Five Nights in Mexico City: A July Travel Fix

Old Jul 9th, 2015, 06:47 PM
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Five Nights in Mexico City: A July Travel Fix

Between our once-a-year major vacations, we wanted to take one or two shorter "quick fix" trips this year. We knew we wanted to takd one trip around the July 4th holidays and another at or around Thanksgiving.

For our July travel fix, we wanted something closer to home. We looked at Caribbean islands, but nothing really grabbed our attention. We also looked at Mexico, Central America, and Colombia, but assumed none would be ideal at this time of year due to weather. Following a bit of research and some encouragement from fellow Fodorite Suze, we settled upon Mexico City.

We spent our time in the Mexican capital as follows:

Day 1 - the Historic Center
Day 2 - Chapultepec Park and Paseo de la Reforma
Day 3 - Teotihuacan and Polanco
Day 4 - Coyoacan, San Angel, and Xochimilco
Day 5 - Roma, Condesa, and Mercado San Juan
Day 6 - more of the Historic Center

Details to come...
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Old Jul 10th, 2015, 06:39 AM
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I was in Mexico City two years ago for just a few days and really enjoyed it. Looking forward to details of your trip.
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Old Jul 10th, 2015, 08:52 AM
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I leave for Mexico City in just under two weeks; we'll be there six days. Haven't been there since I was very young. Looking forward to your report!

Thanks.
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Old Jul 10th, 2015, 11:47 AM
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Tom42 and Leely2, thanks for following along. Hope you enjoy.

Day One in Mexico City

We traveled from Washington, DC, to Mexico City via Dallas-Fort Worth on American Airlines. Both flights were uneventful and we arrived in Mexico City at about 11:30 A.M. Immigration and customs were a breeze. It did take us a minute to locate the ATM machine in the terminal. There were currency exchange counters everywhere, but the ATM machines were a bit out of sight. After we retrieved some cash it was on to one of the taxi counters, where we paid for a ride to our hotel: the Marquis Reforma. The ride cost 230 pesos and took about 20 minutes.

We were able to check in to our rooms immediately upon arrival. We dropped off our bags, freshened up, and went downstairs to Los Canarios, one of the hotel restaurants, for a quick lunch. A couple of us ordered ribeye steak tacos, which were quite good. The salads were good quality too. While we were having lunch, the sky opened up and it began to pour. We’ve done our research and had monitored the weather forecast for a few days prior so the rain came as no surprise to us.

Having finished lunch, we headed back to our hotel rooms to grab our umbrellas and a camera and headed out. It was a three or four block walk from our hotel to the nearest metro station: Sevilla. At 5 pesos a ride, the metro was incredibly cheap. The trains running very frequently and it was very easy to use. However, it was very crowded, and this for someone who has ridden the subway in New York, London, and Tokyo. From Sevilla, we took Line 1 to Pino Suarez, where we transferred to Line 2 for the Zocalo, or Mexico City’s main square.

Having seen multiple photographs of the famous square, we were prepared to emerge from the metro station and be greeted with the well-known view. Instead, to our disappointment, the square was being set up for an electronics show the next day, so there were white tents spread out across the square but no grand view to enjoy. The giant Mexican flag wasn’t even flying.

From the Zocalo we made our way to the National Palace. Occupying one of the sides of the Zocalo, the National Palace complex dates back to the times of the Spanish conquistadors. The National Palace today is home of the offices of the executive branch of the Mexican government. As such, large sections of the complex are closed to the public. The Palace limits the number of visitors inside at any given time. However there was no wait when we showed up. We were simply asked to present one of our passports and then given credentials to walk inside the complex. We toured the Benito Juarez wing, which contained memorabilia from the late Mexican leader, as well as the beautiful murals by Diego Rivera. We walked up the stairs to view the main murals up close and then walked around the second floor, where there were several smaller murals that depicted Mexico’s history from the days of the indigenous peoples to the Spanish colonial era. We also enjoyed the small garden located in the center of the palace complex.

From the National Palace we continued onward to the ruins of the Templo Mayor, site of the ancient Aztec city of Tenochtitlan. The site contains the remains of the once-grand city as well as an excellent museum of Aztec art. The visit to the ruins would have been much more enjoyable had it not been raining as hard, as most of the grounds were outdoors and uncovered. We did spend a good hour at the museum.

Following the museum we made our way over to the Metropolitan Cathedral. We toured the main building as well as its adjacent tabernacle. The buildings contain beautiful artwork and alterpieces, although I really liked the organs on display. The Cathedral very much reminds me of the ones occupying the main squares in Lima and Cuzco – for its similar construction and iconography.

