Greetings from CDMX. This part of the trip report should probably be titled Laura and Steve stumble into Mexico City. But we are here! Trip to Newark was uneventful if expensive (twice what I remembered from several years ago). Plane was on time (United) and decent flight. Customs and passport control were ridiculously easy and we were out of the airport in about 20 minutes. We'd arranged with the St. Regis for a ride and were met by a lovely gentleman named Max. I had a great time getting to practice my decent if rudimentary Spanish. That has been one of the most enjoyable parts of the trip so far. Almost everyone we've met has been very open to chatting with me en espanol.

The St. Regis is lovely. The room is spacious and very comfortable. We have our own special "butler" who has helped with things like waters and pillows and toothbrushes. The staff is incredibly friendly and helpful. The first night we were exhausted and got room service. I had a burrata salad and duck taquitos with mole, Steve had tortilla soup and a steak with citrus. All really superior for room service food. The breakfast included with our room is both Mexican dishes and a lovely buffet with meats, cheeses, breads and hot dishes. And Mexican hot chocolate which I fondly remember from living in New Mexico.

Duck taquitos at the St. Regis

Birthday greeting


Yesterday started well enough. I had scheduled a massage so while my husband unpacked etc I enjoyed a lovely spa treatment which definitely helped with the aches of travel. Our plan was to go to Bosque Chapulepec which is not far from here. I thought it would be relatively easy to take an uber first to the castillo/history museum and then the museo Anthropologie. We switched the order as I needed to find something to eat (blood sugar issues) before we got started and were told the Anthropology museum had a cafe (it does but there was a half hour line for a seat). Neither museum is close to a street so both involved walking to get to the entrance, then standing in line to get in, standing in line to buy tickets, being sent to ticket machine that wasn't taking credit cards (or rather seemed to take some peoples and not others and none of us could figure out why). By the time we got in and discovered that to try to eat would take up way too much time we were already tired (starting off tired from the previous days travels). I think I am still recovering from a virus and the altitude and heat really got to me. The museum is great, don't get me wrong. We just weren't in the right physical shape to enjoy it.

I believe Aztec from the Museo Anthropologie

Museo Anthropologie
It was Steve's birthday and he had really wanted to see the Castillo having been studying some of the history so we gamely set off to walk there. Halfway there I realized I'd left my backpack at the first museum. We trek back, get backpack, try taking cab to second museum only to learn that we still had about a 20 minute walk uphill to get to the castle. By the time we actually got there I started to feel like I was getting heat stroke. We did a half-hearted pass at the history museum (not much to see) and Steve took a few photos. Cab home during the rush hour traffic. Ayyyeeee. By the time we got to the room I was desperate to lie down, and of course the housekeeping was in the midst of making it up. I felt horribly guilty but we asked them to come back later.

We power rested/showered and an hour later the day got a whole lot better. The hotel sent up a cake for Steve's birthday. Our friend Max gave us a ride to Pujol. OH MY GOODNESS I know others have not thought it worth the reputation but for us it was perfect, amazing in every way. 7 course tasting menu impeccably served. My favorites were the roasted corn appetizer, the mille feux made of squash and abalone, and the mole plate with mole that had been in process for 3,000 days. A truly superb birthday dinner.

roasted corn at Pujol

tostada with green mole

mole plate Pujol

we are taking a lazy morning. Later we will head to the museo nacionales de las intervenciones (aka the National War Museum) which should sufficiently scratch our history itch. With any luck we can also make it to the nearby Trotsky museum (sadly we weren't able to get tickets for the Frida Kahlo house so will have to appreciate it from the outside. I shall continue tomorrow with more adventures.

How timely! We are also in CDMX right now. DD and partner were also at the anthropology museum yesterday. We've been twice before, so we went to the Museo Soumaya instead. I think they were at the Trotsky Museum today, as well! Enjoy your visit - hopefully no more thunderstorms after last night and this afternoon!

oh my gosh, that is too much. Looked to me like everyone but us at the Trotsky museum was under 30 lol. and yes, that thunder last night was epic. What did you think of Museo Soumayo? after all this history I am ready for some art. We are supposed to take a taco tour tomorrow and I think we will end somewhere relatively near Soumaya (although at the moment husband's tummy is acting up so who knows).

