Extremely belated San Miguel de Allende post

March 31, 2019

It’s been more than 5 months since Bunny and I traveled to San Miguel de Allende (right after we were in Guanajuato) yet I never managed to blog about it! I am now on a very long layover on my way to Costa Rica, so this felt like a good time to jot down what we did!

San Miguel de Allende is an easy bus ride from Guanajuato but has a very different vibe than its neighbor. While Guanajuato felt much more like a university town and weekend destination for Mexicans, San Miguel de Allende was much trendier with many more western tourists/ex-pats, trendy bars and restaurants and plenty of tourist activities.

Where we stayed

We rented this great AirBnb. Super modern and well-located, and the host gave us tons of great recommendations. We got a LOT of light and noise from the neighbors, but hopefully the host is able to fix this for future guests. Look at the amazing view from the balcony!

Eats & Drinks

There are so many stylish and delicious bars & restaurants in San Miguel, and no shortage of stylish terraces. Some of the places we visited:

Casual Bites

Doce 18: A “concept house” with stores, restaurants, and bars. We stopped in when we first arrived for an acai bowl, and again later in our trip to enjoy a cocktail during an unexpected downpour!

This actually looked better than it tasted.

Ki’bok coffee: A cool hipster coffee place right by our AirBnb with a nice terrace for enjoying your breakfast

El Manantial: A “local” place recommended to us by our bike tour guide and AirBnb host. Like most places in San Miguel it was still very tourist-friendly. Amazing seafood and tasty margaritas at reasonable prices!

Tianguis Orgánico: The “organic market” that takes place on Saturdays. Tons of cheap yummy local flavors.

Inside Cafe: A great recommendation from my friend Nick, this cafe is owned by an Australian woman who married a man from San Miguel de Allende. Great coffee and big flavorful brunch with a view!

Drinks

Rosewood hotel: They have a great rooftop, and a downstairs bar. Expect a wait to go up to the roof around sunset!

La Azotea: This was the most bumpin’ nightlife scene we explored, trendy upstairs bar with so-so food (in case you want a bite with your drink)

The Blue Bar (inside Belmond hotel): Nice drinks and very cool atmosphere, but was super empty and lacking energy when we visited.

Quince: This is a full restaurant but we just stopped by for spicy margaritas.

Upscale eats

La Unica: Trendy restaurant with a cool balcony (cool balconies seem to be everywhere in San Miguel!) and clubby music. We had some really amazing cauliflower here!

Aperi: We reserved a spot at the Chef’s Table here (joined by a bunch of other people who were also from SF- ha!). It was an awesome experience, great to get to spend some time with other people and learn all about the food from the chef.

Moxi: I had REALLY looked forward to Moxi and grabbed us a reservation for our last night, but it disappointed compared to the other places we ate and the service was super bad.

Activities

San Miguel de Allende is more touristy than Guanajuato, but not in a bad way! It means there are a lot more organized activities you can book if that’s your jam. We did a couple of those, plenty of wandering the streets, and of course, day of the dead festivities!

Bici-Burro bike tour: An active way to get outside the city and see the surrounding countryside. It was a little more bumpy and intense than I expected, but ended with a relaxing dip in the hot springs (which you can visit without doing the bike tour).

La Cocina cooking class: This class is run by an American woman named Kris who has made her home in San Miguel de Allende. She is super knowledgeable about the history, food, and cooking techniques of San Miguel de Allende, and she even helped us book a driver for our early morning departure. We went on a shopping excursion at the local food market and learned how to make some traditional Mexican dishes.

Kirs and Chef Bunny (she was having more fun than her face suggests)

Botanical garden (El Charco del Ingenio): Located a short drive from town, strolling this expansive nature preserve was a great way to walk off some of the tacos we’d eaten during the week.

Shopping at Mercado San Juan de Dios: This is the food market we shopped at during the cooking class, and it’s also a good place to pick up souvenirs or enjoy a snack of elote (street corn!)

Fabrica la Aurora: Formerly a textile factory, this space now houses galleries, restaurants and furniture stores. While we were there, most of the galleries had Dia de Muertos altars on display which was extra special.

Día de Muertos

Día de Muertos is such a cool time to visit San Miguel de Allende, the shops and restaurants have altars up, and visitors and locals come out to celebrate. Compared to Oaxaca it felt like there were fewer days of celebration here; in Oaxaca there was something happening every night of the week around Día de Muertos, but it was festive nonetheless.

Last year in Oaxaca I passed on the face painting, but this year Bunny and I got into the spirit and it was so much fun! Note: this makeup takes like 15 minutes to get put on and like an hour to was off in the shower!

