Chepultepec Castle: Rich In History Itself

FEBRUARY 17, 2012: Today, I will be roaming around Mexico City on foot. I will be alone because my friend Ricky has to meet some visitors at their office. It was his birthday today. Poor guy he is working on his birthday. We just planned to have a hearty dinner tonight when he gets back.

I am excited right now because I will be going to Chapultepec Castle, on my own. Last night I've read extensively about it in Wikipedia. The castle was built in 1775 under the order of Viceroy Bernardo Galvez. Chapultepec stems from the Nahuatl word "chapoltepec" which means "at the grasshopper's hill." It had served a lot of purposes including that of the Imperial residence, a Military Academy, Presidential home, observatory, and presently, the Museo Nacional de Historia.

I left the hotel at around 1105H then hired a taxi to drop me at the entrance of Chapultepec Castle. The traffic was bad at that time so I have to just wait and relax, anyway I'm on my own today and nobody will bother me. When we got to the gate of the park I then paid the driver my dues. I only paid $35.00 (Mexican dollars)which is not bad.

I ambled a little bit inside the park until I came to the foot of the hill. I then bought a $13.00 ticket for the tram to drive the patrons up to the castle's gate. I was battling if I will leave my backpack at the locker room at the structure near the tram parking but I decided to just bring it because I have my passport and money inside. The drive uphill was not bad and I noticed the foliage were intricately and meticulously trimmed and manicured. The the cobbled stone road was very clean not seeing a single trash or dried leaves.

When we got to the gate, I paid the entrance amounting to $57.00 and started to feast my eyes with what the castle has to offer. My first stop was the garage (What a start huh!) with three vintage cars dated from the 1700s and 1800s. There was even a carriage that looks like Cinderella's. There were also pictures of Emperor Maximillan and Empress Carlota at the entrance.

After seeing all those unique cars and carriage at the garage I then continued walking towards the north side. I was then led to a long hallway going to the northside. The hallway has a beautiful ceiling with chandeliers lined across the span and there were crystal cabinets lined along on both sides bearing a lot of jewelries of Empress Carlota and Emperor Maximillin. There were also cabinets with a wide aray of Presidential seals used by the previous presidents of Mexico who resides here before and also pins and patches of different kinds.

The first room presented was Emperor Maximillan's office with vintage wood tables and carved chairs mde of mahogany and also other office gadgets dated back in the 1700's during the imperial legacy. The door was cordoned so I just have to see the room before the rope. It was still being appreciated from there.

I also took pictures of each room being showcased and I will post them at Facebook once I have enough time. I was suppose to post it today but Ricky did not bring the USB cable of his camera. So, have a little patience please. Don't worry I will post them, I promise.

I then went to the second room showcase which is the playroom. The playroom only presented the card or domino table made of ivory. There were pictures also depicting the Royals playing racquetball and dodge ball.

I continued to the next room which is the dining room which has a big table made from cedar tree in the middle and all the expensive silver cutleries and porcelain plates and maroon silk table napkins meticulously stacked in each front of the chairs. The carvings on the table and the chairs are very intricate and elegant. The huge and heavy chandelier at the middle of the room bursting with intricately carved teardrop clear Venetian crystals appears majestic high up the ceiling. The fireplace at the other end of the room was also huge and looks vintage. There were antique figurines adorned around the room but I can't take pictures of them because the room is being cordoned but the room was very lovely to look at from the cordoned door.

The next room was an ante-dining room. I think this is the room where the Royals received their guests for hors dourves and pre-conversations. There were intricately painted English tea cups, clear crystal cake holders, porcelain and silver pastry trays, and ceramic cookie plates on the table and some intricately painted paintings on the walls.

The next room was the smoking room which showcased several big ceramic and porcelain jars intricately painted with a Victorian era paintings as well as French fleur-de-lis symbols which may be used to dump the ashes from the cigars or cigarettes and a lot of variety of delicate crystal hookahs of varying sizes and colors on the table. There were also some boxes cigars and wooden cigar pipes being exhibited on the cabinets.

I also perused the room of Empress Carlota and Emperor Maximillian and both rooms exude the ambiance of opulence. The expensive aqua green and gold wall papers being plastered on the wall was a very intricate tapestry. The trimmings of each corners were very beautiful. I also loved some of the carved cabinets and well puffed upholstered chairs made of very expensive Indian cloth. The wooden bed with a very shiny and shimmering in white stripes as well as delicately embroidered silk sheets was so inviting. I just wanted to feel how soft it was but again the room was been cordoned well.

