MX Travel Tips: CDMX (Mexico City) | Dimanche Brewer [Part II]
After a week of living in the pits of the all-inclusive life, I was ready to turn a new leaf. 🍃
Throughout the planning process, I learned tidbits about Mexico City that really excited me! For starters, I’m a city girl at heart (—no, not like Yung Miami and JT, but like Alicia Keys in “Empire State of Mind”).
I love the hustle and bustle of a big city!
The dope architecture. . .The museums🤗
And I knew Mexico City had plenty!
Secondly, and almost more importantly: Ciudad de México (CDMX), or Mexico City as we call it in the States, is ✨Street Taco Paradise✨
Truly a street food conclave in general, but tacos are my love language. After a week of bland eats, I was totally looking forward to consuming all the tacos and street treats my body could handle!
I’ve had a crush on CDMX for quite some time. I can’t pinpoint when I first saw images or videos of the city. But whenever it was, I was immediately enamored.
A few reasons why:
CDMX has more museums than any other city in the world. (150+!)
This city is a culinary juggernaut and hoards some of the best ranked restaurants and chefs in the world.
Mexico City is the largest and most populous city in North America and is a cultural and financial hub.
CDMX is the largest Spanish-speaking city in the world.
While Mexico City is a concrete jungle by every definition, the city boasts green spaces sprinkled throughout, including nearly 30 city parks and several gardens.
As soon as we landed, we met my sister’s friend Krystal at the airport (she flew to CDMX to meet us), and we caught a taxi together.
As soon as we settled into the taxi, I kept my eyes peeled because I didn’t want to miss any sights on my first glance of the city!
Just minutes into our time there, I got Barcelona vibes. I enjoyed Barcelona, and the Spanish-inspired architecture in both cities had a twin synergy.
Upon checking into our AirBnB, we had a very rude awakening: CDMX had just rolled out a lockdown two weeks prior and was not going to lift it until January 10.
COVID-19 cases there had reached a dangerous high, and authorities stepped in to take action. Though I was aware of the lockdown, I was NOT aware of the new restrictions rolled out a week before we landed.
The lockdown included: no dine-in at restaurants (carry-out only), all public buildings to be closed, and no alcohol to be purchased on Saturdays and Sundays. [The alcohol rule threw me off at first, but I realized it was to discourage gatherings, which was actually pretty genius.]
Fortunately, we planned to spend 3 weeks in Mexico City, so we opted to wait patiently to get around to everything on our to-do list and make the best of the time we had in the interim.
Since we were not able to visit the floating gardens of Xochimilco, the Frida Kahlo Museum or the Mayan City of Gods due to the lockdown, we opted to take on the city by foot.
We strolled Paseo de la Reforma and saw many of the same shops and restaurants we have in DFW. Also some cute boutiques and local eateries.
We spent a day strolling the winding paths of Chapultepec Park, which is the CDMX equivalent of Central Park, and the oldest park in Latin America.
Even within our neighborhood, Polanco, we took notice of the high dollar shops and learned that our cute little neighborhood was the Beverly Hills of Mexico City.
Interestingly enough, I noticed some of the younger people in this area had accents that were similar to Valley Girls, or as they’re referred to: “fresas”
A fresa is basically a term for someone who came from a wealthy family and is superficial. That is at least how it was explained to me.
So, January 31 rolled around and we wanted to have a New Year’s Eve celebration at home since our original plans were foiled.
After several failed attempts at finding open restaurants and working through the language barrier, we were able to order dinner from STK. It wasn’t our first choice, as we know we could have STK in the States, but our top 3 options weren’t open that day.
We found a party store and purchased some party decor; even secured a bottle of champagne to pop bottles at midnight! 🍾
I curated a playlist; we got dolled up and had a fabulous New Year’s Eve celebration in the living room of our AirBnB!
It was actually one of my best NYE to date!
Secured the Bag 😎
Me and my date on NYE
We continued to stroll la ciudad by foot, after some technical difficulties with trying to rent bikes on a couple occasions. A few things I noticed immediately:
EVERYBODY has a dog. Even the dogs have doggies.
Big ones, small ones, short ones, tall ones. If you don’t have a dog, you’re a loser and probably don’t even go here.
This metropolis is very walkable.
With more than 20 million people sharing 16 neighborhoods, the city is laid out in a format that is very pedestrian and bicycle friendly.
There’s free WiFi Zones throughout CDMX.
This was clutch when we were walking the Polanco streets, trying to find an NYE meal, while using our phones to pull up menus!
Best. Churros. Ever!
If you are a foodie, DO NOT SKIP VISITING THIS CITY!
I know a lot of people tend to go to beach towns in Mexico, but I promise the trip to CDMX is worth it, for the food alone.
Even though I was bummed we couldn’t dine in anywhere, we got very well acquainted with neighborhood takeout and UberEats (—discount code: eats-i44cl *).
A churro from El Moro made my entire day!
A breaded shrimp taco with a tortilla made of jicama was a tangy surprise.
The octopus taco was a bit lackluster but I bet it would have been different if we had it freshly prepared in-restaurant.
Krystal left a couple days after New Year’s Day, and my sister and I planned to stay until January 24 —my sister’s birthday!
When she left, I had to make the transition into getting back into corporate work mode after the holiday fun. The trip definitely had a different feel when I had to log into work every day, but I still appreciated the change of scenery.
We split our time between two AirBnBs in two different neighborhoods: one in ritzy Polanco and another in Colonia San Rafael. They were both very charming, walkable and had plenty of restaurants.
We waited impatiently for the lockdown to be lifted, but unfortunately once January 10 rolled around, the lockdown was extended due to the number of cases.
Hit me right in the feels, but again, I understood that was the
consequence of traveling during the pandemic.
Although I enjoyed the change of scenery, it started to feel pointless to be in CDMX just to be working. I was logging in to work during my regular corporate work hours, but then couldn’t do much of anything when I logged off because so many places were still shut down.
My sister and I ultimately made a decision to cancel our third AirBnB reservation and head back home a week earlier than planned (her birthday).
Even though I wasn’t able to do nearly anything on my to-do list, I still had a great time!
I feel like I got an awesome “preview” of what a trip to Mexico City would be like, and I stayed very impressed. So, I plan to return soon!
Maybe I’ll link up with one of my Bumble dates when I head back... 😏
. . .To Be Continued.