CDMX: Tacos & Tequila (Day 3)

Hola todos,

Another day, another part of this city to explore. And now that we’re bus experts, it’s time to grab our metrobus card and go. Vamonos!

On today’s agenda was tackling the National Archaeology Museum. I’d read that it was large and overwhelming, and visitors recommended choosing a few exhibits to concentrate on. Our main goal was to keep learning some history and get more context for our upcoming Teotihuacan tour in a few days.

The exterior (L) and interior (R) plazas of the museum.

The museum had a ton of originals and replicas of cultural artifacts from early indigenous peoples through the Aztecs. The designs and details on the hand-made sculptures and structures were stunning. A lot of art students were walking around with their sketch pads, which was cool to see.

An exhibited burial site.

 

This was a to-scale mock-up of a court used for a ritual ball game (that sometimes ended in bloody human sacrifice).

 

While there was some context in the displays, we would have really benefitted from a guided tour or even an audio tour. There were just so many pieces and it was hard to know how they all related to the history of this region, or why they were significant.

After a few hours there, we decided to walk along the top of the Bosque Chapultepec to the Polanco neighborhood. It’s relatively quiet and felt "upscale residential". There were so many trees and it was beautifully green, and there was clearly a fun brunch culture in the restaurant area of the neighborhood.

 

We stopped for a bite a Cafebreria El Pendulo, a local chain of bookstore-cafes. (So you *know* I was in Heaven.) There was some live music for a bit, and it was nice to rest our feet in a nerdy-yummy ambiance.

We walked off our late lunch through Lincoln Park, named after Abraham Lincoln. It was a bit of a maze, and there were little water features. Since it was a Saturday, families were out and about.

Then we walked along what was supposed to be Polanco's equivalent to Fifth Ave.... but we didn't see a ton of super duper high end stores. But a pleasant walk nevertheless!

 

A famous Insta spot attached to the TANE jewelry store. And since I'm a #TravelInfluencer, I *had* to stop for a pic. (And peep Mama Seideman--isn't she so cute?!?)

A display found along a busy Polanco street.

We circled around back to the Mercado Escondido, or Hidden Market, to see what the online hype was about. It was small and a bit underwhelming--a definite pass if you're coming to town.

We caught the bus back to the hotel to recuperate, rest, and rehydrate before heading out for some evening activities. Our first stop was Cafe Nin, a *super* vibey cafe/bar. My amateur photography can't do it justice, but the brick walls, the lighting, and the floor tiling all contributed to a fabulous vibe throughout the place. We had drinks and dessert (yes, before dinner--hey, life is uncertain!) and soaked up the ambiance.

Next, we were off to Taquitos Frontera in the Roma Norte neighborhood. It was about a 10 minute walk, but it rained the whole time. So we were a little wet when we hurriedly shuffled into the restaurant. Fortunately, it was a pretty casual place. My mom got soup and I got, you guessed it, tacos: one al pastor, one pollo. The salsas were decidedly picante, so I stayed away.

Bellies full, we headed back to the hotel to strategize for tomorrow. Buenas noches!

Besos,

Tina the ExploraDora

Step count: 47,867

Taco count: 7

CDMX: Tacos & Tequila (Day 2)

Hola todos,

It was a beautiful day for us to hit the calles and explore the streets of Mexico City. And we had a morning walking tour to get to. Vamonos!

El Angel, the statue and bus stop near our hotel.

Our first adventure of the day was grabbing the bus to get downtown. It wouldn't have been difficult, except for the fact that neither my mom nor I had bothered to do any research into 1) how to obtain a public transit card, 2) whether we would need individual cards or could share swipes, and 3) how much each trip would cost. So we floundered at the station's machine for a few minutes, successfully getting one card, until two extremely kind women took pity on us. One offered to pay our bus fares, which was so generous. But we had a transfer and I knew that her short-term help was just a band-aid--we needed to learn the system! They told us that we could use just one card between the two of us and that trips were MXN $6 (6 pesos), roughly 35 cents, each. And then one of the women got on the bus with us and, after finding out we were headed downtown, told us that she was headed that way too and could chaperone us the whole way. These interactions--the sheer kindness and generosity of complete strangers--are the ones that make international travel so rewarding.

