MEXICO CITY: You can take the woman off the catwalk, but you just can't take the model out of the woman.

French President Nicolas Sarkozy and wife Carla Bruni-Sarkozy were in Mexico on a two-day official visit and the pictures that came out of the pre-Hispanic archaeological site of Teotihuacan tell a tale of their own.

In many of the pictures, the French couple are seen standing on the lower levels of the impressive Sun Pyramid with Mexican President Felipe Calderon and his wife, Margarita Zavala.

Not surprisingly, the two presidents are shown engaged in conversation or clasping hands, while Zavala looks on.

Not so Bruni-Sarkozy. Her training as a model all those years shines through as her gaze is directed at the cameras.

Even while walking with her husband and Calderon, Bruni-Sarkozy keeps looking straight at the cameras.

Born Carla Gilberta Bruni Tedeschi in Italy, she moved with her family to France in the 1970s, before she turned 10.

She began her modelling career at age 19 and had graced more than 250 magazine covers before moving on, becoming one of the highest paid models in the 1990s.

She also had numerous advertising campaigns, including for Dior and Chanel.

Her stepfather, Alberto Bruni Tedeschi, was an Italian tyre magnate while her mother Marisa Borini was a classical composer and concert pianist. It was no surprise then that Bruni-Sarkozy turned to music after her modelling days.

She even won the French equivalent of a Grammy.

Her third album was released last year, after her February marriage to Sar-kozy.