Tate and I had been talking about going to Mexico City for as long as I could remember. It was one of those cities that seemed unique and distant enough to feel exotic and a little scary, while close and accessible enough to not break the bank or require Xanax for the flight. But we never really took action towards it, whether it be due to the pandemic, other trips popping up, or daydreaming about similar but further away locales such as Spain. However, earlier this year when I saw one of my favorite bands, Khruangbin, would be touring in Mexico City in late October, which is also when Día de los Muertos is celebrated, it seemed like the perfect excuse to buy some concert tickets and figure out the rest of the logistics of the trip later.
Always an optimist, I assumed we would be able to talk someone into going with us, so I grabbed four tickets to Khruangbin's October 28th show at WTC Pepsi Center, and started crowd-sourcing recommendations from people I knew or encountered. Which turned out to be a lot more people than I expected. Mexico City has seemingly become an increasingly popular destination for remote workers, which Tate and I both are, thanks to it's central time zone location, beautiful weather, amazing food, and short flight from a lot of US cities. Eventually my dad and his wife Laura confirmed they would join us for the concert, so the more specifics of the trip began to take shape. We were fortunate and grateful to have them meeting us there, as they had been to CDMX multiple times and therefore could show us some of their favorite spots.
About 10 days before the trip, our original week-long Airbnb cancelled on us, which kicked off that uneasy yet exciting feeling I always have before going on an adventure. We were able to book two new Airbnb's close to the area we originally wanted (albeit a little more expensive this time) and on October 26th drove to Dallas for the night before flying out of DFW on the 27th - shout out to the ultimate host, my sister, for housing us and driving us to the airport. After an unexpected flight delay, which we now know should have been expected on Aeromexico, but also after some free beers and tequila in first-class, we landed in Mexico City at around 7pm.
We successfully made it through customs without issue, grabbed an Uber from the crazy pickup line out front, and made our way through the congested streets towards our first Airbnb. We didn't realize when we first booked the trip that Formula I was also taking place the same weekend we were in town, having just had the same experience in Austin the weekend before. Couple that with Day of the Dead celebrations getting started, and traffic was pretty awful basically the entire time we were in town. Thankfully my dad and Laura had arrived the day before, and after some confusing instructions and a random tenant had been able to get into our first Airbnb. We met them there, put our stuff down, took a shot of mezcal, and headed out to find food and drinks.
My dad and Laura had met a younger couple their first night in town who had recommended a trendy tapas spot in Roma Nte. called Polpo, which we walked to and grabbed a table. At first the music was a little too loud for our tastes, but once we settled in with drinks we got used to it. The plates were good, especially the octopus, but a theme for the trip emerged as we left in that due to me being in the middle of a pretty intense marathon training cycle, I was perpetually hungrier than the rest of the group. We attempted to stop by another bar the young couple had recommended, but found it to be too crowded, so eventually we ended up at a cute bar and grill called El Traspatio, which was beautiful decorated with festive flowers and I was able to scarf down a hamburger while everyone else sleepily drank a margarita. The delayed flight had put a bit of a damper on our first night, and the Airbnb was pretty bare-bones and the bed wasn't the comfiest, but I managed to get some sleep despite the lack of air conditioning and airflow in general meaning I slept with no covers.
I woke up on our first full day ready to explore some of the city on foot while everyone else slept in. I found a short loop I ended up running multiple times during the trip on a street called Amsterdam that circled Parque México. I was immediately taken aback at how many trees lined all the streets in the part of the city we were staying in. We had been told Roma, Condessa, and Polanco were where a lot of foreigners stayed and hung out when visiting CDMX, and all these parts of the city were treelined with a mix of older historic buildings, bigger new high-rises, and hip cafes, bars and restaurants. After a lovely 5k, I took a quick shower and met the rest of the group at a nearby coffee shop called Flor de Café Roma Norte, before we had to set out on the first big excursion of the week.
