MEXICO CITY

November 20 - 24, 2019

It is a wondrous thing, that I am thankful for everyday, that I have found a partner who values travel as much as I do. If Jack and I don’t have an upcoming trip on the calendar, we both get a little itchy and mopey. Since late 2017 we’ve been living partially apart because of my work, and thus our journeys feel even more like stolen, magic time. 2019 was a very busy year for both of us professionally but we saw a window in early winter, right when the weather was turning crappy, when we could get lost. We craved somewhere warm, that wasn’t too far away but felt unknown, and where great food was a guarantee. Mexico City was just the place.

PRACTICALITIES

We cracked the code for a perfect, quick getaway, and it is as easy as 6,5,4: under 6 hours flying time, 5 days, and 4 nights. That is just enough time to get settled without being so pulled away from home that you’ve got mounds of catching up waiting for you upon your return, less possibility of jet lag, and plenty of time to see the sights and maybe even find your favorite coffee and pastry shop (more on that later). 

Mexico City is one of the largest cities on the planet, on par with New York City with around nine million people. There are tony neighborhoods, there are blighted areas. There is traffic (oh god, so much traffic) and smoggy sunsets. It is huge, so one should wear very comfortable shoes and expect to log some serious steps (one day we clocked around 30,000 and could barely make it to the elevator in our hotel). 

You can rely on Uber (our rides were shockingly cheap) to get around, and should expect that while most people in the hospitality business speak some English (they will say it is terrible and then understand you perfectly as you stumble through trying to remember your four years of high school Spanish, in which you were a C+ average student), not everyone is bilingual. 

The food is fantastic, truly fresh, delicious and should be tried without hesitation, though of course nothing should be consumed that looks undercooked or like it has been sweating in the sun for hours (true for anywhere). Street vendors are plentiful and tasty, and water should always be bottled (we even brushed our teeth with bottle water, just to be safe). We did our typical travel clinic visit (my doc said that I was all “shotted up” and didn’t need anything - got all my Heps, baby!) and got a Z-Pack prescription each, though neither of us needed them.  

Most places we visited took credit card, and we took out pesos from ATMs for small and street purchases. Depending on what time of year you go, it may be sweltering, and even in November I got a mosquito bite when we dined al fresco, so bring some sunscreen and bug spray to be prepared.  

I never felt unsafe in terms of my person or belongings, even when we were body-to-body in the subway and scrunched into a busy market (I left my watch at home and then felt silly that I did) but we also didn’t carry big bags or dress with much flash. We were barely even noticed, which is nice and often a byproduct of busy as hell cities full of people who don’t have time to pay attention to tourists and their fanny packs (yes, I wore one and I don’t regret it in the slightest. Hands free!).

GO THERE, DO THAT

1. Position yourself for comfort and location at Hotel Carlota. 
We stayed at Hotel Carlota after the suggestion from our friends Penny and Chris, and it was a perfect spot. A small boutique hotel in the heart of the central historic neighborhood, we were right where we wanted to be each morning and night and near the great walking-neighborhood of Roma. The rooms are well appointed, and there is a lovely restaurant, small pool and little shop with locally made textiles, clothes and knick knacks within the hotel.

2. Get churros at Churrería El Moro. A few times. 
This institution has a few locations (one of which is open 24/7!), including one that is just blocks away from Hotel Carlota. Jack and I visited that location twice, and loved the delightful white tile and simple menu (they have sandwiches, but come on, we’re here for the FRIED BREAD). The churros are warm and are delivered quickly, there are a variety of hot chocolates - we loved the one made with almond milk - and cute mugs and totes that make great gifts to take home.

3. Time your trip to the National Museum of Anthropology so you can catch the Danza de los Voladores.

The Museum of Anthropology is an architectural marvel - once you enter, head straight back to see the center of the building, which is open aired and home to a gigantic fountain that stretches up to the blue sky. You can spend hours exploring the thousands of artifacts from Mexico's pre-Columbian heritage, including the Stone of the Sun (which people were probably sacrificed on, no judgement). Jack and are much more art people and less natural history people, but even we could find items of interest and found the layout and space as fun to explore as we had been promised. 

The real marvel, however, was right outside the museum, when we happened upon the Danza de los Voladores (Dance of the Flyers), across from the museum entrance and in Chapultepec Park. As you are walking to the museum, listen carefully (tune out the food and trinket sellers blasting pop radio) for the sound of a flute, and follow it to find a very long pole in the ground, with costumed men dancing around it, and then just watch. We sat for awhile as they played the flute and one by one started to shimmy up the pole (eventually I said “Oh man, I think something is going to HAPPEN here”) and, suddenly they each launched themselves off the top of the pole (we are talking like 200+ feet off the ground, easy - they have ropes around their waists) and slowly descended back to the ground. I immediately started crying in awe and anxiety, and then we gave them all the pesos in our pockets. UNESCO has deemed the ceremony - which dates back over 450 years and was said to bring back rain and promote fertility - an “intangible cultural heritage”, so it is legit. Give the men your pesos.

4. Prioritize Museo Dolores Olmedo, you will be rewarded with dogs. It will take a bit of an Uber ride (again, traffic) to get to the neighborhood of Xochimilco, in the southern part of the city, but do not miss this museum. Unassumingly across the street from a sweaty gas station is this little oasis on the grounds of the home of Mexican businesswoman and philanthropist Dolores Olmedo, who was a good friend to Frida Kahlo and Diego Rivera (and the subject of some of his paintings). Lush gardens and literally dozens of peacocks greet you as you walk up the stone path toward the primary museum building (we didn’t visit her old living quarters, just stuck to the main galleries).

