2026 Honors Seniors in Mexico, Day Last: The Templo Mayor

On our last day in Mexico, we visited the Templo Mayor Museum.

The Templo Mayor stood at the heart of the Aztec capital of Tenochtitlan, which was destroyed by Spanish forces under Hernán Cortés in 1521. Although portions of the temple had been uncovered earlier, a major discovery in 1978 led to extensive excavations that revealed the ruins visible today.

Something you did for the first time on this trip?
Gwendolyn: Eacting cactus and hominy. So good!
Alexus: Trying conchas! They were so good, and I definitely had way too many of them in Mexico City!

Favorite experience from the trip?
Camden: Getting swagged out at the market (see the poncho above)

2026 Honors Seniors in Mexico, Day Four: Coyoacán

On day four of our Mexico adventure, we visited Coyoacán, the home of Mexican painter Frida Kahlo.

Above: Exploring the Churubusco Monastery, built in 1580.

In Coyoacán, we visited the National Museum of Interventions in the Churubusco Convent. The Churubusco Monastery was the site of the bloody and decisive Battle of Churubusco on August 20, 1847, when the U.S. invaded Mexico.

After leaving the Museum, we had liquados for lunch at El Guayero.

Favorite food of the trip?

Paige: I had two. Pozole was my favorite food and the licuado de platano was so good too (that's a drink, but it was worth mentioning)

After lunch, we walked to the Trotsky Museum. A leader of the Russian Revolution, Trotsky was assassinated here on orders from Josef Stalin on August 20, 1940.



After visiting the Trotsky Museum, we toured La Casa Azul, the house of painters Frida Kahlo and Diego Rivera. Kahlo is the best-known Mexican in history and the best-known female painter in world history.

Before returning to the city center, we explored the markets of Coyoacán.

Favorite experience of the trip?
Paige: being in La Casa Azul. It's just really amazing that I got to be in the house of Frida Kahlo. I like seeing the pieces of her life in the museum there.

Something you'd never done before?
Jimena: Going to the never-ending Coyoacán flea markets and bargaining

2026 Honors Seniors in Mexico, Day Three: Chapultepec

Camden in Chapultepec Castle.

On day three in Mexico, we visited Chapultepec Castle.

The castle on Chapultepec Hill, whose construction was finished in 1864, offers views of the city from 7,628 feet about sea level. A sacred place for Aztecs, it has served as the home of Emperor Maximilian I and the home Mexico’s president for many years. Today it is a National Museum of History.

Alyssa and "De Porfirismo a la Revoluction" (1966), a mural by David Siqueiros at the Museum of National History in Chapultepec Castle

Favorite experience from the trip?

Jimena: Taking in the views at the Chapultepec castle and walking around the centro at night.

Gwendoyn: Walking around Chapultepec Castle and explorting the city night life.

Alexus: The Chapultepec Castle and the marekts. The castle was incredibly beautiful and had an interesting history, and the markets were so much fun to walk around and explore!

Paige checks out Pancho Villa's leather chaps at the National History Museum in Chapultepec Castle.

2026 Honors Seniors in Mexico, Day Two: Teotihuacan

On our second day in Mexico, We took a bus to Teotihuacan. With a population of over 100,000, Teotihuacan  the largest city in Pre-Colombian America and was the 6th largest in the world at the time.

Above: climbing the Pyramid of the Moon.

Above: Sitting on top of the Pyramid of the Moon, looking across the Calazada de los Muertos (The Avenue of the Dead) to the Pyramid of the Sun.

These ancient pyramids at Teotihuacan, the largest in the Americas, were at the heart of a culture that flourished between the Year Zero and the year 500.

Favorite Part of the Trip?
Paige: I have two. One was on the Pyramid of the Moon where I was sitting down for a group photo and a dog came up and decided to lie in my lap. 

Alyssa: Teotihucan! Climbing those pyramids was an amazing experience that I will always remember! They were so much bigger than I imagined! That was my biggest highlight of the trip!

2026 Honors Seniors in Mexico City, Day One: Anthropology and Tacos

Six Honors Seniors traveled to Mexico City in January!

Something you did for the first time on this trip?
Paige: Flew on a plane! Also walking in the street marketplace. I've never been in one before. It was cool to see so many stands packed in so densely.
Alyssa: I traveled to another country! I've never left the USA so leaving it was a big deal for me! It's definitely a big thing that I can mark off my bucket list!

Day One Highlights:
Museum of Anthropology: the largest and most visited museum in Mexico, featuring the Aztec Stone of the Sun and the Aztec Xochipilli statue.

After visiting the Anthropology Museum, we visited a recommended street taqueria, which ended up being the best food of the whole trip for many.

Favorite Food?

Alyssa: The tacos from the first night!!!! Those street tacos changed my life and I will forever dream of them! Also, the avocados!!! Oh my goodness! The avoacados were the BEST!!!!
Jimena: The "hidden gem" al pastor street tacos we found--definitely worth the walk
Gwendolyn: The tacos from the first taqueria.
Alexus: Definitely the tacos from the first night, they were awesome, and it was my first time trying Al Pastor meat!

Something you did for the first time on this trip?
Camden: Trying cow head meats tacos (they were not good)