A very special part of Día de Muertos is visiting the cemetery, where, every year, family members clean the graves and leave flowers and favorite foods for the deceased to welcome them back for one night. In Oaxaca, families sit graveside through the night, but in San Miguel de Allende the cemetery closes at 6 PM, so we ended up showing up too late to visit in the evening, but were able to return the next day.

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And of course, just wandering the streets was a great way to feel the spirit of Día de Muertos, with colorful decorations galore.

Overall, we loved our trip to San Miguel de Allende- it’s a very approachable destination: gorgeous town, amazing food, and lots to do!

Kate & Bunny do Día de Muertos: Guanajuato

November 3, 2018

I’m back in Mexico; last year’s Día de Muertos celebrations in Oaxaca were so much fun that this year I managed to convince Bunny to come along with me. This year, we are visiting Guanajuato and San Miguel de Allende to see what day of the dead is like in this part of Mexico!

Our first stop was in Guanajuato City, which is located in central Mexico, a couple of hours from the slightly more well-known San Miguel de Allende.

Guanajuato is a beautiful, lively, bustling little city. I was imagining it to be a quaint and quiet town, but on the weekend it was full of Mexican tourists and students who packed the streets wall to wall, with music, food, and street performers on every corner. The atmosphere was decidedly more relaxed on the weekday, when everyone returned to work and school. While it felt like a hotspot for visitors, we were surprised by how few Western tourists we encountered during our time there. There wasn’t much going on yet for Día de Muertos (we were there Oct 27-30), but we greatly enjoyed exploring the city.

One of the main plazas in Guanajuato city

Not the most beautiful photo, but this is a great example of what we encountered while walking around, tons of people enjoying a concert in the street.

DAY 1

We arrived in the evening our first day, and strolled around a bit to get our bearings. We didn’t have much time before we headed out to our dinner reservation at Las Mercedes, which is supposed to be *amazing.* We liked it just fine, but it didn’t stand out as one of the most remarkable meals I’ve ever had, and it was quite a cab ride away.

DAY 2

On our first full day, we woke up to find that Daylight Savings had occurred overnight, thanks to my not-smart watch. Having enjoyed a bonus hour of sleep, we set out in search of some coffee and breakfast. However we were surprised to see that the restaurants were all super packed- I guess the brunch scene in Guanajuato is just as bumpin’ as SF!

We settled for some coffees to-go and headed over to Mercado Hidalgo which has plenty of options for quick and cheap bites. The quesadilla stand I picked actually turned out to be not-so-quick, but worth the wait….yum!

We strolled around the market and the town center a little more before deciding it was time to eat again, so had a proper meal of Enchiladas Mineras at Truco 7.

Next it was time for some proper sightseeing! One of the popular things to do in Guanajuato is to appreciate the city from the viewpoint at the El Pipila statue that stands above the city. It was a quick FUNicular ride to the top for amazing views! People also brought the party up there, with a speaker, singing, dancing, and even some hula hooping.

On our way to the funicular, we got asked by a guy with a camera to be in a video for his YouTube channel, so he interviewed us about what day we would re-live if we could go back to a single day in our life, and what advice we have to people for living in the moment. Luckily his channel only has about 25 subscribers so I don’t think our advice will be the next viral hit.

Before you ask, no, you cannot see the YouTube video.

After our visit to El Pipila, it seemed about time to eat/drink again, we we headed back down to try to grab a drink at Bar Luna, which is on a very cute plaza called Jardin de la Union. The wait was over an hour, so we settled for the nearly-identical bar next door, Bar van Gogh, where the drinks were pretty bad, but the guac was very good.

They didn’t have any cocktails on the menu, so I ordered us tequila and what was supposed to be pineapple juice but just tasted like tang.

After our weird drinks, we strolled around and ended up stopping for much better mojitos at a very cute bar called La Champa.

We knew our trip wouldn’t be complete without checking out the night tour, Las Callejoneadas: a long-standing tradition in Guanjauato. The group dresses like medieval minstrels, and they sing, dance, and give a funny history of the city. Well, I gathered it was very funny, but we couldn’t really understand much since it was completely in Spanish.

To finish off our first night we had a great dinner at Los Campos and, obviously, some more margaritas.

DAY 3

Monday, we decided to escape the hustle and bustle of the city a bit, and, after an omelette stop at La Erre, headed back up the funicular and continued on past the viewpoint for some hiking in an area called El Cerro de la Bufa.

I got SUPER CONFUSED because I had read about a place called El Cerro de la Bufa in a totally different part of Mexico. So I was expecting there to be a tram, and a bunch of people, a museum, and a food stand with really amazing corn. But there is none of that in the Guanajuato El Cerro de la Bufa, so I was convinced we were in the wrong place, until I looked up the other place on a map. OUR El Cerro de la Bufa was just a small hike with a nice view of the city.

