Hop over to Mexico City

One of my friends from Singapore happened to be in LA for work and persuaded me to take a few extra days off (l'm really easy to persuade when it's more traveling). Since I was already going to be in Cabo for Memorial Day, we decided to go to Mexico City, our 7th country together!

Mexico does not have the best reputation for safety, so I was a bit concerned. However, I found it to be just like any other major cities. As with traveling to any other city, you should be aware of your surrounding and not be blatantly a tourist. Plus, Uber is so affordable that if you feel unsafe walking, you can order one.

Picture: Outside the Palacio de Bellas Artes

Day 1:

• Free Historic Walking tour with Strawberry Tours
  • I felt like this wasn't worth the time, because of the language barrier. Our guide spoke English decently, but it wasn't conversational nor too interesting. One plus- I did learn that Mexico City used to be a lake, which is why it continue to sink every year.
• Museo Nacional de Antropologia
  • Fascinating & worth it! A walk through Mexico's history!
• Fifty Mils- Ranked #61 of best bar
  • Great atmosphere & drinks
• Dinner @ El Califa Reforma Tacos
  • Delicious! There are several locations throughout the city

Picture: Staircase in Frida Kahlo's backyard Day 2:

• Breakfast at Restaurante El Cardenal
  • Calle de La Palma 23, Centro
  • I went for a morning run and happened upon this place. They were super friendly and tried hard to accommodate my lack of Spanish. The Mexican hot chocolate here is amazing! I can drink it everyday!
• Frida Kahlo Museum
  • I love that this is Frida's actual house. They've done a fantastic job preserving the history and life of Frida and her family. I knew very little about Frida before visiting and through her art and history plaques, the museum gives a great depiction of her life and struggles
  • We got there around 11:30AM (it opens at 11AM on Wed) and there was already a line! It was probably about an hour wait and once inside, there's no line.
• Coyoacan Market & Mercado Artesanal
  • We walked around the neighborhood near museum and had lunch at Coyoacan Market. Again, very friendly locals that recommended food for us! Then walk a little further down to find the Art Market! Great place to do some souvenir shopping.
• Mexican Ballet at Palacio de Bellas Artes
  • We checked for tickets online, but thought it was a bit pricey. It is much cheaper to buy the tickets at the Palacio. We bought the ticket a day before the show for probably half the cost of tickets online. It was a wonderful display of Mexican culture, but not so much a ballet.

Picture: A restored area of Teotihuacan Day 3:

• Teotihuacan
  • We did an early morning tour. It was worth waking up earlier because you avoid the crowd and the heat! Make sure your tour has an English speaker! That seems to be the biggest negative review. Our guide was knowledgable and passionate. He even took us to one of the side houses, where you can see that buildings have been built on top of one another.
• La Condesa- hipster neighborhood! I would have loved to stay in this area for all the food available!
  • Churreria El Moro- sooooo good! we had it twice in one night!
  • Mercado Roma- Reminds me of Grand Central Market in LA. Cool place to hang out for dinner, drinks, and dessert.

Picture: Gate of Castillo de Chapultepec Day 4:

• Castillo de Chapultepec
  • This is the only royal castle in the Americas! It was build as a summer house for the viceroy. You'll have to walk up the hill to get here and no water allowed inside. It's maintained well, very grand! It's also a great aerial view of Mexico City.
• Pujol: Ranked # 20 of the world's best! Well known for their Mole Madre, Mole Nuevo
  • My friend and I ranked it 9/10. Amazing food, wonderful service, great atmosphere!
• Try buttery cookies from Pasteleria Ideal- Republica de Uruguay 74, Centro

Overall, I loved Mexico City! I wish I had an extra day or two more so that I could have seen more of the city, like the Xochimilco for the boat ride. It's so affordable and easy to get to, that I'm sure I'll be back one day!

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