The rain largely abated when we left the Cathedral, so we decided to take a stroll along a couple of the main thoroughfares running west of the Zocalo. We ambled along Avenida 5 de Mayo and Avenida Francisco Madero, a pedestrian-only street. Most of the stores did not really interest us, although we did pop into a couple of the sweets shops located here and bought a few pieces of candy. We continued our way until we reached the Palace of Fine Arts.

The Palace of Fine Arts is my favorite building in Mexico City. I love its Art Nouveau exterior as well as its Art Deco interior. The Palace contains a concert hall as well as an art museum. We were in the building this evening to purchase tickets for the Folkloric Ballet of Mexico for Sunday night.

Next to the Palace of Fine Arts is Alameda Park, where we enjoyed a nice evening walk. The park is clean and well-manicured. There are fountains sprinkled throughout the park as well as monuments and beautiful wrought-iron benches.

From Alameda Park we made our way back towards the Zocalo along Avenida Francisco Madero. Our destination was the Downtown complex, where we visited Azul Historico for dinner. The suggestion for Azul was partly based upon the report from Carl170, who shared his experience here. I ordered the mole, which was amazing. I also enjoyed the chocolate tamale for dessert, which was quite good too. The Oaxacan-style hot chocolate drinks are made-to-order tableside.

After dinner it was back on the metro to the hotel for a nice shower and off to bed.

Up next…a dry day at Chapultepec Park…
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Old Jul 11th, 2015, 06:45 AM
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Chapultepec: A Green Oasis in the Heart of the City

Our first full day in Mexico City began with a buffet breakfast at Nicksan, one of the hotel's restaurants. The breakfast was very standard with the addition of a tamale dish that wasn't very good and refried beans. Nevertheless we fueled up and was ready for a full day of sightseeing.

From our hotel we headed west on Paseo de la Reforma. It was a 10 minute walk along the wide, tree-lined boulevard to one of the main entrances to Chapultepec Park. The park is huge and cannot be covered in a day. We spent about 7 or 8 hours in the park on this day focused on two key sights: the National Museum of Anthropology and Chapultepec Castle.

Just past the wrought-iron gates is a broad avenue leading up to a war memorial in gleaming white marble. Overlooking the memorial is Chapultepec Castle, which we visit in the afternoon. We headed right at the memorial past a row of street vendors that were getting ready to set up for the day. On our way to the Anthropology Museum we came up the botanic gardens, which gave up reason to linger for a bit. We focused on the succulents and enjoyed the variety of cacti on display. A great way to start off the morning!

From the botanic gardens we crossed Paseo de la Reforma and made our way to the Anthropology Museum. The museum ranks among one of the best we've had the opportunity to visit during our travels. The collection spans Mexico's numerous pre-Columbian civilizations and is housed in a beautiful building with an interior courtyard and an attention-grabbing water feature. The museum can be roughly divided into roughly two sections: the ground floor, with its art and artifacts, and the second floor, which focuses on Mexican and indigious culture. We spent about three hours on the ground floor exhibits, taking our time in the rooms dedicated to the Aztecs, Olmecs, Toltecs, and Mayas. We also did a quick walk through the second floor, but at the time we had our fill and was ready to head outside. You can easily spent a full day at the museum and not get bored.

It was now about 1:30, which meant lunch was in order. We were looking for something light, although the menu at the one restaurant at the museum did not look very appealing. We settled on some patries and coffee at a Starbucks not far from the museum.

We then made our way to Chapultepec Castle, past one of the larger lakes complete with paddle boats for tent. By now, the sun was shining and the park was teeming with families out enjoying an afternoon.

Climbing a hill, we were now at Chapultepec Castle. The castle formerly served as the official residence of Mexican heads of state and today houses a national history museum. The castle resembles a typical European palace, but on a more manageable scale and very easy to tour. We also enjoyed the beautiful gardens and terraces located on its grounds.

It was around 4:30 when we were done with our visit to the castle and the park itself. We retraced our steps out Chapultepec Park and back onto Paseo de la Reforma.

Paseo de la Reforma: A Showcase Thoroughfare

Paseo de la Reforma is one of Mexico City's main commercial boulevards. Here you find mid-range stores (the luxury boutiques are located on Avenida Presidente Masaryk in swanky Polanco), hotels, banks, and office buildings.

We took a late-afternoon walk along the boulevard, enjoying the trees, open spaces, and the ornate fountains and monuments that line the thoroughfare.

