DAY 2 SEP 24, FRIDAY

Castilla de Chapultepec 1a Sección Museo Nacional de Historia,, Bosque de Chapultepec, Presidential Palace- Los Pinos

National History Museum (Museo Nacional de Historia)

Another of Mexico City's world-class attractions is the National History Museum (Museo Nacional de Historia). 80 MXN.Tuesday to Saturday, from 9:00 a.m. until the quota of 1,800 people per day is reached. In case that quota is not exceeded, it will close at 5:00 p.m. (The museum begins to vacate 10 minutes before closing time). Access to the museum will be limited per hour and per day [when we visited, we were the early few .]

Housed in the 18th-century Chapultepec Castle (Castillo de Chapultepec), on a site once occupied by Aztec buildings and later by a Spanish hermitage, the museum opened in 1944 and is home to an impressive collection of pre-Columbian material and reproductions of old manuscripts, as well as a vast range of exhibits illustrating the history of Mexico since the Spanish conquest.

Highlights include arms and armor, documents, maps, and plans of the Conquest period and its immediate aftermath; ceramics, clothing, jewelry, and coins from three centuries; relics and souvenirs of the struggle for independence and the revolutionary wars; portraits of leading figures in Mexican history; and a number of state carriages, including those used by Benito Juárez and Emperor Maximilian.

Also of interest are the apartments occupied by Maximilian and Charlotte, decorated in neoclassical style and containing furniture brought from Europe. The castle also offers beautiful views over the city.

Then we walked 2 kms through the lovely forest, Bosque Chapultepec and reached Los Pinos

LOS PINOS

The presidential residence (Los Pinos)[Tues-Sun 10-5, FREE] is inside Chapultepec. At 600,000sq ft, 14 times larger than the White House. It has a polo court, tennis courts, barber shop, bowling alley, fronton.

1853, British type mansion. When Castillo castle was opened out to public 1935, the president moved in here. It was open to the public when the current president decided he would not live there.

The property is very large with several buildings. The main two buildings, however, are. The first one is Casa Miguel Aleman, the place that served as a home for most of the presidents and their families. As you enter, you might be stunned by its high ceilings, perfectly polished white floors, marble finishings, paintings and humongous chandeliers. At the basement, you will find a small movie theater and a security bunker.

The other building open to the public is Casa Lazaro Cardenas, which served as an office for the President of Mexico and their staff. You can now peek into the rooms in which tough decisions were taken all the time and where the presidents welcomed several world leaders. Also open for exploration are the Camino a la Democracia, a walk with busts of every former president, and the beautiful gardens surrounding the property

CANADIAN TOTEM POLE

The wooden sculpture was donated by Canada in 1960, on occasion of Mexico´s 150th Independence anniversary. Its bright colors are typical of the carved pieces that depict the history and ancestry of the northeastern natives of the Canadian coast. The Totem displays the aboriginal people´s connection with the mysterious forces of nature