More pictures from Mexico City

West side of the Zócalo, looking south. Larger image here.

After a hiatus, the Mrs. has recently been selecting pictures she took during our trip back in October and Photoshopping some of them into images more pleasing to the eye than what her cantankerous camera originally captured. In case you missed the earlier picture posts, here is the first one, and here is the second.

An atrium at the National Palace. Larger image here. The Mrs. has enhanced the pinks a bit in this picture, but yes: the walls were indeed a bright pink.

One of several enormous agaves at the National Palace's botanical gardens. Larger image here. To give you a sense of their size, the center of this plant is well over 15 feet from where the Mrs. stood to take this picture.

Part of a yet-to-be completed mural at the artesians' market at La Ciudadela. Larger image here. That's Frida Kahlo on the right. This market takes up an entire city block; the mural has a ways to go yet before it covers even half this wall's length. La Ciudadela ("Fortress"), by the way, is a neighborhood that takes its name from a structure that was once a large military installation.

More pictures below the fold.

A sculpture of John Paul II outside the Basilica of the Virgin of Guadalupe. Larger image here. John Paul visited the basilica twice as Pope, a measure of the Virgin's significance for the Church in Latin America.

El Lago, Chapultepec Park. Larger image here. Bosque de Chapultepec (Chapultepec Forest) is the largest urban park in Latin America. In addition to this large lake (those are paddle boats in the foreground) and Maximillian's palace, the park also has a large zoo, and two art museums and the enormous Museum of Anthropology are just across Reforma Avenue from the park. "Forest," by the way, is no misnomer: the shade from the tens of thousands of trees is dense and lush. A busy weekend at the park might consist of as many as a million people.

A woman catches a taxi. Larger image here. Few people (relatively speaking, of course, considering we're speaking of a city of 20 million or so people) own cars in Mexico City, but cheap public transit options and ubiquitous taxis make it easy for city-dwellers to get around. Besides, it's no exaggeration to say that people who live in the urban core are never more than a couple of blocks away from one or two small grocery stores, pharmacies, clothing stores, and other shops that easily meet most daily needs.

A closed shop, late night. Larger image here. The glowing quality of the doors is what makes this shot work.

Two pictures now from Cuernavaca:

"Cuernavaca Powerlines." Larger image here. This is by no means the most extreme example of wires running from a utility pole to be found in Cuernavaca, but this one was far enough away from buildings that it made for a nice silhouetted image.

A hotel entrance. Larger image here. The Mrs. had some fun with the colors here, but the picture's essence--the casual off-the-street entrance and that inviting green passage in the background that leads to the hotel proper--remains and entices yet. As does Mexico, still, for the Mrs. and me.