On the roof of the Cathedral

These past several days have been a whirlwind. After picking up four people at the airport on Wednesday, 9 of us got checked into our hotel in downtown Mexico City, then went north to the Basilica of Guadalupe. There, Mexico's worship of the Virgin is abundantly clear, illustrated in a hundred ways. That evening we all walked down to the zócalo via Madero St., which is closed to traffic from Bellas Artes to the zócalo. Really a beautiful, well-lit walk.

Thursday, after an extended time in worship, devos and cultural orientation, we walked to Bellas Artes, then to several Christian book stores on Bolivar. A one-stop trip on the Metro took us to the National Cathedral. After viewing Plaza Mayor (from a distance) we decided to enter the Presidential Palace, which is a HUGE museum, culminating with a view of where the president stands each Sept. 15 and gives the "grito." Lunch, then lunch again (for Brigam), then off to the National Cathedral. A guide offered to show us and tell us around, for a small fee of $45, an offer we rejected. But he did happen to mention that a tour of the bell towers and roof of the Cathedral would start at 5:20 p.m.

In all my years of living in Mexico, I had never climbed the circular cement/marble stairs to the roof of the Cathedral. It was an unforgettable experience. The pictures below are some of what we saw, high about Mexico City's historical center.