A photo essay of a week in Mexico - day 1 - part 2

The Zocalo in the giant square in the center of Mexico City. It's the third largest square or plaza in the world, third only to Tiananmen Square in Beijing and Red Square in Moscow. It's nothing fancy, just a solid brick mass with a gigantic flag in the center. The flag is so big that people actually stand in the shadow of the pole on hot days to beat the heat.














Or they just chill against the giant base of the pole.












Basically, it's a great place to hang out, people watch, catch a demonstration, listen to music, see the Aztec dancers, buy street food, check out the wares of the street vendors, you get the idea.

Unfortunately, I picked a bad time to visit Mexico City, at least as far as the Zocalo is concerned. That's because about two thirds of the Zocalo was inhabited by huge temporary museum exhibit celebrating the history of the Centro Historico. That's fine but, c'mon. So, a little disappointed I headed out for a walk in the rain around the Centro Historico, had a fine dinner at one of the few cafes open in the area (surprisingly, there aren't many restaurants open around the Centro Historico after 8 p.m. on a Saturday) and went back to my hotel. It had been a long day and I was tired so I went to bed. (Coming up next, day 2)