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| Mexico City, Mexico |
Here is a trip report from a short, 3 night weekend getaway to Mexico City. This was my first time here, although very much not the first time to Mexico. We travel somewhat often to Guadalajara where my brother-in-law ended up settling. Sandra has for a long time wanted to take me to Mexico City and it finally happened over the Labor Day holiday.
We flew through Houston, and we got lucky to get upgraded to business class on the way and also on the way back from Mexico. After arriving, we checked into to our first hotel, Hyatt Regency Insurgentes. We had some Hyatt free nights to use so this stay was free. I liked the room, especially the really comfortable day bed by the window. It gave me an idea for decorating the Slovakia apartment. After checking in, we walked around the block and found a nice restaurant called Taco N Salsa. Not only we had tacos, but we also had some excellent deserts. We then did more strolling and stopped for a drink in a place called Beer Stop Insurgentes.
The next day we moved to Andaz Condesa where we used points for the stay. This hotel had a really nice lobby and a much younger vibe than then Regency, but the room itself was not as nice. But it had a really nice rooftop view. From there we headed over to the National History Museum housed in the Chapultepec Castle, a large mansion built on a hill overlooking Mexico City. What really surprised me here was the European vibe of the place, but there is a reason. The castle was originally built in 1785 to serve as a summer house for the Spanish viceroy overseeing Spain's New World colonies. This in turn was during the time when Spain was rule by kings from House of Habsburg - yes the Habsburg's now associated with Austria. Which is why much of the decoration looks much like something one may be more likely to find in Vienna than in Mexico. It subsequently became the residence of Mexican presidents until 1939 when it was converted into a museum.
The castle is part of a large natural area with various other outdoor areas such as a ZOO and a butterfly garden. It also has a large picnic area with several outdoor food vendors. I figured we can just eat here as I was really hungry and there was nothing else in the immediate vicinity. I ordered some kind of a hot-dog burger which tasted satisfactory, but what was not satisfactory was finding a dead cockroach at the bottom of the french fries pile. Of course we saw it only after eating all the food. But given I am writing this a few months later, I am happy to report that neither of us have succumbed to some cockroach-borne disease.
The park also contains a lake on which I saw people on peddalboats. I have not been on in so long so I made Sandra wait with me in the line, although it honestly took no more than 20 minutes. I very much enjoyed the boat ride around the lake! We then popped into a beautiful bookstore called Librería Porrúa. The store's back opens to the lake.
Next we left Chapultepec Park and walked across the street to the Archaeological Museum. Not having done any research ahead of time, I was not particularly excited to go here, but this museum is a must! It is a large complex consisting of individual rooms dedicated to different native cultures that occupied this part of North America prior to the colonization. I must admit that I am pretty ignorant of the native American history, but these cultures go back thousands of years, paralleling the development found in Europe or the Middle East that history classes prefer to focus on.
We then walked around the neighborhood. Of interest to me was finding the street named after Tomáš Garrigue Masaryk, the first president of Czechoslovakia. That evening, we went to a restaurant called La Capital to try Chile en Nogada, which everyone was telling us try. Mexico's Independence Day was coming up in two weeks (September 16th) and apparently this is a specialty commonly prepared for this occasion. It is a stuffed chili pepper, but interestingly topped with pomegranate seeds. Mine was also served in a black sauce, which I suspect is the famous mole. Then on the way back, we got caught in a massive rain storm, but we managed to hide under an overhang and it passed quickly.
The next morning we had a prepaid excursion to Teotihuacan. At its peak sometimes between 1 AD to 500 AD, Teotihuacan was the largest city in North America with population of at least 25,000 inhabitants but possibly exceeding over 100,000. This also made it the sixth largest city in the world at that time. This city predates the Aztec Empire by almost a millennium. While the city existed until around 750 AD, it began experiencing a rapid decline in the late 500s, which is speculated to be linked with a prolonged period of atmospheric cooling in the year of 536 AD speculated to arise from a volcanic eruption. The site contains multiple pyramids, the largest of which is the Pyramid of the Sun, constructed around the year 200 AD. It is the third largest pyramid in the world. The other massive pyramid found here is the Pyramid of the Moon. This one is estimated to have been completed some 200 years later. The massive pathway between the pyramids is known as the Avenue of the Dead, which presumably formed the central "town square" surrounded by its inhabitants.
We spent about 4 hours here which gave us plenty of time to explore the archeological site. We also came early in the morning so had the place to ourselves before bigger tour buses started arriving. The one annoying aspect here are the vendors trying to sell these "whistles" that supposedly sound like a puma so there is this constant background noise.
Later, after heading to a DHL to mail some birthday gift to Javier and enjoying an excellent croissant, we continued sightseeing in Mexico City. We had a cab drop us off at the Plaza de la Constitucion where we visited the Church of San Bernardo and the Metropolitan Cathedral. Both were impressive. We then walked down the large pedestrian shopping Madero street.
We stopped by the Palace of Fine Arts performing arts center. We walked in to check it out but to really appreciate this place involves coming for a performance. Next I planned to walk through the large nearby Alameda Central Park but it was fenced off. So we continued on streets. Mexico City is a very pedestrian friendly city. We then made our way to the prominent Angel of Independence built in 1910 to commemorate the 100 year anniversary of the start of Mexico's war of independence. This victory column can be seen from many parts of the city, including from the terrace on the Chapultapec Castle.
Continuing, being tired and hungry, we popped into the Four Seasons hotel where wh had small crocquettes and a drink. Continuing on, we then had a more proper dinner at La Llorona, before finally getting back. Walking in Mexico City is really easy. Many of the wider boulevards even contain a central tree-lined pedestrian path. It is really amazing how such things do not exist in the car-centric United States. Cities would look so much prettier and welcoming to pedestrians if a walker did not need to pass some 6 lanes of traffic in order to cross the street. Back at the Andaz, we decided to go check out the rooftop club. There was some party going on with a life DJ (and a lot of Middle Eastern guys for some reason). We stayed for about 30 minutes but we were too tired from the long day to stay any longer.
On our final day, we took a cab to Coyoacan, a neighborhood of Mexico City mainly known for the childhood home of Frida Kahlo. We unfortunately did not plan well and ahead, and did not realize that an advance purchase of tickets is required. So all we could was to admire the building - and the long line of ticket holders - from the outside. Then in the afternoon we headed to the airport for our trip back home to LA.
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