Before you enter to see the artworks, make sure to veer right to visit the small pen of Xoloiztcuintle, the Mexican hairless dogs who live on the property. They are dusty black with no hair but coarse whiskers, they are born with few teeth so they have this sort of funny expressions on their faces, and we fell totally in love with them. This breed is over 3,500 years old, and beloved in Mexico and Mexican heritage, so mad respect for these ugly-cute little guys. 

Continue on to the main galleries and be treated to some of Frida’s most famous work, including Broken Column (my favorite) Henry Ford Hospital, Without Hope and Self-Portrait with Thorn Necklace and Hummingbird. There are also a number Diego Rivera works, but we were drawn primarily to Kahlo’s (actually, I’m not sure that I had ever seen her work in person until this trip). Diego gets some solid attention later in the trip. 

If you have time after the museum, you can head toward the Xochimilco canals, where colorful gondolas can take you on an around-the-canal ride. We didn’t have time (the shortest ride seemed to be over an hour) but it would be a lovely way to cool your jets. Also, swing by the Xochimilco market (Mercado 44 Xochitl Zona) if you have time. A larger market awaits you deeper into the city (see below), but this one is a good primer. 

5. Get tacos at El Turix. That is all!

6. See a film at Cineteca Nacional (or try to). 
We love visiting movie theaters wherever we go - from small arthouses to museum screens to big multiplexes. We went to Cineteca Nacional to catch The Irishman which was sold out, and sold out for days, apparently, but that gave us time to poke around the cinema, which is epic and amazing, housing a number of restaurants, a movie memorabilia and poster shop, a gift shop, a kids store and an area for hanging out in between movies. It is every cinephiles fantasy and has been around since the 70s. We ended up grabbing an Uber and seeing Terminator: Dark Fate in a Cinemex (a large chain), sorry Marty.

7. Breakfast at Lardo.
Chef Elena Reygada apparently has an empire in Mexico City, and Lardo is one of her restaurants. She’s worthy of the domination, because this was simply delightful. Amongst a mix of locals and tourists alike (everyone good looking), Jack and I enjoyed a breakfast of skillfully made egg dishes (the menu was in Spanish so we just guessed and ordered) and we were introduced to - I am not hyperbolizing - the best pastry I’ve ever had in my entire life. After you are seated, the server brings over an enormous basket of baked goods. I randomly chose a pastry that had jam in the middle, not realizing that I had chosen wisely, picking up the guava roll that Reygada is known for. It is a crispy, layered pastry that serves as a vessel for sweet ricotta cheese covered in guava preserves. That’s all you need to know...well, except that you don’t have to just go to Lardo to get it…..

8. Go to Panderia Rosetta for the guava roll every single day you are there. Jack and I visited Reygada’s small cafe, Panderia Rosetta two mornings in a row just to sit at the bar and sip tea and coffee while we devoured that guava roll again. There are two locations, find either of them, point and say “guayaba por favor”.

10. Meet your meat at Mercado de la Merced.
Jack and I love visiting markets when we travel. LOVE IT. The smells, the “what is that?!”, the random offerings, the locals mixed with the tourists. We had heard Mercado de la Merced was the MOTHER of all markets, and it is true. Markets in Delhi, Beijing and Europe don’t hold a candle to this one, which is enormous and has everything from a candy block to endless aisles of fruits and nuts. But the real kicker, the real sensory experience, is the meat and poultry section. It is tricky to find, as you need to go down a few steps into and through the handicrafts section (bassinets, baskets, linens), which spills up and out into the hall of men chopping chicken heads off with machetes, pouring meat water into the drains in the floors, and throwing cow torsos (seriously) into buckets. There is a SMELL (I thought I might barf for about ten seconds and then started breathing through my mouth - pro tip) and the floor is...slippery. But it is awesome, with a real sense of action and movement and life among the carcasses. We explored for about two hours, you could easily spend all day.

13. Accidentally go to Museo Soumaya (or do it on purpose).
We meant to visit Museo Jumex on our final morning (a quick art and dash stop) but when we arrived there was a very long line, so we bopped across the street to Museo Soumaya, named after the wife of museum founder (and bazillionaire) Carlos Slim. Though we were bummed to miss Jumex, Soumaya held some really lovely treasures, including countless sculptures (there is a whole floor dedicated to them), numerous Rodin and heaps of 19th and 20th century Mexican art. We especially appreciated how many of the framed pieces were hung so that you could see both sides of them - the front artwork and the back of the frame (often covered in scribblings from artists and curators, and stickers from museums where it has traveled). The building itself is perhaps the most striking thing about the museum, it is like a curved metal fish bursting out of the sidewalk.

14. Get the toast at Maximo Bistrot Local.
Our friends Seth and Sally had recommended this restaurant to us, and on our first night we moseyed to it with no reservation but hopeful, arriving right when they opened. Shockingly, they had a table (we spied on the hosts list a packed evening of scheduled diners) and they seated us outside, letting us know that we needed to give up the table in an hour. Everything on the menu sounded delicious, so it was easy for us to decide quickly, and we shared everything, most memorably some toast (it was really, really good toast). The menu blends Mexican flavors with French sensibilities and the service is impeccable. The chef is Eduardo Garcia (a foodie friend tells me that is a big deal) and a guidebook we looked at after the fact declared it the best restaurant in all of Mexico City, which has more than 15,000. Be safe and get reservations so not to miss!