Xochimilco

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 Back to Around Mexico City

Xochimilco, one of the UNESCO World Heritage Sites, located only 30-40 minutes south of Mexico City, has a network of canals. A lazy boat ride will take you through the canals which may remind you of Venice. The Mexican touch comes in when you spot vibrantly colored boats, Mariachi singers and vendors on boats selling tacos and corn.

We got an entire boat to ourselves so we could stop and do what we please. Our guide tried explaining everything in Spanish and we understood only 50%. With that in mind, anything written below might be half correct. 😉

The painted trajinera (boat) took us around the floating town at a leisurely pace. The city Tenochtitlan (now Mexico DF) was apparently fed by agriculture from this area in pre-historic times. The charm of pre-hispanic culture still remains buried underneath the shallow waters but the modernization of the canals through engineering feats like lock-gates, etc. have kept it alive. The lazy river ride brought forth several encounters with the street vendors with whom you’d be better off not buying anything lest you be ripped severely. Some of the bridges and houses will remind the ignorant of European architecture, before being told that Europeans stole these from here.

Enjoy the ride as much as you can, before you get back to the mundane city life. This is the one hour that you’d have believed that the real pace of life can actually be this slow. To me that 1 hour seemed like an eternity, but when the tour ended, it reminded me of the times we should actually put everything else to bed and stay awake giving the brain some time back to relax.

Location Tips –
GPS Address: Blvd Adolfo Ruíz Cortinez (Periférico Sur) N/A, Xochimilco, Unidad habitacional aztlán, 16034 Ciudad de México, CDMX, Mexico
Once in the city, you will find multiple places offering Boat Rides. But go to the above address, and find parking. Parking rates range from MXN $40 to MXN $50 for the entire stay. Official rates for boat rides are MXN $350 per person. But the folks in the Embarcadero will offer different tours at random prices. Bargain shamelessly until you get them at $350 per person per hour or lower.

Check out our Photo Gallery Here

 

Teotihuacan, Mexico

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Back to Around Mexico City

GPS Address: Pyramid of the Sun, San Juan Teotihuacán, 55800 Teotihuacán de Arista, State of Mexico, Mexico

Teotihuacan was a pre-hispanic mesoamerican city, with the pyramids, and a plethora of ancient ruins assembled in an area of ~12 square miles. It is designated as a UNESCO World Heritage Site (1987) and attracts a heavy number of tourists both from within Mexico and outside. The city was home to Nahuatl speaking Aztecs and predates the Mayan civilization.

There are two main pyramids (Pyramid of the Moon and Pyramid of the Sun), avenue of the dead, pre-historic murals, and residential complexes. Walk around the ancient city along the avenue of the dead will surely stimulate your senses, especially if you can read Spanish. Most of the signs and the descriptions are written in Spanish, so it will help to have an offline dictionary handy if you cannot read Spanish.

If you enter through the parking lot #1 and walk towards the Pyramid of the Moon on the other side of the city, you will do so via the Avenue of the Dead. Along the road, there will be ruins of temples, residential complexes and marketplaces along with the places to worship.

Pyramids – The larger one (75m high) is the Piramide del Sol, has multiple levels (around 100 steps of various shape and sizes). The first two stages are easier than the last one with narrower steps. But once atop, it is a vista you’d not want to miss. There is always a line to climb, and it gets pretty crowded up in the levels so be careful. The smaller one (Piramide del Luna) is probably half the height that of the Piramide del Sol, but the steps are steeper. You can only climb halfway, but the view is amazing regardless.

In the avenue of the dead, near the Moon Pyramid, there are two things that you should not miss –
1. Mural of a Puma – due to great restoration work, the paint and the sketch is still visible. Many such murals were there in the city, but are not yet restored.
2. Chalchiuhticre – Apparently a random piece of stone, that was actually a sculpture from the past of the Goddess of Water. This is probably one of the very few stones that are preserved from the past. Rest of the stone, building walls, and monuments are all restored to somewhat extent.

Other places for good photo ops and historical importance are the Citadel (the first site near the entrance 1), El palacio de Quetzalpapalotl, remains of a smaller pyramid showing somewhat the plan, and Plaza de la Luna, etc.

Along the avenue of the dead, there are street vendors selling stuff like the Mayan Calendar (which is fake as it is actually called Sun Stone; Mayan calendar looks more like a Gregorian Calendar with different counting of days and months), Statues made with Obsidian (most of them are probably fake too as some of the texture was not of any igneous rock), Jaguares (small airpipe that makes an annoying noise), etc. Be careful buying anything from here, likely you will be ripped off unless you are fluent in Spanish to aid in heavy bargaining process. If you like something, just quote a low price that you are comfortable with and walk away.

In the avenue of the dead, near the Moon Pyramid, there are two things that you should not miss –
1. Mural of a Puma – due to great restoration work, the paint and the sketch is still visible. Many such murals were there in the city, but are not yet restored.
2. Chalchiuhticre – Apparently a random piece of stone, that was actually a sculpture from the past of the Goddess of Water. This is probably one of the very few stones that are preserved from the past. Rest of the stone, building walls, and monuments are all restored to somewhat extent.

