Visa time in Mexico City

On the way back from Abu Dhabi to Carmen I had another quick detour in Mexico City to renew my work visa. I ended up having 4 days there because the office was closed. The first day I pretty much stayed in the hotel because I was exhausted from all the traveling. Me staying in the hotel ended up being quite the adventure!! That night all of a sudden I my room started shaking a little bit. At first I did not think much of it but then it started to get a lot stronger and lasted for a while. I was thinking to myself what should I do. The only thing that came to mind was to hop into the bathtub like it was a tornado coming!! Come to find out it was a 3.6 earthquake!! I was on the 9th floor so come to find out I would not have been able to do much more then hop into a bathtub!!

 The next day I decided to wander around the center of  town. It was the weekend so everybody was out. Plus, the main square had a huge winter wonderland that everyone was going to. While wandering I realized that Mexico City is a very large place with lots of people, and I definitely felt like I was the only white person there which was actually nice!! I did not feel like a tourist, even though I stood out, because I was just immersing myself in the culture and life. I walked around some of the small museums and a street market that was going on. Then I had lunch at one of the street vendors and it was soooo good though probably not the most sanitary but that is part of the experience . . . go where the locals go!

After that I took a tour of the Presidential Palace of Mexico (pretty much the White House of Mexico). It was sooo beautiful and interesting. The President does not live there but has an office and does most important meetings there.

The next day I spent the day with Estef (my roommate from Carmen) and her family. She is from Mexico City and happened to be home for days off so it worked out perfectly! She and her parents took me on a boat ride in the city's canal system. You could rent a boat that could fit about 20 people, bring food and drinks, and have a good ole time! Along the way you can buy flowers or rent Mariachis!! It was great being with her and her family and being on the water. I just love water and being outside!

After a couple of fun days I went and got my visa which only ended up taking 20 minutes to get! It was great because the year before it took 3 hours!! I then headed to the airport and had to start thinking about reality again . . . work!!