some stone monument has been erected, by Generals Diaz and Gonzalez, near the castle of Chapultepec, to the memory of the heroes of the war of 1847.
The tourist will have some difficulty in finding his way about the streets of the City of Mexico, as each block has a different name. Some streets have the same appellation for two or three squares, with a number added to each one—e. g., 1a, 2 da, and 3ra de San Francisco.
The principal business thoroughfare is the Calle de Plateros, which leads from the Plaza mayor toward the Alameda.
The finest shops in Mexico are on this street; English and French are spoken in some of them. Several new buildings are being erected, and others improved, in this part of the city.
A walk through the colonnades known as the Portal Mercaderes will be found interesting. The military band plays in the adjoining zócalo four evenings in the week.
Strangers will be pleased with the variety of Mexican costumes seen in the public squares. The black-cloth suits ornamented with silver buttons, and broad-brimmed felt hats with silver bands, are the most picturesque of all.
A great deal of pulque is consumed in the national capital, and the traveler will meet many intoxicated persons on the street. It is said that there are two thousand shops, or pulquerias, in the city, at which thirty thousand gallons of pulque are consumed daily.
If the tourist has but a single day to spend in the capital, he should visit the Cathedral, Palace, Museum, Academy of San Carlos, Church of Santo Domingo, Paseo de la Reforma, Chapultepec, and go to the opera in the evening.
There is some kind of opera, either French, Spanish, or Italian, nearly all the year round.