While working at TikTok earlier in 2022, I had posted in a running chat group about my Rogue Expeditions trip to Iceland, encouraging people to sign up as needed a full group in order to ensure the trip would happen. One girl named Kim took the bait, got her name on the waitlist, and ended up taking part in the trip. Kim just also happened to be in Mexico City the same days we were, and had suggested we take a Taco Bike Tour her friends had recommended. So at 10am on our first full morning, we met at a parking garage with Kim and a group of about 8 other strangers, put on some optional helmets, and followed our tour guide Chris around the city to learn about the neighborhoods and eat some delicious tacos. We had so much fun, stopping at 5 different locations to try out 6 different kinds of tacos, and my biggest regret was not finding out the names of all the different stops in order to be able to recommend them without the need for the tour (**so instead, just take the tour - it was worth it**). We ended with some beers at La Bodeguita del Medio, which we meant to come back to at a later date when they would have live music and try out their famous mojitos, but with so much to see and do in CDMX we never did make it back. ** Update, the taco spots were La birria de los gueros de Juanacatalan, Molino el Pujol, El Rey del Suadero, and El Turix (thanks Laura!)**
After biking 7-8 miles, we all desperately wanted to get some rest, but unfortunately one of the more annoying things about Mexico City is that when purchasing tickets to an event in advance (which often times you have to do), the only way to retrieve the tickets is to hike over to one of the multiple Ticketmaster locations, typically located inside some giant mall or Liverpool store. We needed to get the tickets for the Khruangbin concert later that evening, so found the closest location to our Airbnb and took an Uber over. Thanks to F1 being in town, the line was very long and moved very slowly, but at least the location was near the furniture part of the store, so the others got to rest on a couch while I waited. With the tickets finally in hand, we walked the mile back to the Airbnb and all tried to squeeze in a power nap before dinner and drinks.
We wanted something on the quick side, so for dinner we walked over to taquería Orinoco, which despite it's fast casual feel ended up being some of my favorite food we had the entire trip. After we scarfed down our tacos, we walked over to the nearby bar called Mano Santa Mezcal, and proceeded to catch a buzz before trying to hail an Uber to the concert. Traffic was absolutely awful in that part of town, thanks in part to an evening thunderstorm, and as I got tipsy I also got unnecessarily grumpy - fearing we would be late or even miss the show. Fortunately, we arrived at basically the perfect time, able to grab some drinks right as Khruangbin took the stage. In retrospect I do wish we had gotten there a little earlier so that we could have been closer to the stage, as WTC Pepsi Center was a massive standing room only venue which meant unless we were willing to push our way through the crowd, we had to watch from pretty far back. Only Laura was brave enough to push her way up front, but the concert was still awesome for all of us, and I can only hope I am fortunate enough to see Khruangbin in a different country again at some point in my lifetime (I think this was probably my 8th or so time seeing them live haha). Luckily the Uber after the show was quick and easy, and we finished up an epic full first day back at the "bare"-bnb drinking a nightcap and laughing at what a jerk I had been in the first Uber (sorry, again!)
I woke up a bit hung over the next morning, but still managed to get a 3 mile run in, mostly around the same loop as before, and again met the rest of the group afterwards, this time at a cool brunch spot called Maque. The coffee helped, as did the mimosas, and then the ladies decided to go to a mercado while dad and I checked out a nearby sports bar that was supposedly where Liverpool supporters in the city would meet for games. The bar, called Le Gutie, was tiny and opened exactly at kick-off, but it was fun cheering on my team in a different city as I had done before in Vancouver, New Orleans, etc. and luckily we left at half-time with the score tied at 1-1 (so we didn't have to see Liverpool ultimately lose at the end). Then we packed up our stuff and headed to our second Airbnb, which was leaps and bounds better than our first. We were welcomed with a free bottle of mezcal, and we enjoyed it while sitting on our huge patio, complete with a hammock. This second location was the kind that made you start to contemplate if maybe I could also be a digital nomad living in Mexico City for an undetermined amount of time. Ultimately the downside was getting eaten alive by mosquitoes the first two nights here when we slept with the windows open, but otherwise loved the location and vibe.
That evening, we walked down to the Angel of Independence (El Ángel de la Independencia) to watch a Día de los Muertos parade. It was cool to see the floats and costumes, and afterwards we walked to another nearby Mezcalería called Xuni - where we had guacamole with crickets in it! They were surprisingly chewy (I expected them to be more crunchy) and had a sort of almond flavor to them. From there we tried to get into a few nearby restaurants that had been recommended to us, but thanks to the parade they were all packed, and ended up eating at a somewhat unremarkable little bar called La Guillermina. But at least we were fed, and we all went to sleep pretty quickly once we got back after the later night we had the night before.