Look at this cool rock. Where’s the delicious corn I was promised?

Having had our fill of physical activity, it was clearly time for…TACOS. We walked back over to Mercado Hidalgo to try out a carnitas stand recommended by our AirBnb, called Carnitas Patlan

After eating our fill of carnitas, we did a little shopping for Day of the Dead themed earrings, then hopped in a taxi to Ex-Hacienda San Gabriel de Barrera. As the name implies, it used to be the home San Gabriel de Barrera. We didn’t get much history about the man, but had a great time exploring the many different styles of garden he planted on the property.

We finished off our trip with some more bad cocktails by the jardin at Bar Tradicional Luna, but enjoyed them greatly thanks to our personal serenade by a mariachi band. Then we did the thing where you wander around trying to find something to eat- and ended up having some guac and margs at a cute place called La Santurrona.

The next morning we packed up, ate some breakfast on one of the plazas and hopped on the bus to San Miguel de Allende for the second part of our trip!

Quick links to where we ate/drank/slept:

Bars:

Bar van Gogh

Restaurants:

Mercado Hidalgo: Carnitas Patlan

Our AirBnb

OMG Oaxaca!

November 5, 2017

My main motivation to visit Oaxaca was to experience Dia de los Muertos, but there is so much more to see, do, and eat to warrant many blog posts! I tried to condense my experience into one, since I know even my own parents wouldn't read that much of my blog.

Oaxaca is an amazing city to wander around. There were a few days when I had no agenda besides just wandering around- popping in to stores, galleries, and museums and eating lots of good food. There are also plenty of wonderful organized activities you can take part in. Here's what I did:

While wandering around, you're bound to stumble on some beautiful courtyards like this one!

Tours & Activities

There are loads of tour companies in Oaxaca. I tried some of the top ones and they are all deserving of their good reputations! I could say much more about each of these (and bore you with many more photos) so if you ever go to Oaxaca and want to hear more I would be happy to share.

Cooking class with Casa de los Sabores - A cooking class was a must for me, I try to learn a bit more about local cuisine wherever I go. With this class, we shopped for groceries (and saw some special Day of the Dead items) at the Merced market, then hopped in taxis to head to the teacher (Pilar)’s home just a short ride from the center. Her house was beautiful, and the best part was she had a ceiling that retracts like a convertible for when the cooking gets smoky (or I suppose just for generally enjoying the weather)

Dried chiles. Essential in Mexican cooking!

We all helped to prepare black mole, soup, rice, and a dessert with tiny little apples. The mole was (as you’d expect) the most interesting part. It had about 1200 ingredients and so. many. steps. You cook a bunch of ingredients one by one in the same lard (like almonds, peanuts, and plantains), then take them out, and blend them all together in a blender (or by hand if you are an ancient person). Then you blend lots of other things, like tomatoes and tomatillos. You remove the seeds from dried chiles, and blend just the flesh. But you keep the seeds, and then you light them on fire under a tostada! Then you blend up that charred stuff too. And you add it all the the pan. Clearly I’m not representing the recipe accurately, but you get the idea! It was delicious and everyone in the class was super friendly which made it an extra good time.

Mole in progress. Pilar supervises Ron, who sports an adorable pink apron.

Cuajimoloyas with Tierraventura - I joined up on an already planned tour with this company, run by Claudia who is from Germany but has been living in Mexico for 20 years. We went to the mountain village of Cuajimoloyas where a local guide told us all about native medicinal plants. The climate up there was super cold! And it started raining at the end of our hike. Yikes! I was surprised to see tons of mezcal plants growing right alongside pine trees. It was a little bit slow paced for me, but was pretty cool to see a completely different climate so close to Oaxaca city. We even saw a mini parade of the village kids getting ready for Dia de los Muertos. Claudia was taking that same group on a visit to one of the cemeteries to see some of the Muertos preparations, so she invited me to tag along, which was very kind, and ended up being an awesome experience.

Hierve el Agua with Zapotrek: Hierve el Agua is a “petrified waterfall” formed from years of mineralized water slowly dripping off a cliffside, as well as some natural pools. You can just take a bus there, but I love doing things the hard way, so decided to hike there! I went with Zapotrek, which hikes there from a nearby village about 14K away. It was just myself, one other tourist, and two guides with us, and it was an awesome way to visit the site.

The hike took about 4 hours, winding through lush mountainside with agave fields aplenty. We stopped part of the way through and made our way up a river to a small waterfall surrounded by stunning colorful rock formations. (Bring water shoes if you ever do this. Plastic Birkenstocks don't quite do the job)

The trek was a bit harder than I expected- but I felt like I really earned the views at the end! The pools and surrounding mountains were really breathtaking.

