Buck and I enjoyed exploring the large and diverse Mexico City, Mexico. Mexico City is one of the largest cities in the world, which intimidated us just a bit. However, we found a month-long housesit (via TrustedHousesitters.com; this link also provides you a 25% discount for your first year’s cost.) in the Condesa neighborhood for great folks with a sweet cat. That sit began our 3-month sojourn into Mexico.
Condesa:
As noted by many others, Condesa is a very walkable neighborhood with plenty of food and green spaces, and folks from all over the world visit here. And we were fortunate to have a housesit that was right above the weekly street market that sold fresh fruits and vegetables, prepared foods (with a casual sit-down area to eat) as well as non-food wares.
We were a 10-minute walk from one end of the vast Bosque de Chapultepec. This park alone is worth a week’s trip to Mexico City. And once we found a way to reach the park via walking through the underground metro route, it was even easier than crossing the very busy Mexico City streets in the area. This park spans over 1500 acres and beyond the beautiful green spaces and lakes, includes several noteworthy museums, a zoo, an amusement park as well as cafes and restaurants.
This park is huge; don’t fool yourself into thinking you’ve seen it all, when you have only seen half. The side with the amusement park? Don’t miss it, even if you aren’t in the mood for carnival rides and food. Stroll around a 2nd lake that is located by the amusement park. While you’re on that side of the park, also see the multiple Diego Rivera sculptures and other artwork that is scattered around the peaceful area. Visit the Dolores Cárcamo Museum, which is a defunct aquaduct that contains some of his work inside and outside of the building. Our hats off to the folks that we housesat for, for giving us some great tips for finding some of these less-published treasures.
The Museum of Anthropology provides an amazing glimpse of several civilizations that thrived in the area through the millennia. We made the mistake of having only one afternoon to visit. Do yourself a favor and make time for at least 2 visits here. The Museum of Modern Art is a small museum and grounds which includes a wealth of creativity and beauty. Buck and I had a hard time picking just one favorite piece in each area of this museum.
Before or after one of your explorations of Bosque de Chapultepec, make a point of getting a bite at Amor Mestizo. It’s an oasis just beyond the busy Av Constituyentes.
Centro Histórico:
After a very satisfying housesit in the Condesa area, we spent a month in the colonial area of Mexico City. Although it is less than 10 miles away, it was a very different experience from suburban Condesa. We loved the friendly people. And the active archaeological dig underneath the bustling tourist and local market areas was just surreal. We found an airbnb that was a stone’s throw away from Mexico City’s Metropolitan Cathedral and the main square, which made so much easily accessible.
When we travel, we like to search out the local markets. In the case of colonial Mexico City, we had to ask some of the locals where to find eggs and other foodstuffs. What we could find was an immense number of stalls selling phone accessories, luggage, clothing, toys, kitchen supplies. In other words, all manner of non-food items. But once we found food hidden within the Mercado Presidente Abelardo L. Rodriguez, it was so fresh and delicious.
Eats and Snacks:
A couple of snacking places we enjoyed in Condesa:
Iddis. Although we did get a yummy quiche one time, generally we came here for the moist, delicious cakes!
Bakers. Good strong coffee and an array of fresh, flaky pastries!
One of our favorite snack locations in colonial Mexico City was:
Balam House. We saw so many people waiting in line to eat across the street. Not sure what the food and service was like, but we much preferred the upper, balconied floor of Balam House!
Pastelería Ideal. When you’re in the mood for sweets on-the-go, the Ideal Bakery has several locations.
Check out our blog regarding Tepoztlán, Mexico, which we visited after Mexico City.