Rising from the ruins of the Aztec capital Tenochtitlan – Mexico City has museums both contemporary and historic as well as world class restaurants and vibrant parks making it the colourful, vibrant, cultural and contemporary city that it is today.
When I arrived at the airport in Mexico City and I must admit that I was expecting a poor city with plenty of people on the street, poor housing and as the Minister of Culture said to us at breakfast on our last day, I expected to see men with donkeys hanging around wearing sombreros!
Breaking News!! Mexico City is nothing like I imagined!!
We arrived at 04:30 in the morning in the dark, waking up to a beautiful sunny day and fountains in the square opposite our first hotel. Three hours sleep, quick shower, breakfast and the start of a full packed week getting to know the best of Mexico City!
Here is a quick roundup of our trip. Many of the places will be followed up in detailed blog posts to come:-
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| The breakfast terrace at Casa de la Condesa hotel in Colonia Roma |
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| My first Mexican breakfast, simple and plain but lovely and tasty! |
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| Statue in the gardens of the Dolores Olmeda museum |
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| One is a statue and the other four are live 'naked' dogs! |
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| Beautiful tiled kitchen and crock in the kitchen at Dolores Olmeda museum |
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| Frida Khalo's painting |
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| Frida Khalo |
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| Spices and chillis in a market we took a short cut through |
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| Bronze statue in Coyocan Square |
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| Sweetcorn street food, fresh, simple and delicious with a hint of chilli! |
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| A bright and colourful trajinera at the UNESCO World Heritage site of Xochimilco |
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| An alter in the Metropolitan Cathederal |
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| Standing in front of one of the huge murals by Diego Rivera in The Old Mayor's Palace. |
A quick trip out of the city, about 30 miles north east to the State of Mexico (Estado de Mexico) we arrived at the archaeological site of the Teotihuacan Pyramids, large stone pyramid shapes dating back to approx 300-600 AD in what was called The City of The Gods.
We looked around a tequila museum, had a private Mariachi band play to us, discovered the Mercado de Carmelo as well as experienced some great restaurants and we were only half way through our visit.
Part two of my Mexico City round up will follow shortly. Keep your eyes out to find out what else we discovered.
I was the guest of The Mexico City Tourist Board
Sounds like a great place to explore - preferably with a knowledgeable guide!
ReplyDeleteWe had a great guide, very knowledgeable and very patient with our group!
DeleteOh, I'm so envious! Mexico is definitely near the top of my bucket list :)
ReplyDeleteJanie x
I loved Mexico City and really want to expand now and discover more of the country.
DeleteWhat a great experience, I love Mexican food and the colourful arts there too.
ReplyDeleteThe San Angel Saturday market was so colourful and fun.
DeleteI would not have been able to leave with all that fab Mexican food in the offering.
ReplyDeleteThe food is very similar in most places - you have to go really upmarket for a bit more unusual
DeleteI have never been to Mexico, but would LOVE to go one day, for the culture and the food too of course!
ReplyDeleteI just loved people watching - really interesting faces and listening to their accents when speaking Spanish was great.
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