Mexico City, Mexico
5:39pm. We’d just checked into our hotel when I first felt the rumble.
My first thought was ‘is there a party upstairs? Sounds like they’re about to come thru the ceiling!’ But the look on my boyfriend’s face as I stepped out of the bathroom confirmed that this was no party. It was an earthquake. As the shaking intensified we held tight to the doorframe and watched the walls crack and split around us. When the shaking finally ceased we hurried to join people in the street, waiting with bated breath for more. A 7.2 earthquake had struck Oaxaca about 400 miles south of Mexico City. Aftershocks continued to rattle the city for the rest of the weekend, but we quickly settled into a routine: earthquake alerts ping you phone, drop what you’re doing and rush out into the street to avoid building collapse, then return to business once the threat has passed.
Despite the near-death experience, I fell deeply in love with this beautiful city. The casual, friendly vibe of local life, strolling the tree lined streets and stopping for a taco or coffee, and making new friends around every corner. Check out the photos and scroll to the bottom for links to my CDMX Guide!
Street scenes from around Roma Norte & Condesa
Cinderblock textures make for great backdrops around the city
Stuffed squash blossom omelette, beans and pork belly
Indoor/Outdoor dining at Dulcinea
Beautifully manicured sidewalk parks zig zag across Roma Norte and Condesa
Breakfast crowd at Cafe Lalo
Delicious homemade salsa spread at El Beso
Gorgeous architecture at Museo Nacional de Antropología
Reproductions of temple carvings at Museo Nacional de Antropología
Next door to Casa Estudio Luis Barragán is the peaceful Archivo Diseño y Arquitectura- a great stop if Barragán is sold out!
Exterior of the Blanco Colima
Olivia Steele at Maia Contemporary
Olivia Steele at Maia Contemporary
Maia Contemporary
Street tacos!
Lively late-night dinner scene at Páramo
Xaman was one of my favorite cocktail experiences of the trip. A subterranean space off a busy pedestrian street in Juárez neighborhood invokes speakeasy vibes. Pulsing ‘jungle techno’ plays while a bartender carries a flaming goblet of palo santo in a shaman-like procession through the lounge. Beverage ingredients are derived from traditional Aztec plants and herbs, many with medicinal qualities- like copal, a resin used to purify in shamanistic rituals. Mezcal was served with lime and nutty fried crickets.
Another amazing dinner that didn’t disappoint was at Nudo Negro. We opted for a reservation on the earlier side, and had the restaurant practically to ourselves. While we waiting for our dinner to arrive, the chef invited us upstairs to the lofted kitchen for a stone grilled chicken skewer and tour of the fresh ingredients and array of spices that would be going into our meal. The meats and sauces were so flavorful, juicy and fresh, I can’t recommend it enough!
About a 90 minute drive from Mexico City are the ancient Mesoamerican ruins of Teotihuacan. We passed on a day-tour and opted for a $30 Uber to get us out and back before lunch. The pyramids are a stunning sight to behold, but the sun beats down on the dry, open plain and heat quickly became unbearable. Unwilling to wait in the 100+ person line to climb up the Pyramid of the Sun, we opted for a shorter hike on the still-impossibly-steep Pyramid of the Moon before ducking into the museum to escape the sun.
Palacio de Bellas Artes, sadly closed on Mondays. Next time!
Beautiful church in Plaza San Jacinto
Gorgeous lounge inside Lázaro
Frida Kahlo’s home at night
EATS
DRINKS
SIGHTS
NEIGHBORHOODS
Roma Norte / La Condesa / Hipódromo for plentiful sidewalk cafes, hip restaurants and nightlife
Coyoácan / San Ángel / Plaza San Jacinto / Plaza de los Arcángeles for beautiful manicured gardens, luxurious shops and restaurants, the “Beverly Hills” of CDMX
Centro Histórico for cathedrals, palaces and museums galore