Hola Mexico!

Most of you know that I am here planning an event in Mexico and last week I headed there on mission to scope out the venue and have other meetings. I started in Mexico City and then headed to Cancun. The weather was a refreshing change from the dreariness of Paris in the winter and the food was amazing!

Not only was this my first trip to Mexico, it happened to be at the same time as Papa Francisco. Because the Pope was there, our schedule was a little disrupted but despite that, we managed to get around.

Since I arrived on a weekend, I did have one free day which is always a nice thing. I was with my boss who had been to Mexico City several times so we didn't hit the centre old part (next time!) but we still saw some great things.

First stop was the Museo Nacional de Antropologia. It's located in Chapultepec Park and designed by Pedro Ramirez Vazquez and characterized by its iconic umbrella roof. It is a really neat museum that covers all the different regions of Mexico - of course we did it backwards but it was still good :)

This represents a mythological tree and depicts eagles and jaguars
which are important symbols to the pre-Hispanic natives

The displays are sometimes embedded in replicas of archaeological sites and the museum flows from inside to outside.

 


And here is a sample of some of the artifacts that the museum holds:

 

The sun stone, or Aztec calendar stone is the most famous Aztec sculpture and is found in this museum. There is a debate when it was carved but estimates but it in the early 1500s.

From there we headed to an artisan market where purchases were made!

 The rest of the trip follows in other posts!

A Little Lausanne

About a month ago I was in Switzerland for work. I didn't get much time to do much outside of the conference but the dinner for the event was in the Olympic museum in Lausanne. It was already dark when we got there and I only had my phone so the pictures are not great but you'll get the idea :)

The first part of the photos are what you see when you arrive and lead you up to the entrance. . .

And the rest are from inside the museum . . .and I think I got a bit obsessed with Canada so there quite a few pics of Calgary, Vancouver and Montreal.

Calgary is the one in the middle

You should be able to pick out Vancouver, if you are Canadian :-P

Anyone recognize the yeti looking guy?

This is the an actual camera from the Berlin Olympics which were
the first to be broadcast on TV

I just thought this was cool

There were a lot of speeches in German even though we were in the French part of Switzerland so instead a few of us spent out time checking out the medals.

Where I live

and where I was born

 And again a little of Canada . . .

Ottawa during the holidays

I usually write these posts mostly for my friends and family I left in Ottawa but this one is for my friends and family here. 

After meeting some former work friends, I walked down to the Byward Market and while passing by Parliament I saw this . . .

So apparently Ottawa is also all lit up over the Christmas season!

Home for the Holidays!

After, a crazy week of holiday celebrations (including too much champagne the night before) I flew home.

I was, however, very confused when I got there!

I think my parents have gone a little crazy but it was pretty epic. Note the complete lack of snow. And then a week later . . .

It was fun to be home and a busy couple of weeks hanging out with friends and family!

A morning walk in Porcia

Sunday we got up earlier than I do to go to work! Every Sunday morning runs/walks are organized in the surrounding towns. The weekend I was there it was in Porcia. While still chilly, it was a nice sunny day so quite an enjoyable excursion.

Markers are placed to identify the route.

And volunteers are set up a various points on the route with drinks and snacks.

I think it's a great concept!

The crew that headed out!

The scenery along the way:

A mid-route selfie

Could my jacket be an puffier? Feeling Canadian in this pic!