Mexico City

After dance class, 7 of us (Megan, Lily, Bryce, Kendra, Miki, Nishelle, and I) walked to a shopping area parking lot where we were able to catch a bus to Mexico City. It was a 2-hour bus ride into the city, and we arrived around 10:00 that night. Once arriving at a huge bus terminal that is bigger than some airports in the United States, we took two taxis to our hostel, where we checked in and got settled before wandering the city for a while. Our hostel, Mexico City Hostel, was in a perfect location, just a block from the Zocalo. We walked around the Zocalo for an hour or so, taking in the Cathedral, the National Palace, and all of the decorations that still remained from the Bicentennial. We were all hungry at this point and decided to grab a bite to eat at a diner-type restaurant a few blocks from the Zocalo, before calling it a night between 12 and 1.

Friday morning I got up around 7:45, showered, and had breakfast at the hostel, which consisted of fruit, eggs, and toast. I decided that wasn’t quite enough and ran to the 7-11 down the street for a donut. We were all ready to go and walked down to the Zocalo around 9:30. Kendra, Miki, and I decided that we wanted to take a bus tour to see all that the city has to offer, and decide what we really wanted to see and do that weekend. The tour was very informative and I am glad that we had the opportunity to see many statues, buildings, and important areas of the city. However, the tour ended up being 4 hours long, which was a little longer than necessary. So, after being dropped off in the Zocalo again, we grabbed lunch at a nice restaurant in between the Zocalo and our hostel. I had a delicious salad, and we all split Queso Fundido with ham, and that was wonderful as well. After that, we walked around the Zocalo some more buying souvenirs from the street vendors and watching authentic Aztec dancers, as well as street break-dancers that we made friends with. After making a few purchases, it started to rain, so we decided to head back to the hostel to relax for a bit. The rest of the group returned and we all ventured out into the rain for a night out in Mexico City. We went to three small, but comfortable and lively bars. Most of the others ordered beers at the first two bars, but since I don’t like beer and don’t really have a desire to try the wide variety of Mexican beers, I settled for a Coke. At the third bar, we all did a round of shots. I had a shot with Tequila in it that was mixed with something that supposed to taste like chocolate….I might as well have just taken the shot straight up, as it was pretty bad. We had wanted to find a place to dance, but there were no places in the neighborhood that we were in, so we just headed back to the hostel between 1 and 2.

Saturday morning I got up once again around 7:45 to shower, have breakfast, and get on the computer before most others got up. Once everyone else was up and ready to go around 10, we left the hostel for another day of fun and exploration. We took the city’s Metro to an area of the city known as Chapultepec. In this area, there is a castle, a large and beautiful park, and several museums. First, we visited the Museum of Modern Art. It was nice and had a lot of artwork, but art isn’t necessarily my thing. However, there were 4 or 5 Frida Kahlo and Diego Rivera paintings that were pretty cool. After, we walked through the park for an hour or so, admiring the fountains, the river that runs through the park, views of the castle, and enjoying some cotton candy. We did not end of going to the Castle of Chapultepec this time, but it is definitely something I would like to do next time we are in Mexico City, as the castle looks beautiful and it is supposed to offer amazing views of the city.

Next, we headed to the Anthropology Museum where we enjoyed a quick meal in the cafeteria before visiting two of the twelve display areas. The museum is huge and has so much to offer. You would need at least a day to go through all of the displays. I thoroughly walked through the Mayan display area, and briefly looked at Coastal and Western culture displays. We left the museum around 6, and decided to just start walking through different neighborhoods and areas of the city. We walked through Colonia Roma, where we stopped to have some coffee and delicious ice-ream. Then, we kept walking to Colonia Condesa, which offered many cute and relaxed restaurants and bars. We stopped at an Italian bar to have a drink, and Megan and I split a pizza. All of the little neighborhoods throughout Mexico City have charming characteristics, and I would like to explore more of these neighborhoods in the future. Around 10, we took the Metro back to the Zocalo area, where we took pictures and walked around before heading back to the hostel around 11 or 11:30. Some of the group decided to go out again that night, but it had been a long day, and I was just ready to call it a night.

Sunday morning I got up early once again, had my Mexico City breakfast of fruit, eggs, toast, and a 7-11 donut, and read for a while before others got up. Kendra and Miki were up at a decent hour, so we went to walk around the Zocalo area and do a little shopping. We found a Nike outlet store, and I bought a running shirt for $8…can’t beat it with a stick. J Then, we walked back to the hostel to meet up with the rest of the group. Megan, who had been to Mexico City before, recommended that we go to a restaurant called El Cardinal for brunch, so she and I walked to the restaurant to make a reservation, before heading back to pack up and check out. We were told 30-40 minutes, and of course that would be in Mexico time. So, finally, and hour and a half later we were seated. The restaurant was quite nice and up-scale, and they served us delicious hot chocolate to start. I ate way too much over the course of the weekend, so I just ordered a plate of fruit that would be much nicer for the waistline and the wallet. After brunch, we took taxis to the bus station, bought bus tickets for our return to Puebla, and made the two-hour bus ride back, on which all of us slept the entire way. Overall, it was a fun and exciting weekend! Once again, Mexico City has so much to see and do, and I hope that over the course of the next two months, I have the opportunity to return a couple of times to do more exploring.