Our trip started our rough due to a part for our airplane needed to be flown in for maintenance. So we had to reschedule our whole trip. Instead of flying into Matamoros and then going to Mexico City with Kempton and Bonnie, we flew into Mexico City and met them there. Our flight went from Spokane to AZ to NC and then to Mexico City. During the long 7 hour layover we actually left the airport to go bowling and eat dinner. We spent about 36 hours either in an airplane or airport and I don't recommend that at all. It was really exhausting and really frustrating.
But! We finally made it to Mexico City which is the second largest urban area in the world with over 22 million people. Wow. I was expecting really dirty, crowded streets but was surprised to find no crowd and the city does an incredible job keeping that city clean. On any given street we saw at least 20 people walking around with their brooms and trash cans. We checked into the Grande Hotel which was super fancy! The entry had a Tiffany stained glass ceiling, beautiful elaborate lamps, and extraordinary architecture and detail. It was stunning! After we checked in and rested for a little bit we got a bite to eat down the road - the best street tacos I've ever had in my life!
On the terrace was our continental breakfast which was more like a 5 star restaurant, the food was so delicious! One thing we noticed about eating was that every restaurant had a team of about 7-8 waiters who stood by your table during the whole meal and literally "waited" on you. They quickly scooped up plates as soon as we were finished, they picked up napkins if they fell, refilled water on the spot, they even moved the outdoor umbrella so we weren't in the sun. It was top notch service!
This was the view from on top of the terrace, it overlooks Zocolo plaza. The Zocolo is very well known and is the center of the historic city. It has the very ornate cathedral, federal district buildings, the Old portal de Mercaderes, and the Palacio Nacional which was built over the ruins of the last Aztec emporor's former palace.