It was rush hour and the bus should have been packed, but we all got seats. In comparison to New York, the orderliness of getting onto the buses and the lack of fare evasion is almost shocking. The buses are cleaner, cheaper, and more frequent than in NYC.

The back of the bus was reserved for women and children, noted by the pink handles and poles. I've also read that subway train cars have similar reserved spaces.

We successfully made one bus transfer with our guide in the lead, and we got into the downtown area. We were now in the centro historico, surrounded by layers and layers of history (literally--archaeologists have found ruins underneath plazas and buildings), important government and cultural sites, and a weird blend of both people dressed in business attire and tourists.

We were a bit early for our walking tour, so we walked around to get a feel for the area. We stumbled across their supreme court, so of course I had to snag a photo! I'm pretty sure the security guards were a bit surprised to have someone excitedly stop for a pic.

We also stumbled across this Franciscan church/convent. If I translated the sign correctly (the odds of which are decent but not 100%), Hernan Cortes stayed here in the 1500s during a portion of his time in what would become Mexico City. Wild.

I loved walking through the streets before they were flooded with tourists and seeing what local life is like. There was a pedestrian street that doubled as some sort of breakfast/hot foods mall. People were buying lunch sandwiches for later in the day, hot coffee and fresh-squeezed orange juice para llevar, and chicken and beef tacos to eat right then and there. Pastries and churros were also in the mix.

I got a scrambled egg sandwich. The default toppings were mayonnaise, avocado, and cheese. I opted out of the mayo and got it toasted. (This sando set us back 30 pesos, or roughly $1.50 USD.)

We met up with our walking tour and got started on what would be two hours and thirty minutes of a history refresher and some fabulous sightseeing. (We did this free walking tour with Oscar. I totally recommend!) I say "history refresher" because I learned a lot about Mexican history, especially the rich history of Mexico City, in my Spanish classes in high school. It was really cool to finally be in the place where the stories I heard a decade ago actually happened.

Our first stop was the Metropolitan Cathedral, built in the most ancient part of Mexico City and right next to the Aztec's main temple. The Cathedral was even built using portions of the Aztec temple. The building that exists today took roughly 250 years to complete and so contains several architectural styles that are incorporated throughout the design. It's certainly not the most ornate cathedral that I've been in, but it was quite beautiful. And several altars and chapels had beautiful and ornate designs.

 

The red stone in the exterior of the Cathedral is volcanic stone.

Oscar told us that because Mexico City was built over a lake, it is sinking about 10-15 centimeters each year. (If you do the math, that is roughly 4-6 inches per year. Which sounds too dramatic. But Google agrees and some reporting places that number at an even more dramatic 40 centimeters per year!) Meaning that lots of buildings are leaning slightly in weird directions and there are occasional gaps between sidewalks and the buildings they're up against.

Something that my mom and I noticed separately was that the streets are fairly clean, even in the highly trafficked downtown area. There aren't piles of trash or litter on the sidewalks or streets. But there also aren't a lot of trash cans? Confusing, but appreciated.

The tour took us past two buildings exhibiting styles influenced by Arab design, in vogue in Spain at the time these buildings were made.

This one is called the Casa de Azulejos, named for its decorative tiling on the walls.

We walked by the ruins of the Templo Mayor, the main Aztec temple complex on which downtown Mexico City was built. The detailed stonework is incredible, and even more so when you consider that the Aztecs lacked modern engineering tools!

The Palacio Postal (below) is a functioning post office. It was built by an Italian architect, and the metal gates and marble floors were imported from Italy. It was the first building in the city to get electricity and an elevator, and it was beautiful to walk around and see.

And no walking tour would be complete without food recs--one street is well-known for its frequent food stalls that cater quick snacks, or anteojitos, to locals.

So, after the tour was over, we walked over to a food stall for some fresh, hot lunch. I got a tostada and a taco, and my mom got a sope. The dishes were loaded--hypothetically, they're supposed to be snackies. But they're basically full meals each.

A husband-and-wife pair manned the grill, and their son assisted with the toppings and the cash.

My mom's sope. The green stuff on top is grilled cactus!

