CDMX: Tacos & Tequila (Day 7 & Going Home)

Hola todos,

Our last day and a half in Mexico City was both less than we hoped for and more than we expected:

Day 7

Today was our last full day in the city, and we had a few more things we wanted to check off our list. We compiled a list of the things we hadn't yet seen and strategized by neighborhood, hoping to check off as many as possible before leaving tomorrow.

We started off by heading downtown (via bus, of course!). We went a few stops short of our final destination so that we could walk through Alameda Central, a huge beautiful downtown park.

We made our way over to the Balcon de Zocalo, a rooftop hotel restaurant that has a beautiful view of the downtown center square. We grabbed a quick bite and some coffee--it was pretty pricey, and we didn't want to blow our budget on the last day! The view was awesome, though. You could hear the church bells from the Metropolitan Cathedral next door.

 

Views from the rooftop. They certainly have some prime real estate!

It was a super Instagram-able spot (and definitely made to be that way).

A hurried photo--people were behind us and we were blocking the exit.

Another walk through the Zocalo Square to see the Metropolitan Cathedral.

And the waving Mexican flag.

We then circled back to the Palacio Postal (which we had seen on the first day's walking tour). This time, a different entrance was open and we saw this incredible view:

I was also able to finally track down postcards to send out to a few folks which, I kid you not, I had been unable to find the *entire week*. No vendors sell them, and they aren't at any other touristy souvenir shops as they are in every. other. city. I've been to! I was so excited to finally find some. I should have known there would be one guy outside of the post office selling the city's last 10 postcards...

We walked around the downtown area past the Torre Latinoamerica, which I wanted to hit up later this evening for drinks on their rooftop bar: it's supposed to have incredible city views!

There is a Diego Rivera (famous Mexican muralist) exhibit at the Palacio de Bellas Artes museum, so we went to go check it out. But the guided tour we wanted to do wasn't for another two hours (later than the website said) and based on what we knew was in the museum, we weren't convinced it was going to be our favorite use of the limited remaining time. So we went off to our next stop. (But below are some pictures of the beautiful Bellas Artes building! The rooftop was separately designed by a Hungarian.)

And no walk through Mexico City feels complete unless you stop in a huge pasteleria to see what they have out on display. This one, Pasteleria Ideal, was two stories big and was covered with different kinds of pastries and breads.

I don't have any pictures of the De La Ciudadela artisan market we went to, but it was sprawling. They had a ton of different kinds of artisan wares, including ones we hadn't seen at any other stands. We could have spent hours walking around there. If you want to find all of your souvenirs in one place, you can easily do it here!

We headed back toward the main street, Paseo de la Reforma, to catch the bus back to the hotel. But we were rerouted: police officers with riot shields and anti-vehicle blockades were blocking our path and occupying the neighborhoods we were walking through. (We researched later--turns out that there were several planned protests that evening and the next day.)

 

A few surreptitious photos.

You can see the barricading below this monument, which will force protestors around and protect the statute. There were similar set-ups for all of the monuments down Paseo de la Reforma.

We were rerouted by police but were eventually let out of the protected area. We could see traffic being rerouted, and even the first bus stop we tried was closed. Fortunately, the next stop was just a few minutes' walk and buses were running there. We made it back to our hotel, where we rested up and recombobulated, with no further drama.

We then decided to grab a quick lunch in nearby Zona Rosa, and then we walked down into Roma to check out some of their thrifting and boutique stores. We stopped in Goodbye Folk, a 70s-themed vintage store with some redesigned pieces (think an XL men's shirt redesigned into a matching crop top/short set). We didn't buy anything, though, since the pieces were pretty pricey, even in pesos.

We checked it out for a little bit, but I wasn't feeling great, so we grabbed an Uber back to the hotel.

Where I promptly became the sickest I think I have ever been.

The next 24 hours were a blur--my mother needs to be sainted for how she took care of me, made me drink water and electrolytes, take medicines (and shopped for medicines in a foreign pharmacy and without knowing the language!), and even made sure to hurriedly eat her dinner in the corner of the hotel room so that I didn't have to see her food but she could still keep an eye on me.