Once out of the area, walk to the car and drive out to have food in the nearby restaurants or visit the Teotihuacan museum. We ate at one of the local restaurants that served homemade food, one of the family members sang a song for us, and had a couple of mezcals for free. Yelp review here.

Check out the Gallery for Teotihuacan (UNESCO World Heritage Site)

Isla Mujeres

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Just north east of Cancun, Isla Mujeres, is a tiny island literally translates to ‘womens’ island’. Not sure what the origin was, but it is as beautiful as a loving woman. With a wide variety of water sports options including but not limited to snorkeling, scuba diving, and swimming in the turquoise waters, this is a must visit for Cancun vacationers. Abundance of beaches, humming streets, and plenty of bars/restaurants will keep a tourist busy for an entire day.

How to get there:

We hopped on a cruise (err party) boat from Playa Tortuga at the north west corner of Zona Hotelera. Company details here – Caribbean Funday Adventures.
We paid ~$65 per person for a return trip and bunch of activities including food and open bar. Although it seems high, given that one way transfers from any of the three ports (Playa Tortuga, Playa Linda, and Playa Caracol) would cost about $20 p.p., we thoroughly enjoyed our trip that lasted about 8 hours.
TIP – At Playa Tortuga, if you need to park, find the parking attendant (which might be tough during busy times) and pay $5 for all day. But get there early as the parking lot is small, and getting a spot can be tricky. Best bet is to catch R1/R2 buses @9.50 pesos p.p. which stops right next to Playa Tortuga.

In Isla Mujeres:

If you are staying back for a night in Isla Mujeres, you can hail a cab to go to the hotel zone for ~$5. If just for a day, it is best to plan the day ahead at least in the busy seasons, as the attractions/activities fill quickly.
With the party boat, we docked at a beach area south of the Playa Norte where they had a bunch of activities including a small turtle farm, dolphin feeding area, kayaking, water slides etc. We had breakfast/snacks and lunch after going out to the sea for snorkeling. The snorkeling experience was fantastic. We spotted a ton of colorful reef fish, the reefs themselves, and underwater flora/fauna.
If you can plan ahead, definitely work out a plan to visit the MUSA Underwater Museum. Details can be found here. But you may not be able to explore the full view of the sculptures from the surface, so Scuba is a better option if you want to see the structures up close.
Although there was not much to do after eating a sumptuous lunch, we could have taken a scooter/ATV to explore the nearby area. Instead we headed to the Playa Norte, which is also close to the El Centro (downtown Isla Mujeres). The beach is typically crowded, but can get an ATV or golf cart (costs about $50 for an hour, but definitely haggle and shop around to get the best price). It is probably the best way to look around the El Centro in the scorching tropical sun.
After a fun day in Isla Mujeres, we headed back to Cancun and boy! was that fun. With free booze on board the catamaran, and a ton of activities, dancing, and games on board, it was a blast. We returned back to the Playa Tortugas right after sunset.

Cozumel and Playa del Carmen

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Cozumel

Bright and sunny beaches, coral reefs, and island tours, Isla Cozumel is home to a ton of tropical activities. We drove down to Playa del Carmen and parked in a parking lot next to the ADO bus station (X of Av. Benito Juarez and Calle Quinta Avenida). The ferry to Cozumel leaves from Playa del Carmen dock. There are two agencies (Ultramar and Water Jets) who run ferries within 30 minutes interval. We planned for a day trip to Cozumel, so we hopped on to one of the early ferries. Check the details here.
Tip – there is no need to bargain if you are buying tickets from one of these agencies. Just make sure to not get a return ticket, because a, it costs the same and b, you won’t have flexibility in choosing the return ferry.
After getting sun bathed atop the ferry, while enjoying the serenity of the Caribe mar, we ventured out to the island. Multiple tour operators and agents flock the dock at Cozumel for tourists. We managed a deal with one of the operators for Snorkeling for about ~$20 per person. Snorkeling took 3 hours and we got to see a ton of fishes, corals, and underwater artifacts. Some cruise lines stop at Cozumel too, which can be distracting some times. We snorkeled at around 5 locations around the island. They had water, cerveza, and some snacks which kept us entertained.
Tip – The west side of the island has nice beaches while the east is rocky. But the best snorkeling experience will be on the eastern side. Also, if you do not have reservations with a snorkeling company, feel free to arrive and bargain a lot.
Tip – We think the best way to go around the island is in a scooty or motorized trikes. There are car rental companies too but they are expensive and lack supply. Taxi rates are reasonable if you ask for the rate before hopping on to them.
We did not have much time to explore the park but there are some ruins in the north side of the island. Also check out the sandy beaches in the west side.
Food and Nightlife
Definitely check out Money Bar near the south west side. If you can time your visit, you can catch amazing views of the sea as well as catch a glimpse of the sunset. It takes about $10 to come back to the dock by taxi.