Day two turned out to be the opposite of day one. We headed out to Coyacon to see el museo de las intervenciones. It is located in a lovely former convent with beautiful gardens. Alas it was raining so we only partially tasted the garden. The inside was quiet, only a few visitors and a straightforward old-fashioned museum on Mexico's wars from the early struggles for independence from Spain to the establishment of today's republics. Signage was all in Spanish but we were able to decipher and enjoy. My favorite was the pastry war against France. The only country who would understand that pastry is worth fighting over (just kidding).

painting at museum

entrance to convent garden

We were able to catch an uber to the Trotsky house museum. A well done collection of artifacts and papers and the house is largely unchanged. Bullet holes in wall and all. What was most fascinating to me was that we were the only visitors over 30 - perhaps largely university students paying homage. I have to admit, I think I would have liked him. He has a twinkle in his eye and a great book collection.

the many faces of Trotsky

Lenin and Trotsky

bullet holes
It was raining pretty hard by then and I really wanted to rest before dinner. We splurged on a more comfortable uber and I'm really glad we did. I am learning a healthy respect for Mexico's traffic. It took at least an hour each way. We were warned to double the estimated time for any journey and I am taking this to heart. The ubers work well, but I am still thrown by trying to read the little map where the proposed meeting place is.

Dinner last night (we actually pre-scheduled the uber) was at Carmela y sal which I was greatly looking forward to. We had been prewarned that they had a private party that night and we would need to be seated on the patio but it somehow slipped my mind and neither of us brought any wraps. The weather was colder arfter the rain and we were pretty chilly. The had outdoor warming fires but it only helped a bit. The menu is unconventionally organized and it was confusing to us whether items were small plates or entrees. Unfortunately the waiter's English and my Spanish were about equal so we didn't communicate as smoothly as we might of. The food was incredibly delicious (Jicama salad was amazing as were tostados de pulpa and braised lamb tacos). Sadly with the crush of the private party and the difficulty communicating one of the dishes must have had gluten in it and my husband was in misery by the time we got back to the hotel. It was a tough night. Enough said. Today we canceled the planned street taco tour and are resting and taking it easy. I had another spa treatment so it feels like vacation to me. We just ate lunch at the inhouse restaurant - Diana - and the chef made a special chicken soup with rice and vegetables just for my husband's tummy. So helpful and kind.

Hopefully Steve will be better as tomorrow is our much anticipated tour to Malinalco.

We did enjoy the Soumaya and spent more time there than we had expected to. There's a bit of everything, and the Rodin collection on the top floor is impressive. I hope the tummy troubles have cleared and you're having a nice visit.

Well Steve's tummy problems continued apace. I had luckily brought some immodium at the last minute but it wasn't enough. We went in search of a pharmacy, but I ran out of energy and left him to continue on his own. Of course with no Spanish he struggled to explain what he needed, and we both spent a good amount of time online trying to see if what he came home with was what he needed. He was feeling a little bit better, so we went to the restaurant on the street level - Animal. It was not the best choice, loud pulsating music, food was ok but not great. Midway through the night I became hopeless ill. Not sure if it was food poisoning, gastritis or some kind of virus/flu, but we were both miserable. Finally, a light bulb went off. We called the concierge and asked if there was a doctor who could come to the hotel. Turns out there was indeed. And a very nice man arrived within half an hour. He was very thorough, and I think was covering all bases because he left us with a ton of medications to take. We were very grateful. And sad because we ended up missing the two adventures I was most looking forward to, the taco tour, and the trip to Malinalco. Sigh.

Today, even though we were both still pretty exhausted we were determined to venture out. We went to the Museo studio Diega Rivera and Frida Kahlo in San Angel. The neighborhood was gorgeous, winding cobblestone streets and beautiful houses that probably cost a fortune. The museum is small but interesting. How can you not like the giant paper maches? We then went to the Saturday Market which was a lot of fun - tons of artists and artisans and cool kitsch.
finished the day with a disappointing dinner at the St. Regis's star restaurant Diana - just not up to the hype. So far the only thing in this hotel that has disappointed. And that is all she said for tonight.

Diego Rivera's studio

She says it all!

fountain in the bazaar

Ms_go for your eyes only, it is pretty unlikely that we will make our quintonil reservation at 1:30 tomorrow . It is already paid for. (or mostly I guess). Steve is pretty sick tonight and even if better tomorrow it probably isn't a good idea to be adventurous before heading home. Would you like the reservation. If so we can exchange phone numbers and text tomorrow am to confirm/figure it out. I can't figure out how to privately message people on this site.

".I can't figure out how to privately message people on this site."
Tap or click on the poster's 'name'. You should see an option to private message.
Sucks to be sick while traveling. Thanks for the report in spite of being not up to par.

Laura, I’m so, so sorry that your husband has been sick on your trip. Unfortunately, I can relate only too well. My husband and I recently returned from San Miguel de Allende and Guanajuato, where we first both got food poisoning and then, later, developed bad colds. While we certainly had some good experiences, too much of our trip was spent not feeling well, which made it less than fun.