We were both pretty tired from the walking tour and dehydrated (the sun had come out and the day was warmer than we had anticipated). And I'm recovering from whatever cold I have. So we decided to head back to the hotel for a quick midday siesta. We took an Uber (unusual for me, I know, but they're so cheap here!) and almost died several times. It appears that traffic rules are mere suggestions, and there were a handful of instances where we or another vehicle drove against the flow of traffic.

Back at the hotel, some water and a little nap in an air-conditioned room perked us right back up. We set off for some late afternoon walking in the Bosque de Chapultepec, a huge park.

The park has a ton of trees, so the walk was nicely shaded and a beautiful array of greens. And there's a sizeable body of water in the park where folks rent peddle boats for water adventures.

We eventually headed back towards the hotel, keeping our eyes open for a dinner spot. We landed at San Burgos Tacos for some tortilla soup and local culture. I also grabbed an al pastor taco because I just can't help myself. The soup bowls were *loaded* with tortilla strips and were super flavorful. We got a side of extra tortillas, not expecting the soup to be so dense. (The waiter did a double-take when we ordered the tortillas... we should have known.)

The food here also came with a sauce assortment, with flavors ranging from creamy lime-cilantro (light green) to super spicy (black, orange) to sweet and lemony (yellow). We used the extra tortillas to sample the salsas.

We ambled back to the hotel to unwind and rest up. We're both a bit sunburnt from today's walking, so we'll have to better about sunscreen tomorrow!

Besos,

Tina the ExploraDora

Step count: 32,925

Taco count: 5

CDMX: Tacos & Tequila (Day 1)

Hola todos,

The series title runner-up was "Can-Tina?" but the odds are high that I will 1) spend little-to-no time in a cantina and 2) eat my fair share of tacos. (And in the interest of full transparency, I expect many more tacos than tequilas. But I can't help a good alliteration, so here we are.)

After a few days in Arizona to reset my body clock, adjust to the #DryHeat, and grab some cuddles from my parents' dog, it's time for the first leg of my 2024 Odyssey. It has been over a year since I last needed my passport to travel and I. Am. So. Ready!

Day 1: Getting to CDMX

Apparently, my comments in the introductory post about have a "special guest" along for the ride in Mexico City caused a flurry of drama. Sorry, not sorry--the guest is my mom! I'm excited to have this portion of my odyssey be a girls' trip. The last time we did something like this was when she visited me in Buenos Aires.

My dad was our chauffer to the airport--5 stars--and unofficial photog.

We had a morning flight and, since it was international, we wanted to get there with plenty of time to spare. Despite Phoenix's traffic, we got the airport on time and, thanks to no checked bags and TSA pre-check*, it took us about 15 minutes to go from parking lot to departure gate. Talk about "hurry up and wait."

*TSA pre-check is the best $85 you will ever spend. Do it. (And this isn't even sponsored!)

But what fun would a trip be without a plane delay? Upon sitting down at our departure gate, we were notified that 1) the departure gate had just been moved and 2) our flight would be delayed about 45 minutes. But it was direct, so we weren't worried about missing a connection.

We boarded with no further drama and settled in for our 2.5-hour trek. I'm getting sick, so I rested most of the flight--until there was banging on the bathroom door by a flight attendant!? Apparently, an alarm had been triggered in the bathroom and she broke into the bathroom?? Because a man was smoking in it! Talk about #unnecessarydrama. I've never seen that happen before but it was an otherwise quiet flight.

 

Some views of Mexico City from the plane. At 570+ square miles, it's sprawling!

We got through immigration and customs in record time, even skipping to the front of a passport line because an immigration official took one look at us, asked "United States?", and sent us to the FastPass line. There are benefits to being an obvious gringa, I suppose.

We grabbed an Uber to the hotel, and the two words that kept coming to mind to describe the city were "whimsy" and "colorful." There are so many bright colors--on signs, painted on buildings, and even beautifully elaborate murals on the side of the freeway--and the buildings and city blocks seem a bit haphazard and patchwork, with buildings of different shapes and sizes stacked on one another.

