:: Jessica Blaine Smith ::: Mexico City

Mexico City is one of my favourite cities to visit. The City is constantly awake and bustling with people. The traffic is endless and the streets wind and bend every which way. At times it is confusing and frustrating, especially when trying to figure out just where you parked your car or what bus you need to take to get to your destination. Nevertheless, it is a beautiful city. When I flew into the City, I was happy to see gorgeous trees adorning periwinkle-coloured flowers. From the airplane, I could see them all over the city. It was much more beautiful than the dirty snowy Toronto that I had just left.

Mexican culture is embraced fully in the city. Arts of all kind are praised - along one of the main avenues, Reforma, there was an exhibition of gorgeous photography as well as a series of benches designed by various Mexican artists (my favourite was the bronze one shaped like a sofa!). Books by Latin American authors are sold on the streets as well as handmade one-of-a-kind art. Each neighbourhood pulses with it's own identity. You turn a corner and suddenly you find yourself in a whole new world.

Two special places that I visited this time around were Xochimilco and Teotihuacan. Xochimilco is located in the south of Mexico City and is a series of canals. Here you rent brightly painted trajineras (boats) and spend the afternoon floating along the canals. Other trajineras pass by holding mariachi bands, marimba players and vendors selling everything from flowers to candy apples to quesadillas.

Teotihuacan is what remains of an ancient city that dates back to about 200 BCE. It contains the Pyramid of the Sun and Moon and is an absolutely incredible site. While I was there, we climbed the Pyramid of the Sun which is the second largest pyramid in the Americas. It was a steep climb but the view from the top was well worth it!