We ended our leisurely stroll at one of the side streets at a local taco place where we sat down for a delicious dinner. While I do not remember the name of the place, the Spanish-only menu featured about a dozen types of tacos. We ordered several kinds and mixed and matched. My favorite was the chicken with a very rich mole sauce as well as a pork with beans.

We went to bed earlier than usual on this day as we were headed to Teotihuacan the next day and wanted to have an early start.

Next stop...Teotihuacan...
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Old Jul 11th, 2015, 11:58 AM
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Sounds like a wonderful day. I guess we should plan for a whole day in the park too.
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Old Jul 11th, 2015, 01:15 PM
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Leely2, it was a lovely way to spend a day indeed. Depending on the weather forecast, you may want to start out with the castle and do your walking around in the morning and early afternoon and save the Anthropology Museum for the afternoon in case you encounter rain. Almost all of the museum in indoors. To get between exhibits you will have to walk outside, the dash between rooms can be seconds.
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Old Jul 11th, 2015, 01:19 PM
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Good idea. When it rained, were there umbrella vendors around on the streets? I usually just pick up a small umbrella in the city I'm visiting rather than packing one.
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Old Jul 11th, 2015, 03:11 PM
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Yes, Leely2, there were street vendors selling umbrellas along with food, drink, and the typical tourist knickknacks. We only had to use umbrellas on our first afternoon there (which were provided by our hotel). On the other days, it usually only opened up for about an hour or so sometime between 4pm and 8pm and we avoided it by ducking into a shop or cafe.
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Old Jul 11th, 2015, 04:52 PM
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Teotihuacan

We began this day earlier than usual in order to beat the tour groups that guidebooks suggest descend upon the ancient site at around 10am.

We woke up to a courtesy call requested at the front desk the night before for 5am.  We also ordered room service the night before, and it arrived as scheduled at 5:30am.  The breakfast was quite good, compared to what we experienced at the buffet the morning before.

We left our hotel a little at about 6:30am and took off for the northern intercity bus terminal by taxi, which took about 20 minutes and cost about 75 pesos.  We asked to be dropped off at kiosk number 8, where we purchased round trip tickets to Teotihuacan.  The tickets cost 44 pesos each way.

The bus was a newer one and equipped with comfortable seats and air conditioning.  It was a step up compared to the Greyhound buses typical in the United States.  The journey was smooth and took about an hour, making a handful of stops along the way.  Before stopping at the ruins, the bus first dropped off passengers at the town of San Juan Teotihuacan.  This is not the right stop for the pyramids.  Instead you want Los Piramides Puerta Uno or Dos, the two stops for the ruins.  Our bus let us out at door number two. 

We purchased our tickets at the kiosk and then made our way down a path lined with souvenir stalls (although none were open yet this morning; we were here at about 8am).  We entered the site with the massive Pyramid of the Sun right in front of us. 

We snapped a few photos and then made our way down the main north-south axis to the southern end, where the Citadel is located. At the Citadel we visited the Temple of the Feathered Serpent, which remains quite impressed with its many stone carvings. We also clamored up and down some of the smaller structures before ambling our way up the Avenue of the Dead, using the grassy paths along its side. We explored some of the smaller ruins including one with a well-preserved staircase complete with stone serpents in excellent condition.

From here we made our way to the Pyramid of the Sun for our climb up. We took our time climbing up each section, taking breaks to catch our breaths, enjoy the scenery from above, and snapped numerous photos. The climb up was relatively easy. There were a handful of steeper steps, but there was a rope to help climbers up.

We spent a bit of time at the top before continuing our way north along the Avenue of the Dead, scrambling up some of the smaller structures before arriving at the Temple of the Moon.

Unlike the Temple of the Sun, the Temple of the Moon is shorter. However the steps were much steeper and visitors were only allowed to go halfway up the pyramid as the erosion wore away the rest of the staircase.

From the Temple of the Moon we made our way back south, stopping at the Palace of Quetzalpapalotl off to the right. The palace remains in relatively good condition. My favorite part of the palace is the courtyard complete with pillars of finely carved stone and bright red geometric designs running around the top of the structure.

From the palace we made our way to the small museum located near the Temple of the Pyramid. The temple contained some nice art and artifacts from the site although the exhibits at the Anthropology Museum was in much better condition.

By now it was about 1:30pm and we've been at the site for about four and a half hours. After asking for directions to La Gruta Restaurant, probably the fanciest one in the area, we made our way our the entrance nearest to the museum, passing numerous souvenir stalls.