And while we didn't die on the drive in, we probably almost did (several times). But we got to our hotel in one piece, got checked in, and then got ready to set off and explore our neighborhood... except it had just started to rain! And over the course of several minutes, it only seemed to get worse. But we were hungry (because of the flight and transit to the city, we essentially skipped lunch) and wanted to get out and about! (And y'all know I get *hangry*!) As we were driving to the hotel, I noticed that we had passed a well-known taqueria just one block away. I figured we could make a run for it and start our trip off with some tacos while we waited for the rain to abate.

Apparently this place blew up even more after Dua Lipa went here. But Taqueria Orinoco was delicious in its own right. We each ordered one of each kind of taco they have (al pastor, beef, and pork) and something called a costra, which I had never had before. It's like a taco with a cheese "crust" on top. I really didn't think the simple taco could be significantly improved, but I was wrong! The costra is a fabulous gastronomical innovation. The dishes were also accompanied by a platter of small jars of salsas and lime wedges. I tried the mild salsas but the waiter made sure to let us know which ones were muy picante. (Even though no one at the restaurant spoke English and I spoke Spanish while ordering, they obviously had my number as a spice weakling. My mom, on the other hand, can handle the spice!)

The food was delicious, and a great first meal. But way more than we bargained for. We needed to get out and walk around a bit, and fortunately for us, the rain had stopped. We checked out the neighborhood near our hotel, which had vibrant shops and restaurants and a pedestrian street market.

 

We then ventured over to the Paseo de la Reforma, a main tree-lined boulevard that stretches for several kilometers from where we were up into the historic city center.

It was getting dark quickly, though, and we didn't want to be out in an unfamiliar area too late. So we hit up a convenience store to stock up on waters (you can't drink the tap water here) and return to the room. A successful first few hours in Mexico City!

Besos,

Tina the ExploraDora

Step count: 9,420

Taco count: 3

Summer/Fall 2024: What's to Come

Hola todos,

Good morning from New York City! My new home, and the best city in the world.

But no matter how much New York has to offer, nothing can scratch that travel itch quite like getting on a plane and holding on to your passport for dear life. And when an impending job transition gave me the opportunity to take a few weeks to explore, who was I to refuse? So yes, dear readers: travels are imminent.

Where will I be venturing? So glad you asked:

🗺️ CDMX, or Mexico City, Mexico

I've been to Mexico plenty of times--growing up in Arizona, it was easy to get there. But I've never been to Mexico City! And since I've been wanting to check this one off for a while, I figured now was the time. CDMX is sometimes compared with New York City; I'll be going from one big city to another. I'll be bringing a special guest with me, though, and have promised to experience the city at a reasonable pace. If "underconsumption core" and "loud budgeting" are the trendy phrases of the moment, I'm going to coin and (attempt to) embrace "slow traveling." You be the judge of whether or not I effectively execute. Stay tuned.

🗺️ Santa Fe Wine & Chile Fiesta

Okay, okay, yes, I know that Santa Fe, New Mexico is not international travel. BUT while I am on that side of the country, I figured I could schedule in some time to hit up this festival that I've had my eye on for a few years! And I'll get to explore Santa Fe with some family who lives there. May or may not get a blog post, but I'm nothing if not over-transparent on this blog, so here we are.

🗺️Italy

Are you KIDDING me?!?!? I have been trying to get to Italy for the better part of a decade, but other plans and travels kept popping up. I cannot express through words just how excited I am for this leg of my summer travels, so I will have to rely on italicizing every other word and lots of exclamation marks for emphasis.

Over the course of three weeks (!!) I'll be checking out Rome, Tuscany, and Florence. I knew I wouldn't be able to "do it all" (as if one ever can) in a mere three weeks, especially for a country with as rich a  history as Italy. And, in our attempts to embrace Slow Traveling, we must build in time for rest. But that doesn't mean I won't be doing plenty and updating you all along the way! I plan on walking literally everywhere, eating my weight in pasta and pastries, and doing a few day trips on the off-chance that I run out of touristy things to do. (Spontaneity? Who is she?) And I am once again flying a budget airline #BabeOnABudget, so stay tuned for any packing-related drama and flight reviews.

It will be a [late] summer [/early fall] to remember! I'll be updating this blog at least every other day, if not every day. (It all depends on how much I end up doing. WeareembracingSlowTraveling. WeareembracingSlowTraveling.) So come along with me--I'm happy you're here!

Besos,

Tina the Exploradora