 

Playa del Carmen 

Playa Del Carmen

We took the return ferry to Playa del Carmen to reach the dock around 7pm. The dock and the vicinity was flooded with people. We had been to Playa del Carmen a few times before, so did not have much to check out. We tried the beaches in Playa del Carmen twice, and both times we found seaweed galore making the water dirty. The sandy beaches are good, but the ones in Cancun trumps these to me. Locals though love to visit these beaches. We have had good times in the beach shacks though.

The street parallel to the beach has a ton of shopping and restaurants. Most of the restaurants on Calle Quinta Avenida and 10th Street are moderately good and expensive. We found it hard to find authentic Mexican fare in this part. Although we did stop for a drink or two at a local pub and had some street side tamales, food experience is not that great for us. So during our visit in 2015, we tried a place a tad north of the downtown and was not disappointed. Details below-

Food and Nightlife

…

TIPS:

If you do not have a car, don’t panic. The public transportation, though is time consuming, is cheap and reliable. We had once taken the local route: took the R2 bus to the ADO station in the downtown. Cost 9.50 pesos per person. From ADO, we took the second class bus to Playa Del Carmen. Cost 30 Pesos per person. It took about 90 minutes, compared to the 40 minutes promised by the local people. (Note: Mexico is so much like India, in so many respects such as sense of time, respect for others, and intention to cheat foreigners! LOL). The return back to the hotel was eventful. We ended up paying 60 pesos per person for the return trip to Cancun downtown in a first class coach, and 200 pesos for a cab to the hotel.

 

Chichen Itza and the Cenotes

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Chichen Itza

Pyramid of Kukulcan (El Castillo)

May 2014

Day two took us to the much awaited visit to the Mayan civilization nested inland, 200km from Cancun. A $79 per person bus tour was organized from the Hotel Concierge, that picked us up by 7:30am. Breakfast, drinks, and lunch was included, along with narratives on the history and backgrounds of the Mayan people. If required, we also gathered a nice map for the site, which is regarded as a World Heritage Site by UNESCO. Until a few years back, tourists could climb up the stairs of the mesoamerican pyramids, but due to vandalism and to protect the ancient wonder, tourists are no longer permitted to climb.

Facts:
  • In Mayan, Cancun (Kaan Kun) means ‘Nest of the Serpent’. Watch out for the Iguanas in all parts of the area.
  • Chichen means the mouth of the well. Itz is the high priest.
  • About 800,000 people still speak the Mayan language, albeit the written language is not practiced anymore, possibly due to the large number of characters and complexity of the structures.
  • Apart from the Cusco area in Mexico, Mayans still reside in Belize, El Salvador, Guatemala.
  • Mayans followed the Venus cycle for the famous (or infamous) Mayan Calendar. The calendar counts number of days from the start of the cycle, which is when the Earth, the Sun, and the Venus align. This is the creation date.
  • Mayan Calendar: Two wheels rotating in opposite directions measure the number of days. The best way to display the LC (long count) day is: Baktun.Katun.Tun.Uinal.Kin. Details of the format can be found here.

In the entire tour, taking 3 hours, we came to know several interesting things about the area. That the area is covered with limestone, made the rivers to run underwater, and therefore provided unlimited filtered water to the inhabitants of the village. The Chichens were smart people, and had placed great values on family, GOD, and the tribe they belonged to. Multiple wars were fought in the days to gain power. They were engineers too. Built straight roads to the ocean, used zero, erected hollow pyramids, and created scientifically designed structures that marked the four seasons based on the Earth’s orbital cycles. By far the most important structure in the area is the Pyramid of Kukulcan (deity of serpent). The pyramid has staircases, designed in a way to make it look like two snakes winding up to the top, with their heads in the ground level. During the equinoxes, the shadows create the visual effect of the deity whirling down the staircase. Interesting: The four staircases have 91 steps, and the final step on the top adds up to the number of days in a solar calendar, 365 days.

El Caracol
Great Ball Court

Other structures we visited were the Great ball court (where the game of Pok ta Pok was played during specific events), the Sacred Wall, El Caracol (the observatory of the Mayans), Chac Mool (the lying human statue), and El Mercado (the market). The structures were all painted in different colors, and over the years, the colors have faded but the rocks still managed to exist even after 1000 years of existence. In essence the Mayans somehow reminded us of the Egyptian and Indus civilizations, albeit without any chance of communication among them. Similarities in the pyramid structure, reliance on the high priests on horoscopes and decisions, and worshiping of deities for food and income would run a shiver if thought carefully.

El Mercado
The Sacred Wall
Chac Mool

After the tour, we were taken to a so called ‘Co-Operative’ for Mayan people where we had a delicious Mexican and Yucatan style lunch buffet accessorized with local music and dancers. But the store up front, had mass produced items at an exceedingly steep price. Therefore, we took the less beaten path, and crossed the street to find a little mom-and-pop shop that had equally good souvenirs. A little bit of haggling for price, with the Calcutta trained shopper, yielded great results. 🙂

Ik Kil Cenote

 

Cenotes

The tour stopped for a little bit at one of the largest Cenotes (Sink Hole). The Ik Kil Cenote was a good place to be in a hot summer day. With a depth of about 140 feet, one can jump from different heights into the crystal clear water. There are underground tunnels underneath the surface of the water which is about 80 feet from the ground level. For the less adventurous ones, life vests are available for $3, and for the far less adventurous ones, the 80 step staircase would take you to the water level, where you can feel the water and soak the toes. The return phase of the trip was fun with unlimited supply of cerveza, and tequilla shots. Interesting way of getting people to slumber.