Day 8/Going Home

The morning was a blur of sleeping and waking up to drink water or take medicines. We had an afternoon flight, so I was able to sleep in a bit before packing up the few things I brought and (very) slowly getting ready for the airport. Our Uber to the airport was $12 (unbelievable!) and we hit a ton of traffic on the way. But we got to the airport with plenty of time to spare and, once we found our gate, settled in until it was time to board. I even managed to eat a plain Starbucks bagel before we boarded. (I was so far beyond being embarrassed about eating 1) Starbucks food and 2) an inauthentic bagel.)

The plane ride was a little bumpy, but we made it to Phoenix without any further drama and through the quickest immigration and customs process I have ever done. My dad was waiting for us and drove us home, and I've continued to slowly recover.

In Conclusion

Mexico City is such a vibrant city with a rich history. There's music and car horns and passion and so many sounds and sights and smells on the city's streets. Not being able to drink the water or trust the food is a definite detractor, though. While I'm so bummed the week ended on a bad note, the week por lo general was such a cool experience. And I'm so glad I got to do it all with my mom! (Being able to dust off my rusty Spanish was also a bonus.)

The next time I post, I'll be in another continent updating you from another romantic language country: Italy! Hasta luego...

Besos,

Tina the ExploraDora

Step count: 115,899 (#SlowTraveling accomplished)

Taco count: 8 :(

CDMX: Tacos & Tequila (Day 6)

Hola todos,

Our alarms went off this morning just before 6 a.m. No, you didn’t misread that… we had an early morning tour today and had to be both vertical and caffeinated before getting picked up. I was feeling much better after my mild food poisoning, so I was ready to tackle today's adventure.

Our tour was to Teotihuacan, where we would wander through archaeological ruins. Our tour guide, Yun, was a fabulous historian and made the ruins come alive! But first, we had to battle Mexico City traffic. Even though it was only 7 a.m., it was already brutal. We were going against the flow of cars, but we were still in almost-bumper-to-bumper traffic. So it was a bit slow going until we got out of the main city and into the suburban and rural areas--in total, about a 90-minute drive out to the ruins.

There was almost no one there except early morning merchants setting up their blankets of wares and a few other tour groups. I heard it gets super crowded later in the day, so I'm glad we opted for an early (early!) morning.

We basically got a semi-private guided tour of the ruins with explanations about what we were looking at (super close up!), the Mexica people who lived here, and the different archeological theories behind certain sculptures and ruins. I'm so glad we did a guided tour, as opposed to just wandering around ourselves, because I think we got so much more out of it.

 

 

There were a lot of steps to climb, and some areas were pretty steep!

There are 5 active archaeological studies going on at the Teotihuacan ruins right now.

  

The city was built in layers--you can see examples of that layering here. Why? Archaeologists aren't quite sure.

The Temple of the Sun, the most famous of the Teotihuacan ruins. The top part was blown off by the government during hurried excavations and cleaning. Post-Covid, tourists are no longer allowed to climb to the top. (Which would have been cool, sure, but did I seriously want to climb that many steps? I'm not sure...)

Most of the murals in the ruins aren't this well-preserved. But this one was covered by another wall (remember the layering I mentioned?) and so we get the benefit today of seeing this incredible art.

The Temple of the Moon, the second-biggest temple at Teotihuacan.

After the tour was over, we went to a local market where they taught us about the agave plant and obsidian--two local products indigenous peoples used and traded.

We got a demonstration of how the agave plant was (and can be) used as a needle, paper, thread, and shampoo, and turned into pulque (a sweet alcohol).

We had lunch in a cave (a bit kitchy, but we got to chat with our tour group a bit and get to know them!) and then headed back to the city.

After the long drive back (through even worse traffic), we took a quick rest at the hotel, got recombobulated, and then went for a walk through the neighborhood into Condesa.

We stopped by El Mercado Condesa, a two-block-long fruit, vegetable, meat, and artisanal wares market with food stalls. But the smell of the raw meats and the cooking was really overwhelming, so we fled to the quiet side streets of Condesa to walk around the neighborhood in a more authentic way.

We stopped at a coffee shop for a little snackie and cafe (and they had a bathroom, which is always a tourist plus!). Ordering here was, for whatever reason, so complicated--the server did not understand that I wanted decaf espresso in my latte and instead brought me... extra espresso? I *know* it wasn't a mistranslation issue because I have successfully ordered decaf lattes over this past week! But that is part of the adventure of traveling--if you don't have at least one incorrect ordering fiasco, can you really even say you visited that country?

