We are happy to report that we made it! Our trip has officially begun, and my, what adventures we have already had. The morning we began our trip began with a phone call from our friend Gabriel telling us he had missed his flight to LA and would not be able to fly to Mexico City with us. Since his family was supposed to host us and he was to be our tour guide through the city, this presented somewhat of a hiccup. With our flight leaving shortly, we continued as planned with the promise that he would meet us the following day. After passing through customs in Mexico City, we walked through a sliding glass door and were immediately greeted by two smiling faces and a four foot sign that read ¨Adam and Geny.¨ Going on the assumption that we were the only Adam and Geny in the area, we happily greeted the sign holders, Gabriel`s brother, Manolo, and his wife Patty.

We have now officially been here 5 days and Mexico City has been some of what people said, but most of what they didn't say it wouldn`t be. Sure, the smog is a bit heavy (think of it as a foggy summer day in Monterey), there are some shady folks on the metro (fyi, if you stand out as much as we do, do not announce your subway stop to the entire car), and the driving is crazy (who needs stop signs or lanes, they are purely symbols ). But, overall, we have found Mexico to be rich in history, have many interesting places, and to be full of generous people. Our hosts, Manolo and Patty, are some of the most generous people we have ever encountered.

Well, as promised, Gabriel arrived the following day and has proven to be a very knowledgeable tour guide and an extremely fearless driver. In the last four days we have managed to sqeeze in visits to the Aztec and Toltec Ruins, Frida Kahlo´s House, Diego Rivera´s Murals in the National Palace, The Anthropology Museum, Downtown Mexico City, and a Venice like canal cruise in Xochimilco. We´re off to see the Lucha Libre Wrestlers so stay tuned for our next blog, should be interesting.