Teotitlán del Valle with Envia - Envia is a very cool organization that provides no-interest micro loans and business education to local women to help them start a business. The take tour groups to visit some of these women and learn about their trades, which is the main source of funding for the organization. We had a Dia de los Muertos themed tour, which meant we also not only learned about weaving from a local woman, but also see how some families prepare for the holiday. Our guides were two very sweet and enthusiastic young women who helped translate and told us about the organization's work. It was awesome all around and I'd absolutely recommend them.

Juvia showing us the weaving process. I bought one of her rugs to take home!

A local family's altar for Dia de los Muertos

Jardín Etnobotánico - My first day, I didn't have much of a plan but wanted a guided tour of some kind, so I joined the tour of the Jardín Etnobotánico where I learned about a bunch of different types of plants and a bit of history, which I’ve already forgotten. It was not a must-do, but is the only way to see the gardens near the old monastery, so #noregrets.

Monte Alban - I did NOT go on an organized tour here and regret it terribly! I thought I could just find a guide for hire once I got there by bus (that's what I'd read online in forums), but there were no guides to be found. They have signage in English which helps some, but everyone I talked to who had a guide seemed to have gotten a lot more out of it. Here's a picture, but we'll never know what it's of because I DIDN'T GET A GUIDE

Museums

I wasn't in a super museum-y mood on my trip, but I still paid quick visits to three of the city's museums. I was....not that impressed.

Museo de las Culturas de Oaxaca - I am sure there is someone who finds this museum interesting but that someone is not me. Maybe it's because there were no explanations in English so I didn't understand much. It does have a treasure hoard from Monte Alban, which was cool, and the building itself is an old monastery with nice views

MACO (modern art) - Most of this museum seemed to be empty, signs said they were preparing for future exhibits. They had some interesting video art, and a beautiful building with a nice courtyard. Also there were plenty of places to sit down, which I liked :)

Museo Textil is a small museum that only takes about 20 minutes to check out. While I was there they had an exhibit on Mulas (which I also have seen in Colombia), quilts (boring), and some really unique and beautiful art made with wire:

Eats & Drinks

I ate a lot of meals as part of tours or sometimes was so full from a big lunch that I just had a snack for dinner. But here are the restaurants that I visited that I'd recommend! They'll all Oaxacan food unless otherwise mentioned. Most of these are in Lonely Planet, nothing terribly original :)

Casa Oaxaca - The sister restaurant to my hotel, though not in the same building. I ate here for my last night as it's widely regarded as the best restaurant in the city and seemed like a great way to end my visit. They make salsa for you right at the table, and everyone was super friendly and accommodating (they even gave me a half portion of an appetizer since I was just one person). Reservations are recommended, otherwise you'll face San Francisco-level wait times. They have an upstairs patio with outdoor seating (where I was able to see a fireworks show!) and live music. My bill for half an app, entree, 2 drinks, and dessert was $30. I love Mexico.

Los Danzantes - Another place that is considered one of the best restaurants in Oaxaca, I actually also ate here on my last day (but for lunch). It always seemed really crowded when I walked by at dinnertime, but I showed up for lunch just before they opened and had no problem getting a table. It's in a lovely and peaceful courtyard. Personally I preferred Casa Oaxaca but Danzantes is worth checking out.

Zandunga - I greatly enjoyed both my meal and drinks, and the atmosphere is cool, too. More casual than the two above. It was pretty busy, but getting a seat at the bar was no problem.

La Biznaga - Nice outdoor courtyard and good food. The drinks were strangely really, really, bad. Like, almost undrinkable. The first cocktail I had was yucky and I didn't finish it. Then I ordered a Paloma and whatever they gave me tasted like a flat sprite with no alcohol in it. So maybe stick with a beer if you go here.

Tierra del Sol - A good place, but I was really tired when I went here so I have to say it was not super memorable.

Gourmand - This is a little deli that is great for when you want to cleanse your palate from all the mole you'll surely eat in Oaxaca. I got a nice cobb salad that I think my body appreciated.

"Meat Street" at the 20 de Noviembre market - Not its official name, but that's what I call it. A hot, loud, intimidating stretch of the market where they'll grill you up some fresh meat, which you can enjoy with tortillas, salsa, and grilled veggies. You have to purchase each of these components separately, from some people walking around. It was a little bit difficult, but you can figure it out if you speak a little Spanish. And it was super delicious!

Boulenc - I just got a coffee and pastry to-go here, but they also have a sit-down cafe. They have Parisian style pastries that are sooooo good, and a bunch of jarred foods that would probably make lovely souvenirs if you wanted to check a bag.

Cafe los Cuiles - I ate a super rushed breakfast here but enjoyed it all the same. There is also a really cool pottery store in the same plaza where it's located.