Ottawa

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Ottawa, nestled between Canada’s two largest cities, Montreal and Toronto, had far more to offer than we thought it had. A perfect blend of cityscape, art, culture, history, and people makes this non-descript capital city a must visit in a trip to the eastern part of the country.

Although it is supposed to be an anglophone, plenty of people here speak French possibly due to the proximity to Quebec City. When entering the city from the east, we headed straight to the downtown, the arts district. We were there during the Canada day (July 1st) which was a fantastic coincidence. The parades, celebrations, and fun around the town was even better than the independence day celebrations in the US. We even got free bus rides the entire day.

Although there is not a lot to keep a tourist interested in visiting attractions, the museums and historical places may keep a visitor occupied for 2-3 days. Here are the places you cannot afford to miss:
1. Parliament Hill & Building – Gothic revival style buildings on the bank of the Ottawa 11737978_10207131216217198_2035876546652089870_nRiver, this building is a masterpiece of history and architecture. The surrounding area of the buildings have several interesting vista points to the river and the city. During the Canada day celebrations, the Centennial flame looked marvelous in the backdrop of the gatherings.
– Tip: the Parliament Hills look mesmerizing from the other side of the river – the Civilization Museum.

2. Rideau Canal – A UNESCO heritage site, you won’t regret spending time here for the 11703221_10207131215497180_8867883961410863283_nhistory it carries. Connecting the Rideau river with the Ottawa river was an engineering marvel. The stepped structure, the periodic opening and closing of the gates and the sheer history of the ups and downs in the local economy caused by the canal are not to be missed. Walking up and down the two sides of the canal with coffee in hand was a fun activity with people watching and exploring the famous hotel next to the canal.

3. Notre Dame Basilica 11742633_10207131261178322_7724809714709058989_n

Highly recommend walking around the area including the arts district and Byward market area. The coffee shops and restaurants are amazing in the Byward market.

Food and Nightlife
Byward market has the best nightlife/restaurants in town. We ate at The Keg steakhouse. The ambiance, service, and food were excellent with the steak surpassing my expectations. My review here.

Gallery here

Mexico City

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Back to Mexico City Itinerary

Home to a plethora of museums, historical buildings, artwork, and street food coalesced within the boundaries of a modern city, Mexico City is a fantastic tourist destination. Although the city has received a lot of negative publicity due to the crime, traffic and corruption, it actually is not that different from any other large metros around the world. Being cautious about navigating the city in the same way one would do in Chicago, New York, or London should be enough to keep you safe. We ventured out to multiple areas in the city during our stay, even walked during the late hours with no trouble (and no apparent signs of crime) in the neighborhoods like Zona Rosa, Condesa, and Zocalo.

Having said all that, below is a list of places that a traveler interested in history, art, and cityscape should not miss –

1. Chapultepec Park

Looking west from Angel de la Independencia

A long walk to the Musee de la Antropology was a worthwhile one in the end. At ~MXN $65 per person for foreigners, you can easily spend 4-8 hours here immersing yourselves in the 22 permanent exhibits. All exhibits revolve around the evolution of the cultures in various parts of Mexico over the last few centuries and decades. With the deluge of information you’ll have to swim in, knowledge of Spanish would help since most of the explanations are not in English. Best strategy to cover everything yet retaining the knowledge gained would be to follow the numbers in the map. Feel free to take photos, but please do not run through the exhibits. Just pause and visualize for a few moments, and connect the dots in history from a third party perspective. This museum would easily influence a visitor to enhance their perception about history and culture.

Temporary Exhibit for Luz

If you want a quick bite, the restaurant at the ground floor is decently priced and has a wide menu with pretty tasty food. Service is slow, so go through the ordeal quickly lest you lose crucial time from the day.

If the other museums are open, it is a great idea to swing by the Musee de Modern Arts and on the other side of the park, the Museum of National History. These two are not close to the Musee de la Antropology but worth a quick look since you are already in this area. Also worth visiting is the Chapultepec Castle after a 20 minute hike up to the top of the hill.

Street vendors in Chapultepec Park

 

Otherwise, take it slow, take a stroll through the park, eat some street food, sit in a quiet area by the water and do people-watching. I heard it is a good idea to leave the park before or at most 30 minutes after sunset/dark.

