A nice place to do research

So, I have spent much of this week at the Biblioteca Manuel Lerdo de Tejada, and if you have to do research for the better part of a day while in Mexico City, you couldn't really find a nicer place. Below are some photos from the outside and the inside. It just reopened in Oct. 2008 after undergoing a significant renovation and you can certainly tell.




I also stopped by the Palacio Nacional (finally) after researching on Tuesday. Better said, this was the fourth time I had passed by the Palacio, having circumnavigated it several times without finding the entrance on previous attempts. To my credit, I don't think it was open to the public on those occasions, which from what I have gathered, that is fairly common. Anyhow, after checking my ID and my temperature (this was a first for me), I entered to see several of Diego Rivera's murals that adorn its interior walls.




Ok, based on my blog, I know you must be wondering if Mexico has anything to offer in the way of art besides murals. The answer is yes, but the murals are simply striking. Rivera worked on these from 1929 to 1952 (I think) and the one that spans the stairwell between the first and second floors on the western side of the building is particularly breathtaking and complicated. In it, he narrates Mexican history from the pre-Conquest into the twentieth century. The other murals depict indigenous life and civilization prior to the Spanish conquest.



Great plans for the weekend with my newly acquired friends from the volcano (see the prior post). We are supposed to go rock climbing, spelunking (in old, non-functioning mines), and then eat some delicious pasties (for all of you in Tempe, or those who have visited, I'll let you know how they compare to the Cornish Pasty Co.).

Look for a lot of new photos next week.