Sabina Sabe - I went just for drinks, but the food is supposed to be good, too. They have a generous mezcal tasting, which I tried, but sipping mezcal is just not for me. It was a fun place nonetheless.

Where I stayed

I stayed for 5 nights at Casa Oaxaca, which was amazing! It was beautiful, the service was outstanding and the included breakfast was a dream. My only complaint is that the building is LOUD at night so I really put my earplugs to use. They didn't have a room for my full stay, so I had to move to the not amazing (but cheap) Hotel Santa Helena Plaza. It was definitely in a more local area; the neighboring businesses were stereo and hardware stores. It was about a 20 min walk from the tourist center, so I wouldn't really recommend it. Though I will say, the Wi-Fi there was great.

If you've made it to the end of this post, congratulations. It was a doozy. I LOVED Oaxaca and if you haven't been there already, put it on your bucket list!

Día de los Muertos in Oaxaca

November 2, 2017

Dia de los Muertos is a truly special time to explore Oaxaca. I’ll admit I didn’t know much about Dia de los Muertos before I went to Oaxaca, just that I'd seem some photos, and knew I wanted to see it for myself. It turned out to be one of the most interesting and spectacular things I’ve seen!

Dia de los Muertos is not Mexican Halloween; it’s a time when Mexican families remember, and welcome back the souls of their deceased relatives. There are many traditions associated with the holiday- which I’ll try to illustrate through some of my photos. It also seems to be a good excuse for a party :) Throughout the week I was there, there were countless parades, dancing, concerts, fireworks, and more to celebrate the holiday.

The whole town gets into the spirit. Everywhere you look there are colorful displays, giant skeletons, and altars.

The skeletons you see all around town are called 'catrinas,' which originally were a parody of a the upper-class. These ones are outside the Xoxo cemetery (that's Claudia, one of the tour guides I met during my trip)

Huge catrina outside the library (which also had an exhibit of altars)

Special street art near the cemetary to celebrate (they refresh them every year)

There are also plenty of parades aka comparsas throughout the city. Some are officially organized, and others just seem to kind of spring up.

Preparations are sold in markets all over town in the days leading up to Dia de los Muertos: special bread (pan de muertos) and flowers are two of the key ingredients!

Pan! The more common one has a little head baked into it, but I thought this was a prettier photo.

Women selling flowers in the market in Teotitlán del Valle

On the 31st and the 1st, families visit the graves of their loved ones to clean them, place flowers, and sometimes even decorate. I was told that some families stay at the cemetery all night to welcome their relatives' souls (though I didn't stay to see that)

A grave at the old cemetery at Xoxo (one of the more elaborate decorations we saw)

Tons of tourists flock to the cemeteries to capture photos (myself included....though I just use my cell phone not a huge fancy camera like these guys)

And of course, there is lots of great people watching/people-photographing to be done. Almost everyone seems to get their face painted (even the gringos) and there are some really impressive costumes as well!

A handmade costume won the 'catrinas' costume contest in barrio Xochimilco (she won 3,000 MXN which is like $150 USD- a pretty big prize!)

Altars for the deceased are also an important tradition. We got the chance to visit a family's altar in Teotitlán del Valle, which was a great way to see how real people still keep traditions alive today. Many restaurants and shops also set up beautiful altars.

The small altar on the left is for los angelitos - deceased children — The small altar on the left is for *los angelitos -* deceased children

A more modern altar in a restauarnt in Oaxaca city.

Sand tapestries, aka tapetes de arena can also be found around town, with either Catholic or indigenous imagery. I even got the chance to help make one at my hotel- it represented the 13 months of the Zapotec calendar. I think I need some more practice before I go pro though, it was hard work!

The hotel staff made this one....my panel is the one on the left, with the orange flower thingie.

I'm so glad that I got to fulfill my bucket-list wish of visiting Oaxaca during this magical time. It seemed like everywhere I turned, there was something interesting going on, and it made an already beautiful city even more colorful and dynamic. It's definitely an experience I'd recommend!

What we ate and drank in Mexico City

January 8, 2017

Mexico City has so many bars and restaurants, you could probably spend a lifetime there and not try them all- it reminded me of New York in that way. When I travel I always want to know good places to eat, so decided to make a whole blog post about what we ate and drank, in case any of you need recommendations for a future trip.

The desert options at Hacienda de los Morales

Restaurants

Moxie - Our first night my sister and I just wandered around in Condesa and picked one of the first places we saw. We didn't understand anything on the menu but it turned out to be delicious tostadas.

Marcelino Pan y Vino - Had a tasty lunch here on NYE, because almost everything else was closed! Not amazing, but friendly service and worked in a pinch.