Check out the Gallery for Museum of Anthropology

 

2. Zona Rosa

Known as the happening part of the city, Zona Rosa (or Pink zone) contains ubiquitous bars and nightlife attractions, wide streets, multiple foreign embassies, and several upscale shops. This is also a LGBT friendly community, and home to offices of some of the well known multinationals.
Zona Rosa and La Condesa has some of the most well known restaurants in the city.
A major tourist attraction in this area is – Angel de la Independencia (Angel of Independence), which was built to commemorate the start of the Mexican war of independence.
Plan to spend ~30 minutes here
Centro Historico / Zocalo

 

3. Centro Historico (Zocalo)

Centro Historico, located in the north-east part of the city, is home to several historical sites,
museums, cathedrals and other attractions. Plan to spend an entire day here to immerse into the culture and history of the wonderful country. Knowledge of Spanish is recommended. Below are some of the must visit POIs –
a. Cathedral Metropolitana
Probably one of the best displays of exquisite artwork in this area, built in the 16th century, this cathedral is the oldest and largest in Latin America. Groundbreaking paintings, vivid colors and sculptures are trumped by the intricate history buried underneath. This cathedral was built on the site of the Ancient temples of the Aztec God of War. Templo Mayor, located next door corroborates that finding.
  – Plan on spending <1 hour here
  – Entrance cost – Free
b. Templo Mayor
This is the archaeological site of one of the oldest temples/pyramids in Mexico City (then Tenochtitlan). Although you can see the ruins from outside, the museum and the full extent of an ancient city surrounded by the city sky is a unique setting.
The temple is dedicated to multiple Gods in Aztec history, and has been rebuilt/reconstructed at least four times. Once inside, you will be able to see the ruins from all four stages of the build-up. Ongoing restoration programs are able to reconstruct and display some of the monuments, structures, and sites having significant importance. Although walking through the ruins will not feel like you are actually in an ancient town, just visualizing the grandeur of the pyramid/temple will surely cause eeriness.
The museum at the end of the site tour (self-guided) is a treat to history buffs. With 8 different exhibits, it does a great job at showing the anthropological, archaeological, cultural and historical intricacies of the ancient Aztec civilization. Many of our misunderstandings about the Mayan civilization got clarified from our visit to the museum.
  – Plan on spending ~20 minutes in the site and ~1.5 Hours in the Museum
  – Entrance cost – MXN $65 per person
c. Palacio National 
Built on the site of the palace of the Aztec ruler Moctezuma, the national palace is home to some of the national houses (treasury. archives, etc.). It is a huge facility with probably the tightest security of all the museums/historic sites in the city. The second floor of the palace is decorated with some of the best works of Diego Rivera. The murals are scintillating with the narration of historical events, mundane daily lives of the folk, and depiction of the cultural progress of Mexico.
There are free tours in different languages. We overheard some of the descriptions of the guides and thought that if you have some background knowledge of the culture and have little bit of patience, you can understand decent amount of the stories from the murals.
– Plan on spending ~2 hours
– Entrance cost – Free
d. Secretaria de Education 
Possibly the most underrated of all the historic sites that contains a huge amount of art history. There are at least 100 murals in the inside walls of the building. Diego Rivera worked on these murals in the 1920’s. Thematically, these are about ancient culture, Spanish invasion, war of independence, communism, and some of the key events in the daily lives of the ancient and modern folk. For a traveler, looking to understand the history of the country through breathtaking display of art, this is a must visit.
– Plan on spending 1-2 Hours
– Entrance cost – Free
 
e. Bellas Artes
Located next to the Alameda Park, this museum is nestled under a beautiful building with a large colorful dome on top. The architecture and sculptures outside the building, along with the plaza in front makes it a place worthwhile to spend a quaint afternoon/evening at. Apart from people watching and architecture admiring, lazying around in this area seems to be a popular afternoon activity for locals.
This museum has an astonishing collection of murals and paintings from the Mexican revolution from around the country. But in my opinion, the best one is the “Man, Controller of the Universe” by Diego Rivera. This was the recreated mural of the original, later destroyed, “Man at the crossroads” in the Rockefeller center in midtown, NYC. We spent ~30 minutes adoring the beautiful painting. Along the three floors, there are numerous works by Rivera, Jose Clemente Orozco, Roberto Montenegro, Alfaro Siquiros, et al.
– Plan on spending 2-3 Hours
– Entrance Cost – MXN $60
f. Mezcal and Tequila Museum
Although not suitable for traveler having kids in the group, this is a unique museum located next to the Plaza Garibaldi. Should not take you more than 30-45 minutes to explore the museum, and they give out one free mezcal and tequila with each ticket purchase. Slightly overpriced, but very interesting to hear how each drinks are different and how they are made. Hard to get any museums of this sort in other parts of the world as the drinks Mezcal and Tequila are indigenous to Mexico.
In the restaurant downstairs, there are food and other cocktail/drinks options that are slightly overpriced. Overall, you can skip this if you do not have time. Only include if you are hitting Plaza Garibaldi in the evening and are in a mood to try out mezcals while listening to Mariachi bands.
– Plan on spending <1 Hour in the museum, but 1-2 Hours in the shop/restaurant
– Entrance Cost – MXN $60 (includes the museum, one mezcal and one tequila)
 
g. Plaza Garibaldi
This is a perfect place to end your tiring day. This is a large square with shops and buildings all around. Mariachi bands, singers, and performers roam in this square performing acts all day (especially in the late afternoons). You can catch a glimpse of their acts, take photos, take a stroll around the marketplace, grab a quick bite of comida tipica, or even sit back and relax with some cerveza in your hand.
– Spend whatever amount of time you want
– Free

Montreal, QC

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Quebec City’s largest metro area, Montreal (phonetically mon-e-hal), presents an interesting mix of culture, history, and sheekness. With its French traditions, and ultra-modern looks, this city is basically a river island on the river St. Lawrence. It was late evening on a holiday weekend, when we drove into the city and checked in to our hotel in the downtown.