The weather today was perfecto for spending all day outdoors and walking around--it had threatened to rain almost all day, but we managed to avoid it. We headed back to the hotel to rest up. Nos vemos mañana!

Besos,

Tina the ExploraDora

Step count: 98,547

Taco count: 8

CDMX: Tacos & Tequila (Day 5)

Hola todos,

First things first: my taco count is disturbingly low. I appreciate your taco-welfare checks, queridos amigos. Unfortunately, I have food poisoning. (Whether from the local water--which I have not been drinking! but minor contaminations can occur...--or from a food stall, I know not.) Which has put a definite damper on the food-tour aspect of this trip. But if I'm left unsatisfied, I'll just have to come back!

Today, our adventures took us to the north of Mexico City, up to the Basilica of Our Lady of Guadalupe. With no strict timing, we took a leisurely morning before getting our bearings and heading out the door.

We had a straight-shot bus ride (and after yesterday's debacle, I was grateful for no transfer!) and in about 50 minutes, we were there. The Basilica itself is huge, and it’s on this massive, sprawling complex that holds a series of chapels, churches, and a beautifully landscaped garden.

Our first view of the Basilica, just off the bus.

This is the new Basilica, which was built in the 1970s and holds the miraculous tilma today. It can supposedly hold something like 50,000 pilgrims inside.

The old Basilica (left), which originally housed the tilma, was built in the mid-1500s. Another chapel is on the right. 

You can see how the old Basilica is leaning over pretty far—the reason they build the new one and moved the tilme.

The inside of the old Basilica. It was gorgeous!

The inside of the new Basilica. It's *massive*.

After spending some time viewing the tilma and appreciating the beautiful interior of the Basilica (there is a Mass every hour, so that was trickier to navigate), we walked around the exterior of the complex through dozens of merchants selling souvenirs and then went back into the complex to climb Tepeyac Hill where the original Marian apparitions occurred. There were quite a few steps, but the view of the city skyline from the top was beautiful!

Another chapel is at the very top of Tepeyac Hill. So. Many. Steps.

We went down the hill on the other side where there was this beautiful landscaped park with water features and sculptures, as well as *yet another* capilla.

After finishing our walk around the Basilica complex, we made our way to a local food spot for lunch. We rested our legs and enjoyed the respite from the sun and heat before grabbing a bus and heading back downtown.

But lest we become overconfident in a one-way, no-transfer, simple-reverse-order bus ride, the transit police boarded the bus about two miles from our hotel and told everyone to get off. I was told that there was no bus service through the center of town, and we could catch the next bus at our hotel's bus stop. (The officer looked a bit amused at my startled reaction to the news.) Not feeling confident enough to experiment with the local transit system, we decided to grab an Uber back to the hotel.

Where we took a quick nap. But just long enough to feel refreshed and ready to tackle our somewhat haphazard walking tour of the Condesa and Roma neighborhoods. We explored those areas for several hours since there were lots of parks, cute shops on beautiful streets, and interesting history to learn about. We also tried to pop by two mercados, the Michoacan Market in Condesa and the Mercado Roma in, you guessed it, Roma. But both were a bit underwhelming to say the least. Ah, well.

The Parque Espana in Condesa. Small, but beautiful to walk through and a breath of fresh air in the city.

A quick coffee stop never hurt anyone.

Neither has a quick carb-reload.

 

The Parque Mexico in Condesa. Sometimes called "the lungs of Mexico City" because of how many trees are in the park to clean the air.

There is a beautiful street in Condesa that was a former horseracing track. It is now a series of streets with beautiful green spaces and a walking/running path. We spent some time walking around that area and appreciating the neighborhood feel.

Around dinnertime, pasta was about the only thing that sounded good. I know, I know... I'm about to be in Italy but while I'm in Mexico City I get pasta!? Well, when you're in Mexico City and craving Italian, you'll thank me for rec'ing Santino in Condesa. They had great patio seating and a cool ambiance and the meal totally hit the spot.

We walked back to the hotel (one of our heavier walking days thus far) to crash--we have a super early morning tomorrow!

Besos,

Tina the ExploraDora

Step count: 79,836

Taco count: 8