La Gruta is unique in that the restaurant is located in a natural cave formation found in the area. We descended a couple of flights of stairs and into the cave, where we were shown to our table. The atmosphere is fantastic, almost spiritual with the soft music playing the background and the candlelit alcoves. I order the Mexican sampler platter, which was amazing. I liked everything on my plate, from the chicken in mole sauce to the tamale to the enchiladas and rice and beans. It went well with the sour cactus fruit juice.

Following lunch we took a taxi to door number one (it cost 30 pesos) where we waited about 15 minutes for our bus back to Mexico City to arrive. Unlike on our way out, the bus back was older and showed it. There was no air conditioning on the bus either, although it wasn't too hot with the windows opened. A young duo sang for part of the ride, collecting donations along the way. The singing was surprisingly enjoyable and helped to pass the time.

Polanco

We arrived back at the bus terminal at about 4:30pm and caught a taxi out to the Soumaya Museum in Polanco. The museum houses art owned by the Mexican billionnaire Carlos Slim. I particularly enjoyed the Asian ivory carvings on the second floor as well as the European-style paintings on the forth. The building itself is also visually interesting.

We spent about 90 minutes at the museum before following the railroad tracks turned parkway a la High Line to Avenida Presidente Masaryk, the main thoroughfare in Polanco lined with your usual collection of luxury boutiques the world over. While most of the boutiques had already closed by the time we made our way down the street, it did not bother us as we were not interested in doing any shopping. Instead it's a good place for a stroll and doing some people watching. The street reminded me very much of the streets in the Jardins area of Sao Paulo, both in the architecture and the vibe.

For dinner, we headed to Villa Maria, a few blocks away from Presidente Masaryk. We chose the restaurant based upon guidebook reviews. We were also attracted to the proclaimed live marachi music, although there was no music to be heard while we were there. The bands must only play on certain days; otherwise, we must have been too early. Nevertheless the meal was among the best we had in Mexico City. Everything from the filet to the red snapper to the chile poblano was magnificant. The desserts, especially the churros with dipping sauces and the tres leches cake, were excellent, as were the frozen margaritas.

From here it was a quick cab ride to our hotel.

Tomorrow we venture to the southern edges of the city. Stay tuned for more...
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Old Jul 12th, 2015, 12:36 PM
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A City of Neighborhoods

For a seemingly rather homogeneous city, the Mexican capital is home to numerous diverse neighborhoods oozing with character and charm. Today was devoted to three of these neighborhoods, all south of the historic and commercial heart of the city.

Our day began in Coyoacan, named for the coyotes that once called the area home. Coyoacan is easily accessed by metro from our hotel on Paseo de la Reforma (we took line 1 from Sevilla to Balderas, where we transferred to line 3, getting off at the Coyoacan stop). Above the station is the Centro Coyoacan shopping mall, where we stopped for a quick cup of coffee. We also picked up some delicious breads and pastries from the Esperanza bakery about a block away.

Our tour of the neighborhood began at the Frida Kahlo Museum, about a 20 minute walk from the shopping mall. For this morning's walk, we relied on a well-produced itinerary in National Geographic's guide to Mexico titled "Mexico City Walking Tour: Coyoacan and San Angel". We made it to the museum dedicated to the artist and associate of Diego Rivera just after 10am and was greeted with a long line of visitors purchasing tickets. It took us about 30 minutes in line before it was our turn. The blue house where the artist was born, lived, and died now turned museum was well worth the wait. I thoroughly enjoyed the collection of art (my favorite was a painting of the cliffs near Acapulco by Diego Garcia), as well as seeing how the artist and for a while, Diego, lived. The backyard garden is equally as beautiful. Frida Kahlo's home sits in a part of Coyoacan that was home to artists and leftist political activists.

From Kahlo's home we followed Allende Street to Plaza Hidalgo, as suggested by the National Geographic. Along the way we were treated to a small market, numerous vendors hawking their wares along the street (we were lucky in that we were here on a Sunday), and several cute cafes and churros shops. We stopped in one for made-to-order churros that were simply out of this world. I would go back just for another helping!

Plaza Hidalgo is surrounded by manicured gardens, a large bandstand, and the beautiful church of Saint John the Baptist. The area made me feel like I was in a small Mexican village rather than within one of the largest cities in the world. This must be what the rest of Mexico is like, I thought to myself, and boy do I like it. Did I mention this was my favorite neighborhood in the whole city? We also spent a little bit of time inside the church and listening to the celebratory conclusion of the Catholic Mass before continuing onwards.