And, being so late in the day, we ventured out to check out the nightlife in the area. We found a plethora of options serving classic European fare. Downtown pub options were abundant too, with the streets humming with a fashionable young crowd. Find further details on the French style dining/eclectic nightlife below.
Next day, we quickly chalked out the plan for the day while having breakfast at a little street side cafe. We figured the touristy options of the top-less bus tours could be an option. There are a few good ones like Gray Line et al., but we chose ‘self guided walking tour’ instead for being so close to the historic old town. It turned out to be the best decision ever, albeit taken hastily.

There is enough to keep a tourist busy in the city, especially in the summer months (or weeks should I say!). Countless museums, a nice water front, historical landmarks, and obviously the jazz bars. Navigating the streets was not a problem for non-French speakers, as people are mostly equally eloquent with both English and French. Being the long weekend, the streets and cafes were filled with tourists. Yet the city was no way disorderly.

Here are some of the must visit places for a two day trip:
1. Notre-dame Bassilica: A city distinctly European, did live up to the expectation in terms10501812_10207131260858314_3312838210229297254_n of offering exquisite Gothic Revival artwork inside the cathedral. Interestingly enough for a cathedral, the stained glass paintings (my favorite type of artwork inside historic cathedrals), depict religious history of Montreal instead of typical biblical stories. The admission was CAD 5.00 per person, and it was closed for visitors for multiple weddings. Therefore there was a line too, but it was worth the wait for the charm and uniqueness of the building.
2. Place des Armes: Right opposite of Notre-Dame Bassilica, it is one of the few public squares in the city. Around it are some of the historic landmarks like the Bank of Montreal, and other old buildings. Plus the usual cacophony of the crowd, being centrally located in the old town, builds up a cheerful atmosphere. Sip a coffee or take a casual stroll along, or even just sit there to people watch.
3. River front and Clock Tower: Walk east from the Place des Armes, and you will reach the water front. During a summer day, you are bound to find people in the water engaged 11698770_10207131222177347_4023457003985090307_oin various water-sports, and other thrill rides. There are artificial beaches created too, which were lame to us as being a Florida resident. But I can see the necessity of having warm sandy beaches in this part of the continent. A walk along the river, while enjoying the views of this beautiful city, will take you to the historic Clock Tower. Built by Gillette and Johnson, who also built the Big Ben and other clock towers around the world, has a 160 odd step staircase to go atop. Needless to say, the wide angle view of the city from the top was mesmerizing.
4. Museum of Fine Arts: Although we skipped it to save time, as avid art enthusiast, it would have been great to spend some time in this museum to soak in the rich history of the city through art. Mostly free, but exhibitions vary from CAD 15 – CAD 20.
5. Underground City Market: Montreal has the largest underground network of market complexes and food courts etc. We had a tough time finding the entrances, but most entrances are through the Metro Rail stations. Find your nearest Metro station, and enter the amazing maze of indoor streets. Incidentally the Montreal Comicon was on when we were there. Characters from our favorite movies and novels were a treat to watch.
6. Mont Royal: During the summer months, a drive up the Mount Royal, be it in the day or night, is a treat to the eyes. The picturesque view of the city lit up in the night, or the magnificent panorama during the day definitely calls for a couple of visits. If driving, just enter this address in your GPS and drive up the mountains. Then find your spot on the way or around the address for best results. In the winter, you can enjoy some ice skating in the Beaver lake, which boasts an amazing place to have picnics or casual strolls during the summer.
7. Arts District and Jazz: Montreal is not complete without experiencing Jazz. The week 11745434_10207131219737286_5208595292089916626_nlong Montreal Jazz Festival was taking place during this weekend, and we walked up to Quartier des Spectacles and enjoyed the music all evening. Barring the festival, there are many Jazz bars around this area where you can enjoy live Jazz performed by local and traveling artists alike. But it is highly recommended to plan your trip during the annual Jazz Fest to enjoy some of the most memorable music festivals in the country. More information here.
8. Others: Must see places include the Bio Dome, Botanical Garden, Le Plateau, and St. Joseph Oratory.

