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.

You can see below a box of 20 small photos. You can also see the numbers below (up to 2) meaning there is another box of up to 20 photos. You can click on any photo to see it enlarged OR just click on the 1st photo and wait....it will present a slide show of all 40 photos that advances every 5 seconds.