Fonda Garufa - The nice English speaking chef at Marcelino recommended this place when we asked what would be open for lunch New Year's Day. Nice upstairs area with windows looking out on the street. TBH I was so dead and hungover I think the food was good but can't say for sure.

Ordering pizza from Uber Eats - Yes, I am ashamed to admit it, but on New Year's Day we were so tired we decided to just order pizza in. My sister thought she was ordering pizza by the slice, but we ended up with three large pizzas, over an hour after placing our order. Not recommended.

Ivoire - French restaurant in Polanco. Not my favorite food, but was a nice place to people watch fancy Mexicans.

Taqueria El Turix - Basically a taco truck, but in a small storefront. They have one kind of meat (pork?) and serve it in a few different ways - taco, torta, panucho (which is a tortilla stuffed with beans, fried, and with meat on top). Really f-ing delicious, without any atmosphere whatsoever.

El Moro Churrería - They have a few locations, but we went to the one inside the fancy department store El Palacio de Hierro and sat on the nice outdoor terrace. YUM.

Nueve 99 - Decided to try this place after failing at Camino Blanca (see below). Cool upscale indoor/outdoor space, and great food (we really liked the grilled artichoke). I think it's owned by the same group as Nobu.

Dulce Patria - A really beautiful restaurant in Polanco. Each dish was like a work of art. IMO the taste of the food itself didn't live up to the looks. Still, was a very nice dining experience for about $60 USD per person (for a meal that probably would run upwards of $150pp in SF)

Que Seria De Mi - Cute small brunch spot in Condesa, serving American and Mexican options.

Hacienda de los Morales - In a hotel in Polanco, more old school elegant than hip/cool. Huge portions, and a live band playing. Not sure it'd be my first choice to go back to, but was a nice place to go with parents.

Mercado Roma - Like Eataly in New York, a modern food court with many Mexican and international options and a nice patio.

Bars

Niuyorquina (pronounced like New York-ina) - A random first night find. A lively casual bar in Condesa where they were playing an interesting mix of super loud Mexican and 90s music.

Balmori Roofbar - Really cool loungey spot in Roma (on a roof, but not a view) with tasty cocktails, many which, for unknown reasons, feature Hypnotiq.

Licorería Limantour - Apparently one of the world's best 50 bars, so you don't need me to tell you it's good. We went to the Roma location. Cool vibe and great cocktails.

Hotel Condesa DF terrace bar - I actually tried to come here last time i had a one-night layover in DF, but it was closed for an event. Glad I got to go this time; it's a nice terrace with cocktails, sushi and sort-of a view.

Gin Gin - Another trendy lounge spot in Polanco (they have another location in Roma too), big cocktails with a focus on gin, had a great DJ when we went on a Friday.

Miralto - Bar/Restaurant located on 41st floor of a Torre Latinoamericana the Reforma area. It's painfully touristy but it DOES have a great view of expansive Mexico City and makes a nice place to rest your feet if you've been sightseeing in the area. You can also pay to go to the 44th floor, but the lines for that are super long, and you get to cut them to go to the bar.

La Santa - Nightclub in Polanco that I went to for New Year's Eve. Lasers, DJ, American and Mexican music. This was the only time I went out, so I can't comment much on nightlife overall, but we got there at 4 AM, and when we left at 5:30 the party was still going strong.

Where we didn't eat:

Because they were closed (we were in Mexico City during the first week of Jan, where a lot of things are closed)

Rustic Kitchen - A totally random Italian place where I made a reservation on Open Table for NYE, and then we got there and it was closed. Not saying you should go there, but it makes the "What we didn't eat" list :)

Nudo Negro - Dinner place in Roma that looked great, but was closed

Huset - Dinner place in Roma, we were able to walk in and it was soooo cute, and I was really proud when I understood the guy who told me they were closed until January 10. Spanish lessons FTW!

Because we are weird

Blanco Calima - Restaurant in a cool old mansion where we really awkwardly walked in, sat down, and realized they only had 4 things on the menu. Fine with me but my sister doesn't like places like that so I tried to make up a lie in Spanish (I either said "She doesn't eat meat" or "She doesn't food meat")

Sud 777 - Where I made a reservation, but then we realized it would take 45 min to an hour in Uber, so we went somewhere closer

A week in Mexico city with dad and sis

January 8, 2017

Welcome to the blog! My goal with this blog is to document all the things I'm seeing and doing on my travels, so I my parents know I'm alive, so I remember them when I get back, and so if any of my friends visits places I've been, I can point them to some recommendations! This first post is probably way too long, so sorry to the five of you who may be reading it.