Food Scene and Nightlife:
1. Chinatown: We love authentic Chinese food, and have been to many Chinatowns around North America. Obviously did not want to miss out on a chance to have lunch here too. We tried the Xiaolong Baos and Shabu Shabu (Chinese Hot Pot) in Chinatown. Located on the La Gauchetiere street at a walkable distance from the old town area, this place is full of Asian restaurants and bakeries. A must visit for Asian food lovers.
2. L’Orignal: Canadian style restaurant serving European Fare. Interesting decor, with a robust wine list, this is definitely a gem we discovered. Find Yelp reviews here.
3. The Mon Cafe: Cool and hip breakfast joint. Nice coffee, and the croissants with boiled egg and meat was out of the world. Yelp reviews here.
4. Restaurant L’avenue: For foodie travelers like us, who do not mind standing in line for an hour for a good Sunday brunch, this is the place to be. Food is definitely comparable to Chicago’s Bongo Room, which is our all time favorite brunch place. Must check out if you are looking to explore a city through its heart.

Accommodation:
We split our stay in the downtown and the airport area at the W Downtown, and Sheraton Montreal Airport. The W is obviously chic with a cool nightclub. But the airport being not too far from the city, makes it an acceptable choice if you have a car.

Additional Tips and Info:
Wi-fi: The city of Montreal has definitely paid a ton of attention to the well being of the internet hungry tourists. Connect to the free wifi of the city especially the Old Montreal and Downtown area.
Restrooms: Many clean and safe public restrooms are located in the nooks and crannies of the city.
Language: It helps if you parlez Francais but no one frowned at us if we said je ne pas parle Francais. We were astonished by the locals’ ability to switch between French and English so swiftly and needless to say how courteous people are in this city.
Pick up a map from any hotel or convenience stores, and voila. Enjoy the city streets and the markets, and the weekend festivals in summer. Check out some of the snapshots from our trip below.

Gallery

Kennedy Space Center – NASA

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Trip Date: June, 2013

“one small step for man one giant leap for mankind”. This is where it all started. In the midst of white sand Atlantic beaches, there lie a facility beaming with the brightest scientific minds of the world, and towering rockets and shuttles ready for deep space voyages. 
 
Kennedy Space Center (KSC), home of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, commonly known as NASA, is strategically located in the eastern shore of Florida at Cape Canaveral. Earth’s rotational direction and availability of such large landmass governs the selection of the East Coast as the home of NASA. Driving into the facility, one cannot miss the Rocket Garden with replicas of multiple voyages have been erected for the pleasure of the visitors. Starting from the Apollo 13 to the Voyager, it all can be experienced in the garden. The sheer sizes of the rockets would amaze the visitors, even before the structural intricacies are disclosed. Then the awestruck visitors are told that about 5% of the entire volume of the rocket is generally occupied by the passengers. We start to question our existence in front of those giant structures. But wait, this is just the beginning of the humbling experience in KSC.
 
140,000 acres of land would require a bus tour, which is exactly what KSC visitor center has to offer. The tourists enjoy the guided portion of the bus tour, narrated by none other than the retired space program employees. You’d hear mesmerizing stories about space travel, hazards of rockets, and intricate details of the facility right from the horse’s mouth. The distinctive building where all the monitoring of the launches are done, and where the designing, planning, and testing of the technology is performed, stands tall in the middle of two launch pads, 39A and 39B. For easy transport of launch-ready rockets, and millions of gallons of fuel, NASA developed a ginormous vehicle, called Crawler. The path for the vehicle is about 300 foot wide, and is leveled with gravel and has a strong foundation underneath the ground. The structure of the launch pad is such that the enormous heat generated from burning liquid hydrogen do not kill the wildlife around it. Storing 2 million gallons of water under the launch pad acts as a dampener for the heat and tremors. The viewers’ gallery is generally set up about a mile away with stands for media and VIPs. 
 
The history of the American moon mission is widely known, but the inside stories behind the success of Apollo 13 is perilously heart wrecking. The loss of lives, money, and support coupled with international political pressure of successful launches of Sputnik (Russian space craft), required a bold decision maker like John F. Kennedy to step up and pull fresh blood into the crown jewel of American space missions. It took 10 years of tireless efforts from NASA scientists, after Kennedy announced his goal of reaching the moon. Sadly his assassination in November 1963 did not allow him to witness the successful launch of Apollo 13 with three astronauts. A Purdue University graduate Neil Armstrong was the first to land on the moon, and his fellow travelers described the view of Earth as the most amazing one of their lives. They said they had to step out of the planet to know it better. 
 
A walk on the moon might be an achievement of a lifetime, but who knew that it was just the beginning. From that point, multiple countries, often led by the USA, have ventured into the space and neighboring planets. The next adventure in the KSC took us exactly where space missions found new dimensions. The ‘Hubble Telescope’. The 3D movie on the topic, narrated by Leonardo DiCaprio takes viewers to a whole new level. Makes the most arrogant of humans humble when their existence in the ‘bigger scheme of things’ become questionable. You take a virtual tour from the Earth, and go farther. Pass the planets one by one, and into the galaxy – Milky Way. Once you start looking back, the Sun and the Solar System starts to fade out as a tiny dot in the body of the Milky Way. That’s just a few hundred light years away. Travel a little farther, and the Milky Way starts to look like a dot in the ocean of Nebulae and Galaxies and Black-holes. Hubble has seen many stars born, age, and die. All at the same time. That is space travel to you. Stars are born with a bright spot and a dark smokey crown around it, and as they age, they turn yellow. Around that time multiple solar systems are formed. Who knows an Earth-like system must be there somewhere, millions of light years away. Crazy fact check – Imagine an alien with extremely high powered telescope is looking at Earth from his planet 60 million light years away. Guess what he will see on Earth. Dinosaurs.
 