I woke up the next morning for another run, this time a 5 mile loop I found on Strava that took me through Chapultepec, the giant park twice the size of Central Park, where I accidentally ended up on a Hello Kitty themed 10k course for part of my run. It was nice to have most of the roads I was on closed off to traffic, either due to the race or due to the fact that the main artery of the city, La Reforma, is closed on Sunday's for a time to allow for people to bike up and down it. After my run and meeting back up with everyone at the Airbnb, we took advantage of the road closure and rented bikes to ride for a few hours. Unfortunately, the bike my dad was on kept having issues with the chain falling off, but we still managed to get in around 10 miles of cruising (just with lots of stops for manual repairs) before returning the bikes and heading to lunch.
We got a table at the mostly empty
Sonora Grill, which ended up being one of my favorite meals of the trip. We got a salad since the restaurant seemed nice enough to not have to worry about how they washed their produce, I got some soup, and we all got some amazing tacos along with tasty cocktails and french fries. Between the run and the bike ride, this meal saved me. We also got to watch the start of the F1 race that was in town that weekend, which the restaurant had filled up with patrons also watching by the time we were heading out the door to head back to a Ticketmaster location to pick up tickets for the next two nights festivities. Once back at the Airbnb, we rested and listened to some music, as I began to feel a bit run-down.
That night, Laura had gotten us tickets for the Ballet Folklórico de México, a beautiful and vibrant Mexican traditional dance show with lots of different styles representing the different regions of Mexico, including some beautiful outfits, Mariachi music, and much more. I still didn't feel very well, and the mostly full venue, while extremely beautiful, did not have any sort of airflow, so I spent a lot of the performance treading between genuinely enjoying the beauty in front of me while also trying to focus on breathing and staying calm as to not faint or have an anxiety attack. Ultimately I would highly recommend people go see this performance, but maybe not wear long sleeves as I had.
Afterwards, we walked down to Plaza Garibaldi, where typically there are lots of mariachi bands playing for diners in the many cafes along the square, but I guess due to the F1 race and Day of the Dead celebrations happening across the city, there was what could only be described as a mini-music festival happening in the plaza instead. Essentially a boy band was on stage, with some extremely loud speakers, and there were dancers trying to coerce the crowd to dance along with them. It was certainly a sight to see, but not the vibe we were looking for. Luckily after some time debating our next move, Laura recalled that we were walking distance to one of her favorite restaurants, and we walked a few blocks over to see if we could be lucky enough to grab a table.
Lucky is exactly what we were, because we ended up getting a table in one of the oldest and coolest spots we saw during our time in the city, a legendary restaurant called CAFÉ DE TACUBA. Famous for their spicy mole, mariachi bands, and cathedral like building, it felt like stepping back in time being here. Tate ate one of the biggest tamales we had ever seen, I enjoyed my enchiladas, and we were serenaded by music most of the time we were there. There was also a waitress / hosted walking around dressed as la catrina that was some of the best makeup I had seen in regards to day of the dead costumes.
Fortunately I woke up the next morning feeling much better than I had the night before, and met up with my friend Kim (Iceland running buddy) for another morning run. We found out the hard way that Chapultepec is closed on Monday's for cleaning, but still managed to run along the edge of the park and I was able to get in 8 miles for my "middle long run." I met back up at the Airbnb before we headed off for a late breakfast at a cafe along the edge of Parque México called Café Toscano Condesa, which felt very European as we sat at an outside table and people watched as locals walked their dogs around the park. Tate wanted to go to a mercado to do some shopping, so we decided to leisurely stroll towards that part of town, making a pit stop for a coffee (plus maybe a beer and a mimosa) at a spot called Cicatriz.
We eventually made the place Tate wanted to see, a traditional artisan market called
Mercado de Artesanías La Ciudadela. Her and Laura found some small fun things to purchase, while I lamented the fact that I didn't find the bar until we were on our way out. Afterwards we attempted to have a snack on top of the Sears near the Centro Histórico, but quickly left after being seated because we couldn't really see from our table and they only served coffee and smoothies (aka no alcohol). Our next goal was to find a patio restaurant my dad and Laura had been to before that they loved that overlooks the
Catedral Metropolitana. Our first attempt failed, but we had a drink anyways at the tourist trap called Los Sabores del Molcajete, before finding our much more ideal spot called
Balcón del Zócalo. This place was beautiful, with a great view and great photo ops with giant Mexican flags waving in the wind behind us. We didn't end up having dinner here, and instead attempted to grab a table at Azul Historico, but when that wait seemed too long, dad and I went upstairs to have a mezcal in a tiny bar while the ladies went to see if they could get a table elsewhere.