Ambling outside that room, I can see the terrace which overlooked the city of Mexico in front of the Reforma Avenue. I can see the famous Fountain of Diana and one block from it was the patriotic symbol of the country, the La Independecia Monument, which I planned to see after I'm done here at the castle.

The terrace spanned the north side of the castle in a rectangular shape and each post of the terrace has an intricately carved corral urn with a fuchsia flowery plant all now i full bloom. They looked like guards watching the expanse of the terrace. Very geometric to look at because of the linear arrangement.

I continued to trek the northside until I got to the gate and came out to the front courtyard. As I continued walking towards the door, a small fountain in front of the north entrance caught my attention. The faucets of the fountain arranged in a circular pattern was spouting water towards a central figure which I could not visualize from a far. I was so intrigue what it is so I kept ambling closer towards the fountain to really visualize it. To my surprise I smiled because it was a bronze grasshopper statue. Hahaha. But it was so cute that I can't stop snapping pictures of it, like a celebrity, in all angles.

Few meters away, at the back of the fountain was a semicircular terrace adorned with life like soldiers holding guns at each post. There were eight of them standing proudly in different directions guarding the front side of the castle. They appear so real and very nice to look at from where I am standing where the early morning sunshine slhouette their shadows beautifully. I walked closer and took pictures of them. From there the view of the Reforma Avenue was very evident and the traffic could be visualize from there at this time of the day.

I walked towards the front entrance leading me to a stair going to the second floor. The entrance was also huge. On the ceiling perched a very large and beautiful chandelier full of clear sparkling crystals. It was pretty to look at. Going up the stairs I can see the colorful crystal windows in homologous color of yellow and green adorned with smoked glasses painted with the grasshopper sign, the official sign of Chapultepec.

When I reached the second floor I can see that the floors are made of white and black Mexican marbles plastered like a chess board fashion. I can't help myself hopping in each tile trying to step only on a white colored tile. I probably looked funny.

The second floor was lined with rooms along the sides of the castle and a beautiful well-manicured garden at the middle. The rooms form a squared C-shaped structure along the sides of the castle and there was a guard tower at the center of the beautiful and colorful nicely trimmed and well landscaped garden.

I continued to checked out each room which also showed some of the important and prominent people of the country long time ago. At the back of the rooms were intricately painted windows of goddesses in different kind of hues which were very pretty and colorful to look at and I just can't stop snapping pictures everywhere I face.

After meticulously checking each room I went down to the center building and checked some of the mini museums set-up by the Nacional History Museum staff. These museums depicted the history of Mexico and also includes some of the vntage pictures during the different wars Mexico had fought, various newspapers from then to now, famous paintings of different famous Mexican artists, fashion garbs and instruments worn by famous and prominent Mexican people then and now, and different inventions of famous Mexican inventors past and present.

My tour was culminated with a tour at the southside garden wherein I can see a circular garden with different shrubberies. No flowers but only small plants and cacti, in different hues. At the center of the circular garden was a statue of Mother Mary sitting and bowing guarded by four Indian guards. The statue was made of a special obsidian stone from the mouth of Popocatapatl. It was huge and very nice to look at. I ogled at it with sincere interest.

I then continued to take pictures of the whole garden then roamed around at it's every nooks and crannies trying to check out the plants and cacti individually being planted there and the sculptures being exhibited there. I then poignantly decided to finish my three hours tour there.

I then came out to the main courtyard and decided to snap one last picture of the castle. When I came out of the gate it seems that the tram was not there yet so I decided to walk down the hill because I could not afford not seeing the cobbled stone pavements and the intricately lined pots with purple shrubberies adding to the cold and gloomy temperature of the shady road.

This visit to the castle reminds me of my visit to Versailles Castle in France. Although Versailles is bigger and more beautiful Chapultepec could not be left out. The opulence of the Maximillan Empire can be felt around the castle itself. There was no indication that the castle was been held as a Miltary Academy except for some of the fortifications found outside the courtyards and the military statues posted at the terraces.

I continued ambling down and saw the vendors outside the end of the road with their stalls bursting with souvenirs and mementos luring tourists like me to buy some for friends back home.

I am glad I did this visit at the castle alone without the help of my friend Ricky. At least I get to use my Spanish and also mingled with the people around me. It was a breath of fresh air to have done it all on my on. I felt I'm in charge of myself even in a strange place. Yay!

Please continue to read on for my other blog about some more activities I did for today. Thank you very much.