The TL;DR (too long, didn't read, for those of you who don't work in tech): Mexico City is an amazing place that is modern but with a deep and interesting history. We enjoyed a few of the 150+ museums the city has to offer, and ate some spectacular food, from both street trucks and trendy restaurants. We love it and all want to move here! But first we need to learn Spanish, because no one speaks English here!

The first stop on my 3-month sabbatical was Mexico City, joined by my dad and sister, Julia. The trip got off to a bit of a rocky start when, upon arriving to the airport, Dad realized his passport was expired, and couldn't get on our flight. Luckily he was able to get a same-day passport and join us a couple of days later.

We got in to Mexico City late on Dec 30 and checked in to our AirBnb in Condesa. We headed out the main drag of the neighborhood for some food and drinks (see the next post for all the things we ate and drank!).

Day 1

Julia and I went on what was SUPPOSED to be an amazing bike tour. It was literally the worst bike tour I've ever been on. I think because it was New Year's Eve, the good guides were off and they sent in the backup squad. It was fun to bike around the city, but we didn't get much information or enthusiasm out of the guide.

After the tour, we had some lunch in our 'hood (Condesa), took naps, and then got ready for NYE partying.

Sweet vests so people don't run over the tourists on bikes. With sis in the botanical gardens.

We weren't into the idea of paying $150 USD for a NYE dinner, so I grabbed us an online reservation at a casual place in Condesa. When we got there, it was closed! Oops. We managed to find another place that was open and didn't have a prix fixe menu, delicious Italian that unfortunately I did not capture the name of.

For NYE, I met up with my friend Danny, who I actually met LAST YEAR on New Year's Eve in Cabo. His family lives near Mexico City, so he was in town and invited me to hang out with him and his friends. We went to a party at a hotel called Downtown Mexico and then to La Santa, a club in Polanco, to dance the night away (though the night was already long gone by that point; we got there at 4 AM...Mexicans take their partying seriously!).

Day 2

Having gone to bed at around 6 AM the night before, Julia and I were way too dead to do much on New Year's Day, which was fine because everything is closed anyway! We managed to drag ourselves out for lunch(?) at 3 PM, and then came home to "do some trip planning" aka fell asleep on the couch for 3 hours. Our dad arrived later that evening, and we gave him a real taste of Mexico City by ordering in pizza from Uber Eats.

Day 3

To kick off our dad's visit and see some more of the city, we tried one of the big red hop on/hop off tourist busses that shows you around the city with some commentary via audio guide. The open topped bus was a cool way to see the city, but the audio was broken half the time so it wasn't the most informative.

We hopped off at the Palacio de Bellas Artes and walked our way towards Zócalo which is the heart of the city, with a cathedral, presidential palace, shops, and even Aztec ruins. It was insane and I have to confess I NOT like it. Our guide book said it should be on everyone's list to see; maybe if you had a live guide to tell you a bit about things and guide you through masses of people it would be more enjoyable. It was too much of a crowd for my taste, though.

We hopped back on with our fellow sightseers, and then hopped off near the Polanco neighborhood, for some lunch, ice cream, and a bit of a stroll through this upscale neighborhood where we scoped out some potential dinner and drinks spots for later in the week.

Day 4

Today was a big highlight for me, because I love to eat, and we did an AWESOME food tour, through Eat Mexico. Our friendly, passionate guide Adrian took us to the San Juan gourmet market, where we sampled everything from crickets to Mexican cheeses and fruits. We we to a Pulquería, a bar where they serve Pulque, a probiotic alcoholic drink invented by the Aztecs. The place was covered in murals and most of the patrons covered in tattoos. My dad did not feel comfortable :) We also sampled street foods like tlacoyos, quesadillas, and of course, tacos. If you're visiting Mexico City and like to eat, I'd 100% recommend this tour. I loved it!

Following the tour, we checked out the Diego Rivera Mural Museum which houses the mural "Dream of a Sunday afternoon" and also had an exhibit from a Mexican artist, Gerardo Cantú. I'm sure the museum is interesting, but the way we visited this museum is not my favorite. I knew nothing about any of the art, and there wasn't any posted info or guide, so can't say I got much out of it. If you go, I'd do some research on the mural so you have a better appreciation for it. It's a small museum so could be done in less than an hour.

Also of note, I definitely had strep throat and scarlet fever in full swing this day (no idea why I got an illness that usually only children and old timey people get). Scarlet fever sounds like a dramatic illness from Jane Eyre, but it's actually just a red rash on your chest and torso. Winning!

Day 5

Today we tackled the impressive Museo Nacional de Antropología, which has a huge collection of information and artifacts about Mexico's ancient and modern peoples and is housed in a beautiful building. Everyone told us you could spend several days here, and they were all right. The woman at the info desk recommended a few specific areas to focus on for our visit: Teotihuacan, Mexica, Maya, Gran Nayar, and Oaxaca.