Oh no! I'm so sorry your trip has been marred by illness. Our week in CDMX was up on Saturday, and we are now back home, so unfortunately I cannot take you up on your lovely and generous offer - but thank you for thinking of us. I hope Steve is feeling better today and that you are able to enjoy the city a bit before you head home.

I've enjoyed your report, but so sorry that you've both been ill - being sick on holiday (or on a flight) is awful, been there, done that. I hope you both recover soon.

Thank you all for your so kind thoughts. It was still a nice break from stress back home (three massages didn't hurt), and I did get some good reading and even writing done. There is supposed to be a fire drill here in a few hours so we may venture forth to the Soumaya and retrieve something of the trip. I'll write final update later. Just so grateful for the kindness and help of the hotel staff.

We woke up this morning still feeling like it would be madness to subject our tummies to high gastronomy at this point so I sadly cancelled the Quintonil reservation. They did send me confirmation so who knows, maybe trip insurance will cover it. With the day free we decided to go to Soumaya. Oh happy day. What a glorious museum. While it had the vibe of the Barnes collection which we are used to, it is so much bigger, better laid out and in such an incredible modern building. We especially loved the collection of Mexican art, but also the impressionists to the modern era room. So much we were blown away by. It left us very happy campers.
Now I am waiting for my final duck taquitos room service. Steve has vowed not to take in anything but water until we are home but I plan to force feed him some chicken broth so he doesn't faint in the customs line.

So in summary, I was reminded that I'm not a big city person. I don't like crowds so parts of our attempts at seeing the city were challenging. I tried to do my homework but missed a few precautions (advanced tickets for Frida Kahlo and Diega Rivera mural in the National Palace). High points of the trip:
1. The St. Regis is a perfect hotel. Room was large and very comfortable, especially the bed (ok,, the light switches were weird as were the ultra modern elevators). The staff is incredible and so friendly, the bellman all remembering our names after the first day. Best room service ever lol.
2. Amazing spa treatments - thanks, I really needed that
3. Pujol
4. Soumaya
5. smaller museums in San Angel and Coyacon. I do wish we'd felt up to exploring these neighborhoods more. And of course we barely touched on the city's cuisine due to our bellies.
6. getting to practice my Spanish

Thanks all, it's been fun to share and I appreciate your kind words. If nothing goes amiss on the way home this is hasta proxima.

Siqueiros mural

from Soumaya

letter from Cortez

in Soumaya

a final kudo to the St. Regis. The head concierge just called to check and see if we were ok and offered to send up some electrolytes. So impressed

Laura,
I’m happy for you that you were able to salvage your last day and have a wonderful time! It sounds like you’ve already got plans for the next time!

Safe travels home!

Laura I loved, loved your report!!! It's kind of my style, I guess.

I need to go back to Mexico City soon... Last time I stayed in Polanco and the one thing I hated was that we had to taxi almost everywhere.
But I think this is the same with the St. Regis, right???

Did you choose the hotel for any special reason? It seems as if Condesa is a better place to stay but I'm not sure if there are any great hotels apart from RED TREE HOUSE which I think is always booked....

I'm one of those who was disappointed in PUJOL, but I think I'd go back..maybe it was just a bad day for me when I had lunch there..


I do need to plan a trip very soon.....

Thanks so much EKscrunchy. We chose the St Regis because we got a pretty decent price for a 5 star hotel and on the map at least it looked like it was well situated for the things we wanted to see. Of course we had no idea how crazy Mexico city traffic is. These days with my arthritis using mass transit and long walks are sadly not an option if we want to enjoy the site once we get there, but the ubers were super easy and affordable to use. A couple of times the hotel even pitched in with a shuttle if it wasn't busy.
I would stay at the St Regis again in a heartbeat. The staff was incredibly nice and friendly, the room one of the most comfortable we've ever stayed in and the spa was amazing. great breakfast, and some of the best room service I've ever tried (24 hour which was nice when one arrives late). When we got sick they arranged for a doctor and even went out and got us pedialite. Only disappointment was Diana, their 'fine dining' restaurant. It just wasn't as good as the other options nearbye.

hope you get back to CDMX soon - enjoy

Thanks, Laura! I looked at the hotel and it seems that they have an indoor pool which would be great for me. The rack rates look insane for Mexico but I do see that there are discounts that seem pretty easy to get.
I no longer take buses or the train in Mexico City and the traffic is the main reason I have not returned in a while.
But with a great hotel as a base, and the knowledge that I will have to bear the traffic, I am going to plan a trip there soon.....you really inspired me!!

The underground is so easy to catch, what's this about taxis/ ubers?!