its original name.
In 1971 Valle de Bravo was known as typical city and magic town in 2005. The town and the surrounding area are well-known in Mexico as a tourist destination, principally because it is natural area only 2 hours away from Mexico City.

Joaquin and I at Valle de Bravo



Cascada Velo de Novia

Joaquin and I at Velo de Novia in Valle de Bravo

Monarch Butterflies

This passed weekend Joaquin, my aunt and I went to see the butterflies, we took a tour that went to "Valle de Bravo" passing by the sanctuary first. We walked (hiked) about 1 mile up to get to were the butterflies are most seen. it took us about one hour to get there, and then walk back to the bus. On our way to town (Valle de Bravo) we got to see a lot of butterflies allround the bus, on the street. It was amazing and beautiful. In Valle de Bravo we took a boat trip on the river, the day was nice, we got back home tired! it was a long day.

Monarch butterflies, merge from Mexico were they re-produce then head back north, We got to see some of them take flight back to the northern part....

Monarch butterflies are not able to survive the cold winters of most of the United States so they migrate south and west each autumn to escape the cold weather. The monarch migration usually starts in about October of each year, but can start earlier if the weather turns cold sooner than that.

Joaquin and Tia Celia! Valle de Bravo, Mexico

Joaquin and Me at Valle de Bravo

Joaquin and me Velo de Novia Watter Fall

Velo de Novia Watter Fall

Dia de la Candelaria, Candlemas

In Mexico this holiday is celebrated as Día de la Candelaria, known as Candlemas in English, because candles were brought to the church to be blessed.
In Mexico Día de la Candelaria is a follow-up to the festivities of Kings Day on January 6th, when children receive gifts and families and friends break bread together, specifically Rosca de Reyes, a special sweet bread with figurines hidden inside. The person (or people) who received the figurines on Kings Day are supposed to host the party on Candlemas Day. Tamales are the food of choice.
That is Wed February 2nd, and here at work we will have our tamales, I did not get the baby Jesus, but I will eat some tamales. At my aunts house we also had some rosca, Joaquin got about 3 (or more) baby Jesus,,, so I don't know how many tamales that will come up to..... Trying to stay on a diet, after the tamales,, maybe?
I will put up some pictures, of the little work party and the one at my aunts house as soon as I have them.

The ones I liked the most!

Picking Pictures!

Here comes the Stress! hahaha,, well after all is done, the Picture picking begins, the hardest thing is liking a lot of them, and then having to get some input on the husband's part!
Well we finally got it done,, and just sent the list of the pictures that were selected to the photographer... Here are some that I liked....

Yes, we are picture perfect! ;-)