From here we ambled through the Centennial Gardens and through an archway onto Avenida Francisco Sosa. The street is lined with beautiful homes painted in beautiful pastel colors. One of the complex of buildings houses the Jesus Reyes Heroles Cultural Center, which featured a weekend flea market and some dancers and musicians.

Following the suggested walking tour, we came upon a major thoroughfare, Avenida Universidade, crossed it and continued on Arenal and Avenida de la Paz. On Avenida de la Paz are numerous higher-end restaurants. We stopped at the first one we saw, Cafe Toscano, an Italian place. The food we ordered there was delicious. We shared a combination of pizzas, pastas, and salads.

Fueled up, we reached the end of Avenida de la Paz and visited the beautiful church located at the intersection with Avenida Revolucion. We also visited the nearby Saturday Market, which were mostly selling works of art when we were there.

We then hailed a cab for Xochimilo, at the southern edges of the city. Our goal for Xochimilco was a ride in one of its wooden boats along the area's many canals. We went on a two hour ride along the waterways, taking in the scenery and watching the many Mexican families partying and having a good time. It was a different yet fun way to spend a couple of hours on a nice, sunny afternoon.

We initially thought about walking around the historic center of Xochimilco but looked at the time - 6pm - and realized we would have to save it for another visit. We made our way back downtown using a combination of light rail and metro and headed straight for the Palace of Fine Arts, where we had tickets for the Folkloric Ballet of Mexico.

The Folkloric Ballet of Mexico

With an hour to go before our performance started, we walked around the lobby of the palace admiring its interesting murals and beautiful Art Deco decorative features. The surrounding property is worth a look too but we decided to stay inside as the sky was beginning to open up again.

The doors to the performance hall opened at 8pm and we settled into our seats. The interior of the hall was as more subdued than the baroque interior although very elegant and stately. I was particularly drawn to the Tiffany stained glass, the Carrera marbling, and Art Deco carvings above the stage doors.

The show began promptly at 8:30. For one hour and 45 minutes (including a 10 minute intermission) we were treated to a fiesta of music, dance, and colorful costumes in a display that only the Mexican performers could put on. From the striking sounds of the drums in the opening act to the cowboy with lasso to the whimsical act in the middle of the show and the culmination of mariachi music, each of the eight acts was a feast for the eyes and the ears. The performance was the best cultural display of its kind I've seen - anywhere! ever! If you are in Mexico City for only one evening and it happens to be on a Wednesday or a Sunday, then make sure you don't miss the folkloric ballet.

Following the performance we caught a taxi back to the hotel in time before Nicksan, the hotel's Japanese restaurant, closed for the night. The couple of guests we talked to at the hotel sung its praises a day earlier and we wanted to give it a try. We knew the restaurant closed at 11 so we made a reservation for 10:45. The food was delicious. We ordered a mix of rolls, nigiri sushi, tempura, and teriyaki, and all was prepared perfectly. Well worth the visit.

On our final day in the Mexican capital, we hit up the neighborhoods of Roma and Condesa and spent a couple of hours at Mercado San Juan. More to come...
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Old Jul 15th, 2015, 03:19 PM
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Good! We're staying in Condesa...can't wait to ready about your day.
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Old Jul 15th, 2015, 05:49 PM
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Leely2, I will try to get the rest of my report up on Friday or Saturday. When do you leave?
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Old Jul 15th, 2015, 07:35 PM
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Really enjoying all of these details! We just got back from DF (in June) and loved it! We were with two small children, so we spent less time in museums—I have a lot to get back there to see on a return trip. Curious: how far in advance did you get your Ballet tickets? Did it seem possible to buy them the day-of?

P.S. Just posted a mini report on our stay in Condesa, @Leely2: http://www.hitherandthither.net/mexi...a-condesa.html

Looking forward to the rest of the trip report!
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Old Jul 16th, 2015, 09:36 AM
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Thanks to you both! I am getting so excited for this trip. Leave next Wednesday.
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Old Jul 16th, 2015, 10:43 AM
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I remember the great trip report you did for Lima, so I'm filing this one away for future reference, by posting! Thanks for all the details.
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Old Jul 16th, 2015, 03:28 PM
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Alovesa, just read your account on Condesa and agree with every bit of what you wrote. While I adored Condesa, I absolutely fell in love with Coyoacan. Perhaps it was because we were there on a Sunday and the neighborhood just sprang into life. Regarding the Ballet tickets, we purchased them on our first day in the city, a Thursday, for a Sunday performance as we wanted good seats (row 6 from stage, center), but we saw plenty of people purchase them evening of. With these things, we weren't sure if there would be a large tour group that would snap up all the tickets, although we did not encounter any when we were there.

