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Bosque de Chapultepec
When I visited Mexico City in the spring of 2024, one of the nicest areas I went to was Bosque de Chapultepec (Chapultepec Forest). This sprawling nature park covers 2,140 acres, centering around Chapultepec Hill and including Chapultepec Zoo, the Museum of Anthropology, the Rufino Tamayo Museum, and Chapultepec Castle which sits on top of the hill. Chapultepec Hill was a sacred place for the Aztecs, and the name “Chapultepec” comes from the word chapoltepēc, which is from the Aztec Nahuatl language and translates to “grasshopper hill.” Perched on top of the hill is Chapultepec Castle, a Neo-classical structure built between 1785 and 1864 as a summer palace for Spanish viceroys. Over the years,…
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Gracias, Mexico City
Last week I had the honor and pleasure of visiting Mexico City with a friend of mine. For the month ahead of the trip, we brushed up on our Spanish skills on Duolingo to prepare for the trip. I had taken three years of Spanish in high school but that was many eons ago. Some of it came back quickly, and some of it was a cloudy memory. Starting to get a little concerned about two weeks before the trip, I searched the percentage of people that speak English in Mexico City and the consensus was around 5-10%. After reading this, I hit the lessons a little harder every day,…