Anyway, enough of science and boring space talk. We forgot to point out one of the break through discoveries of the last couple of decades. When it was required that the space craft or Rocket can be reused. Not only to save resources, but also to make multiple safe round trips for humans into space. In about 8-10 years, a team of dedicated scientists and engineers created the first space shuttle – Columbia in 1981. This is a vehicle that launched like a rocket, and landed like an Aeroplane. This enabled NASA to lead another breakthrough project into fruition – International Space Station (ISS). Till date, multiple trips to the Hubble, ISS, and other satellites have been made possible with the space shuttle technology. 
 
Trivial as it may sound, the efforts KSC has made to encourage and attract children to be involved in the scientific activities make this an admirable institution. Infusing the interest in space travel, answering naive questions from adults and children alike, NASA has proved its worthiness. A walk in the park for a day will surely bring a smile, and curiosity to the visitors, whatever be their background and exposure to science. And kudos to KSC, in the maintenance and innovation displayed in the park that constantly educates people without sacrificing the entertainment facet of the abstruse thing called ‘Rocket Science’!

Florida Mariana Caverns

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Trees, stately giants beyond imagination. Rocks, boulders, and majestic mountains, living tapestries of light, shadow, and color. Streams, rivers, lakes, waterfalls; shimmering serenity, purity, and excitement. Endless, flowing plains; pathways to the sky. Flowers, leaves, needles, grasses, mosses; a kaleidoscope carpet. A billion snow diamonds, softer than baby feathers. Heavenly air; purified and sweetened by the birth, life, and death of beauty. What is the best alternative to the National and State parks in USA, to experience all of the above together? It is admirable how the national parks and state parks has stepped up to retain the natural beauty and to maintain the wilderness Mother Nature presents us with. From the Grand Canyons to Niagara falls to the redwood forests, nature is preserved to the extent that human beings can appreciate the beauty without painstaking hikes or treks. 

The same holds true for the small state park containing the Florida caverns. Normally, a cave that has stalactites and stalagmites in it, should be inaccessible for a common man. To view those splendid creations, one has to wear scuba gear or have expert hikers limbs generally. Thanks to the US National Park Service, we could watch and admire the formations deep inside the surface of the Earth in the Jackson county, Florida. The park is located in the northern Florida panhandle, near Mariana. Drive from Tallahassee took an hour and a half. It is located in the Central Time Zone of USA. Directions and location of the park can be found here. On a warm weekend in April, 2011, a group of eight ventured out to the Florida Caverns. The time difference between Tallahassee and the park made our drive look incredibly quick. 🙂

Stalactites

The entry fee is $5 per vehicle and $8 per person to enter the guided tour inside the caverns. Caves are generally unusual for the state and moreover, caverns with such formations are strange indeed. Stalactites and Stalagmites are formed inside the caverns with time when water filled with minerals dissolve local bedrock. Now Stalagmites are formed when mineralized water drips from the roof and calcium carbonate is deposited, forming a structure that rises from the floor vertically. Stalactites are the opposite of stalagmites and they hang from the roof vertically and are formed by dripping of mineralized water. When these two formations meet midway, they are called ‘columns’.

A bulky Stalagmite
Generously lit formations

The caves in here were pretty dark (as it should be), but the park authorities had installed lightings in such a way that they make the crowd lure towards specific features inside. Several types of formations, rather various types of combination were available for display. Some were tall and thick, some smaller ones, some combination of stalactites and stalagmites made it look like a bed of arrows or some kind of trap. Floor of the caverns were slippery and we saw water dripping from the roof, making the caverns ‘live’. Formations were still in the process of developing and more and more areas of the caves were yet to be discovered. Bats, rats and other geeky nocturnal animals. The caverns had several rooms and some rooms were much lower than others, making tourists bend down and walk several feet hunched over. The slippery floor and low roof along with pitch black darkness can make people wary. All in all, apart from watching the eye candies, e.g. stalactites, stalagmites and flowstones, inside the caverns were a good break from the scorching Florida sunshine.

Column Structures

Outside the cave, the park is equipped with camping and picnic areas. The scary wilderness can call for big hearted people in the dark. The eerie feeling just before sunset, the silence, the sound of wind flowing through open crevices, the soft light just before complete darkness felt so pure. The feeling of being alone in the middle of everyone was enough for me to be lost with myself. Thanks to my sweet soul mate to select the exotic location so nearby. It may not be a place worth visiting again, but for the open minded traveler who cannot afford to get into large underwater caverns to relinquish the serenity of the limestone monuments, Florida state caverns may prove to be the hidden gem. Back to Home

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