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!).
Which one of us is not Mexican?
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.
Zócalo
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!
Adrian in the San Juan market
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!