We eventually met them at
LA OPERA, another famous historic restaurant, and our table was being serenaded by another mariachi as I came out of the bathroom. This bar claimed to be around since 1876, and included a bullet hole in the ceiling supposedly come from the gun of none other than Pancho Villa. We had come to Mexico City with recommendations mostly from people our age that focused on the more modern parts of the city like
Condesa and Roma, but we were finding that we enjoyed being in the older parts of the city just as much if not more.
I woke up early the next day again to run, an easy 3.5 miles before heading to grab some pastries and hitting the ATM ahead of a long day. Laura had booked us a tour, which I thought was primarily going to consist of riding / drinking / eating along the famous canals called Xochimilco, but that was only a short stop on the full day's worth of activities. We crammed into a van and fought traffic to our first stop, a famous silver shop called Plateria Rafael, where pictures of celebrities filled the walls like Leonardo DiCaprio, and I ended up purchasing a ring for myself after a free shot of tequila (at 10am in the morning).
Next, we headed to the Frida Kahlo museum for a photo op outside before we walked into the parks of Coyoacán, which is definitely an area I'll want to explore more next time I am in the city. I will admit that floating the canals was very fun, and the food prepared literally on the water in boats next to us was delicious. But after that I was pretty exhausted, and I didn't love how long it took to get from each location to the next in the notorious CDMX traffic. We did get to stop by a cemetery and see the memorials being left for Day of the Dead which was cool to see in person, and the final stop was at the huge University which included murals painted by Juan O'Gorman.
Finally back at our Airbnb in the late afternoon, we rested before heading out to find drinks on our way to the Lucha Libre wrestling match we had tickets to. We hit up Bar Las Brujas, which apparently has made some "best bar in the world" lists before, although I wasn't super impressed. I was impressed by the pageantry and showmanship of the Lucha Libre however, which in my opinion is another can't miss event for anyone visiting Mexico City for the first time. My only complaint was how quickly it was over, I would've liked another hour or more of cheering on the good guys against my dad who had decided to back the bad guys.
Afterwards, we fell back into the pattern of trying too hard to find something perfect to do for dinner / nightcap drinks, and after some arguing ended up at a tiki bar called
Waikiki Tiki Room. I thought it was a pretty cool spot personally, but I think we were all tired and hungry at that point, so we decided to go back to a known crowd favorite and had more tacos back at Taquería Orinoco. I am not kidding when I say I would eat there almost every day if I lived I went the digital nomad route down south for a few months. Once back at the Airbnb, dad and I got to have our inevitable late night chat deep into the night, which is something I always miss and cherish when they do get to happen. We went to sleep later than we should have, having solved all the worlds problems.
Another morning, another slightly hung over 30ish minute run. I was proud of myself for the consistency I showed during the week, despite the drinking and walking and biking. Dad slept in while Laura, Tate and I stopped by a smaller version of Panadería roseta closer to our Airbnb for some pastries, before finding a spot with a beautiful patio to take advantage of the perfect weather for a final brunch. We ended up at La Ventanita, a cool spot around the corner from our Airbnb with a pretty view of a fountain. Dad joined us for this (eventually), and afterwards we decided to take advantage of our last full day and keep the train moving. First, we went for a drink on a "rooftop" called Supra Roma, which was actually completely indoors but at the very top of a tall building with a very cool view of a lot of the city. Next, we got lucky and grabbed reservations for one of the most fun stops of the trip, an absolute party of a scene at Domingo Santo, complete with live music, guacamole with an entire fish body in it, and me being serenaded to by the lead singer literally sitting in my lap. This spot is actually an adults-only hotel in the old part of town that I would definitely look into staying at for future visits.
We ended up back at Azul for another drink at the tiny mezcal bar upstairs, before finally figuring out how to get up on the roof for cocktails on the terrace. Lastly, we ended the trip with one more mezcal at arguably the coolest mezcal bar of all the ones we managed to go to, a dark hip spot called Bósforo. Tate and I had to call it a night at that point thanks to our early flight the next morning, but it was a great final day of an overall amazing trip that I will never forget. I feel fortunate to have gotten to explore Mexico City with my dad and Laura and Tate, similarly having gotten to explore Quito, Ecuador with my dad years ago while he lived there. I also am looking forward to more trips with Tate, including right back to Mexico for a relaxing Valentine's Day weekend in Cabo. Not sure that one will be blog worthy, as I hope it just involves a lot of drinking on the beach, but we'll see what happens. Gracias a Dios!
