Basilica of Santa Maria di Guadalupe (Mexico City)

This was a huge complex--I will be adding more pictures of it later (my camera ran out of storage space AND the battery died at the same time, so I only got picture of the first HALF of everything we saw.) The first picture here is the Basilica itself (I think. There were at least five churches there. I'm, like, 89% positive this was the Basilica, though, so...). The second picture is the shroud of Turi--no, wait, different trip (and I never did find the shroud, not matter how hard I looked for it). This was the cloak of whats-his-nuts (Juan Diego--there, I looked it up) who saw the virgin Mary on a hilltop. When he came down and told the local religious dude, the dude smelled Juan's breath and laughed at him (okay, I made up the part about him smelling Juan's breath--it's not in the stories--but I would have smelled the breath of anyone who came to me claiming to have seen the virgin M. But I guess I'm just cynical that way.) Anyway, Juan went back up the hill, saw the V.M. again, wrapped her up in his cloak (okay, I made that up too), went back down the hill to religious dude, opened his cloak, and rose petals fell from his cloak at the feet of the R. dude. And, lo and behold (because that is the phrase the signals religious miracles, isn't it?), emblazoned on Juan's cloak was the picture of the V.M. And everyone was so astonished by the most miraculous of miracles they neglected to notice the paint on Senor Diego's fingers (okay, that's not in the story either, but the cynic in me just can't resist. No self control. Shameful, really.)

teotihuacan

The first picture is a scale model of the Avenue of the Dead. The second and third pictures are of some of the decorations found at Teotihuacan. The last picture was taken from the first platform of the Temple of the Moon (and, believe me, I nearly had a heart attack getting up that far. I don't do heights) and shows, in the background, the Temple of the Sun (I got about ten steps up the Temple of the Sun, turned tail, and went back down again).

Cuernavaca

Cuernavaca, in Mexico (about halfway between Mexico City and Taxco). Elizabeth and I almost got stuck there (but we managed to escape). The first couple of images are from a church/former monestary. The third picture is Cortez's castle/fortress/home. We didn't get to go inside because the museum was closed, but the outside was pretty impressive.

In Florida

Well, I'm currently in Florida, trying to enjoy the water while avoiding the sun (it's pretty tricky). Anyway, I would post more pics of Mexico up, but my laptop (a POS Dell) is not letting me get on the free wireless internet service in the room. I really have no idea what the heck is going on with it. If I can figure it out (or if I decide to bring it with me next time I come to the computer room at the hotel) I will post some Mexico pictures (I can't post any Florida pictures yet because I don't have the camera cord to transfer pics from the camera (Dad's) to my laptop.

Anyway, things have been pretty crazy for the past few weeks. RIght at the end of my Mexico trip, I got sick. I was sick for about four or five days (while I was in DC with Mom), then, just as soon as I got well, I went back to Salisbury with Mom to help her clean the house she had just bought. The folks who had moved out had left the place an absolute pigsty. Mom found used dental floss in the medicine cabinet, a tampon applicator (sans tampon) in the same bathroom, and layers of filth on the hardwood floors (also, teenage girl was sticking gum between the floor and the molding. Eww). The folks before had owned the house for four years, and it looked like they haden't cleaned once in the entire time. (So now Mom and I have a new standard of cleanliness: If you've cleaned at least once in the past four years, you're doing okay.) Anyway, it was a little over a week of over twelve hours a day painting, cleaning, moving boxes, putting down carpet, scrubbing very nasty things off of and out of very filthy rooms... etc.

(To be continued...)

First set of pictures from Mexico

These are all pictures from Taxco, which is a three hour bus ride from Mexico City (though probably longer if you take a chicken bus). I will post more pictures later. Meanwhile, enjoy these ones.