I wasn't sure if I'd be that interested in the museum, but it was incredible to see statues, jewelry, masks, and more that are literally thousands of years old, and to learn about the societies that came and went in Mexico (some right there in Mexico City). The United States seems like a young baby country in comparison!

One note if you go- some of the main info is translated to English, but most of the rest is not, and there aren't English audio guides. I found the picture-taking function of Google Translate to be really helpful to understand what I was seeing.

Aztec Sun Stone (not the Aztec calendar as it was previously mistaken to be)

We spent about 3 hours in the museum, then walked about 30 minutes to a great taco place that my sister had heard of, Tacos Turix. Basically a taco truck, but in a storefront, it was amazing. Being the fatties that we are, we then went in search of churros, setting our sights on Moro, which has a few locations around the city. We visited the location inside a super fancy mall, where I felt out of place with my backpack and hiking pants.

Day 6

Today we continued soaking up the ancient history of Mexico with a visit to Teotihuacán. We went on a tour that my dad booked through Viator. It was one of the less expensive options at about $50 per person, and I think partially because of the cheap price, they took us to a bunch shops where we could buy stuff (I'm assuming they get a kick back from those purchases).

The pyramids themselves were really impressive, built way before Aztec times (we're talking 100 BC to 500 AD) as a place for worship of the gods. In those days, only the high priests were allowed to climb the pyramids, but today anyone can scale them- provided you like stairs! :) Getting to the top was easier than I thought, took about 30 min for the large Pyramid of the Sun, and maybe 5 min for the smaller Moon pyramid

On the Moon pyramid, with the Sun Pyramid in the background. You do not need to wear giant dorky boots to climb them :)

After the pyramids we made another stop at the Shrine of Guadalupe, one of the most important religious sites for Mexicans, housing a cloak with the image of Our Lady of Guadalupe the patron saint of Mexico. It's in a huge church that was build in the 70s. It was an interesting and relatively short stop, worth seeing on the way home from pyramids.

Overall we were happy with our tour experience, but if i did it again, I'd try and find a tour that gets to the pyramids earlier. We arrived to pyramids around noon, due to all the nonsense commercial stops along the way, and it was super crowded and also really hot (only 75 degrees but there is no shade and it felt way hotter- as everyone says, BRING A HAT- or you can buy one there).

Day 7

Today we slept in, had brunch, and headed over to the Frida Kahlo museum, which was another highlight for me. We bought tickets in advance, which you definitely need to do. It's a small and very popular museum.

The museum is in the house where Frida grew up, and eventually moved back into with Diego Rivera. It has some of her art, but the real focus is on her life and work. Since she lived relatively recently, they had her clothes, painting materials, bed, and more, which brought her story to life (the exceptional audio guide also helped).

Frida's painting materials, just as she left them

After the museum, we went to Xochimilco, where you can rent a colorful boat and float down the river (I don't think it's actually a river, but it looks like one). It's about an hour from central Mexico City, only a $9 ride in an Uber. I am pretty sure we got ripped off, which left a really bad taste in my mouth for the whole experience. Everything I read online said that the boats cost 350 MXN per hour, no matter how many people. We got charged 350 per person for 40 minutes. I knew we were getting the gringo price, but unfortunately my Spanish is almost non existent (for now?) so I wasn't able to get us out of that situation.

You can buy food, drinks, mariachi bands, and trinkets along the way. We weren't really hungry so didn't partake in the extras, but this would be a fun place to spend a lazy afternoon eating, drinking, and partying on the water with a big group of friends (as long as you speak Spanish and don't get ripped off :)

Day 8

Last day in Mexico City :( Our dad left early in the morning, and Julia and I didn't have any set plans, but decided to check out Chapultepec Castle, in the middle of the huge and tranquil Chapultepec park. It ended up being one of our favorite places we visited! It's a history museum, but I was a little history-ed out by this point, but we enjoyed seeing some of the rooms as they looked in old-timey days and wandering around the beautiful gardens with great views of Mexico City.

After that we headed to Mercado Roma, which is like a Mexico City version of Eataly, tons of different food options and a nice outdoor patio where you can enjoy it all. And after THAT, I decided to try and get my hair blown out, because I love blowouts and suspected it would be super cheap. Mission Blowout was a success, got my hair done for only $7!

With my new straight hair, it was time to pack up and head to the airport to get on my way to Medellin, where I'll be staying for a couple of weeks attempting to learn Spanish. ¡Hasta luego!

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South America...and beyond!

In early 2017, I took a 3 month sabbatical from work to travel in South America, and blogged about it along the way. Since then, I’ve taken a few more noteworthy trips, and am sharing my experiences with you here!

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