Leely, I will be sure to finish up before you leave. Am sure you will have a grand time.

Mlgb, glad to see you here. While Mexico City do share some similarities to Lima, there are its differences. Everything just seemed to be on a larger scale. However Coyoacan did remind me of Barranco, which I like a lot.
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Old Jul 17th, 2015, 08:01 AM
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Amazing trip. You seem able to pack in twice as many activities a day than we can! Mexico city is one of our favorites.
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Old Jul 17th, 2015, 01:58 PM
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Fra_Diavolo, we tend to be faster-pace travelers as you gathered from our report. The nice thing about travel is that there is no right or wrong way; whatever floats your boat.

And now, for another installment...


Roma and Condesa

Our final full day in the Mexican capital began with a quick breakfast of coffee and pastries at a neighborhood coffee shop on our way from the hotel to the Sevilla metro station. We hopped on Line 1 and took it one stop to Insurgentes, where we embarked on a walking tour through the Roma and Condesa neighborhoods.

From the metro station, we walked to Plaza Rio de Janeiro for a look at the nearby church and the surrounding apartment buildings. We made our way down Orizaba and Avenida Alvaro Obregon, enjoying the wealth of Art Deco architecture and green spaces. We browsed some of the side streets, which contained a mixture of residential buildings as well as restaurants, cafes, and a handful of interesting boutiques.

We made our way to Avenida Amsterdam and Parque Mexico. The greenery from Avenida Obregon continued along Avenida Amsterdam. On this morning we shared the space with joggers, dog walkers, and moms pushing their children in strollers. Avenida Amsterdam forms an oval which rings around Parque Mexico. A large park in the middle of Condesa, Parque Mexico contains Art Deco structures, sculptures, a large pond, fountains, and forest-like winding paths. Running partly through Parque Mexico is Avenida Michoacán, which is lined with more shops and interesting cafes.

While Coyocan remains our favorite Mexico City neighborhood, Condesa comes in at a close second. The atmosphere reminds me very much of Greenwich Village and the area around Washington Square Park in New York City as well as some of the back streets of Ipanema in Rio de Janeiro. In total we spent about five hours in these two neighborhoods.

Mercado San Juan

By now it was about 2pm and we were ready for a nice lunch. On the agenda was Mercado San Juan, not too far from the historic center of the city. We basically spent the next couple of hours eating our way around the place. We had delicious tacos, cheeses, roasted peanuts, fresh fruits, juices... The sights, the sounds, the colors, and the aromas, I could spend hours more here if we weren't beginning to be ushered out by the market staff as it was time to close for the day.

Leaving the market, we wandered around for a little bit, making our way through Dolores Street - Mexico City's Chinatown - towards Alameda Park and pedestrian Francisco Madero. From here it was back to our hotel for the evening.

Saying Goodbye

Our flight back to the States was at 3pm, which meant we had one more morning for the sights, sounds, and flavors that Mexico City had to offer. We headed to El Cardenal for breakfast. It came recommended from all the guidebooks we read, as well as Carl170 from his trip report here. While we weren't impressed by the entrance and interior, but boy, were we surprised when we got up to the second floor, where the restaurant was located. Coming off the elevator we were welcomed in an elegant and stately dining hall. The service was wonderful and the food to match. We each ordered traditional Mexican dishes from different regions around the country and enjoyed trying items off one another's plate. What a meal to end our great time here!

Following the meal we made our way back to the Zocalo, walked around a bit, and made a couple of last-minute purchases. Soon enough, it was time to head back to the hotel to retrieve our luggage and head off.

The trip offered much more than what we expected out of a "quick fix." What surprised me the most was the relatively few tourists we encountered while we were here, although I was more than okay with it being this way. All I have to say that my first visit to Mexico City - to Mexico no less - will not be my last. Until then...

Thanks to each and every one of you for sharing in my experiences. I hope it's been as enjoyable for you as it is for me and useful to some. Thanks again.
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Old Jul 17th, 2015, 02:05 PM
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Yum, your market lunch sounds delicious. I hope I don't gain weight on my trip.

Thanks so much for writing this report! I'll probably follow somewhat in your footsteps. Though I doubt I'll accomplish quite as much.
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