July 20 - Mexico City

The metro took us back to Chapultepec park. Intending to visit the zoo, we arrived to find the entrance so mobbed with people that we decided to go instead to the museums, almost all of which are free on Sundays. The first was the Castillo de Chapultepec where the national history museum is housed. The walk up the steep hill was beautiful, with a great view of mountains and city. The museum itself was interesting, displaying the history of Mexico with a focus on the past few centuries. The exhibits were not in English, so we were forced to read Spanish rather than being lazy. We also came across a mariachi band performing in a pavillion, where we heard our new favorite song 'me gustas mucho tu.' Then we went to the Museo de Rufino Tamayo, a Oaxacan artist, which turned out to be wacky contemporary art that scared Frank enough to prevent going to the last museum on our list, the modern art museum. Instead we took the metro to Polanco, an affluent colonia with high-end shops and elegant restaurants, where we found a swanky Italian place to have lunch. We took the metro to Insurgentes, near our hostel, and pigged out on carrot cake and hot chocolate at a European cafe in Zona Rosa called Konditori before heading in for the night.