In addition to Xochimilco, I was able to visit a couple of other places during my brief excursion to Mexico City.  First, I went to a huge,  indoor artisans' market - probably the size of a football field.  The merchandize was no different than what I've encountered in shops and markets in San Miguel - the only difference being in the amount of stuff available.  I suspect that they sell both retail and wholesale.  With so much stuff, I focused my attention on one booth in particular: glass swizzle sticks, thousands of them!  I was fascinated by the array of plant and animal motifs available.











Then I visited the excavations of the Aztec temples located right in the heart of the city located a block from the Presidential Palace and next to the main cathedral. Templo Mayer was one of the main temples in the Aztec city of Tenochtitlan, now Mexico City.  It is believed that the temples were restricted to the elite of the Aztec population and were the site of human sacrifices.  The temples were destroyed by the Spanish and covered up only to be excavated in the 20th century.  Work still continues.

For information about the site: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Templo_Mayor



I photographed the poster above to show the location of the dig - smack dab in the middle of the city!



One of the more interesting parts of the site is a building with stone skulls on all four sides.



Next to the site is a museum with beautiful displays of sculpture and objects that have been excavated.



Below are my favorites.



And then I managed to squeeze in a visit to the Museum of Popular Art.  It is a modern building with a five story interior atrium that was filled with huge, wonderful kites.







This VW bug was covered with tiny beads! Incredible!





Another exhibit that I enjoyed displayed fanciful creatures made out of metal and paper and paper mache and painted with a bright array of colorful patterns.





Although my stay was short, I really enjoyed discovering new parts of Mexico City.