国家宫 National Palace

2023年12月2日，星期六，墨西哥城之旅第9天

December 2, 2023, Saturday, the ninth day of our Mexico City trip.

今天早上九点四十五分，我们坐公交转地铁赶到国家宫，想参加十点半的英语导游团。谁知道，团游要到十一点半才开始。于是，我俩在宪法广场上随意闲逛，时间似乎过得有些慢，每次来宪法广场都是人山人海。我俩顺便看了一下墨西哥城都主教座堂，内部的装潢令人叹为观止——庞大宏伟可以说是对它的最佳形容。

This morning at 9:45 AM, we took a bus and a subway to reach the National Palace, intending to join the 10:30 AM English-language guided tour. However, it turns out we were misinformed and the tour didn’t start until 11:30 AM …

So, we aimlessly wandered around Constitution Square, where time seemed to pass slowly, and as always, the square was bustling with people. We also took the opportunity to visit the Mexico City Metropolitan Cathedral. The interior decoration was breathtaking – grand and majestic are the best words to describe it.

教堂的内部装饰十分华丽，拥有精美的祭坛、雕塑和画作 – The interior of the cathedral is lavishly decorated, featuring exquisite altars, sculptures, and paintings.

这个导游团是免费的，只需要我们把护照或驾驶证压在工作人员的手里，然后11:30团游准时开始。我们一行有大概20多人，一开始我们像是小学生一样要排队进入国家宫，被门口的守卫士兵检查名字。这个国家宫是墨西哥政府的行政中心，而且无论谁是执政者都历来如此，他见证了见证了墨西哥独立、革命和许多其他重要历史事件。

The guided tour of the National Palace was free, requiring only that we leave our passports or driver’s licenses with the staff. The tour started promptly at 11:30 AM with about 20 people in our group. Initially, we lined up like school children to enter the National Palace, undergoing a name check by the guards at the entrance. The National Palace is the administrative center of the Mexican government and has been so regardless of who is in power. It has witnessed Mexico’s independence, revolution, and many other significant historical events.

我原本以为这个导游团会带着参观一些宫殿内部，可惜重点竟然是欣赏迭戈·里维拉在国家宫内的大型墙绘。岛游对每幅墙绘都进行了比较详细的讲解，可惜他的口音让我很快就失去了注意力。迭戈被政府雇佣，从1929年到1957花了二十多年完成了宫内一半的墙绘，可惜迭戈1957年去世，没能完成剩下的一半的墙壁，其他的艺术家也不愿意继承迭戈的盛名而继续创作，所以这里的一半的墙是没有墙绘的。导游很清醒地指出这些壁画是墨西哥政府用来影响人民思想的方式之一。

I initially thought the guided tour would involve exploring some of the palace’s interiors, but surprisingly, the focus was on appreciating the large murals by Diego Rivera inside the National Palace. The guide provided detailed explanations of each mural, but unfortunately, I quickly lost focus due to his accent. Diego was employed by the government and spent over twenty years, from 1929 to 1957, completing half of the murals in the palace. Sadly, he passed away in 1957 before he could finish the other half, and no other artist wanted to take on the challenge of continuing his legacy, leaving half of the walls without murals. The guide pointed out that these murals were one of the ways the Mexican government influenced the thoughts of its people.

两幅表现墨西哥历史时期两种文化的墙绘 – Two murals representing two cultural periods in Mexican history.

有时在这种地方买东西怕不卫生，还好，没有泻肚子 – Sometimes there’s a concern about hygiene when buying food in such places, but fortunately, there were no issues with upset stomachs.

团游结束后，我们坐地铁，转乘大巴后回酒店，却没想到在公交上只坐了几站就被迫下车了。原来是前面的路段因为游行或某个大型节日被封锁了。于是我俩只好步行近50分钟回到了酒店。晚餐则是一次全新的尝试——新派墨西哥菜，其中包括我俩人生中第一次尝试的蚱蜢！一开始的确有些犹豫，毕竟这可是虫子呀，但把大脑的抗拒关掉后，蚱蜢其实挺美味的，口感脆脆的，别有一番风味。

After the tour ended, we took the subway and a bus back to the hotel, but unexpectedly, we had to get off the bus after only a few stops. The road ahead was blocked due to a parade or a major festival. So, we had to walk for nearly 50 minutes to return to the hotel. Dinner was a new culinary adventure — contemporary Mexican cuisine, including our first-ever experience trying grasshoppers! Initially hesitant, as they are insects, after setting aside our reluctance, we found the grasshoppers quite tasty. They were crispy and had a unique flavor.

这个就是蚱蜢牛油果，拨开上面的绿叶，下面就藏着那些虫子，哈哈 – This dish is a grasshopper avocado salad. When you push aside the green leaves on top, you find the insects hidden underneath. Haha.

明天，我们十天的墨西哥城之旅就要画上句点，回归熟悉安静的家。目前为止，墨西哥城比我俩预想的要安全很多！

Tomorrow, our ten-day journey in Mexico City will come to an end, and we will return to our familiar and peaceful home. Mexico has been a much safer place than we imagined!