Earlier this summer, Ed and I traveled to Mexico City with our nieces: Katie and Molly. When we returned, I posted some photos of our trip to Instagram, but wanted to follow up with a blog post detailing our trip -- mostly as a reminder to myself of the great fun that we had.
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From my Instagram post...
Ed and I love to travel and especially enjoy traveling with our grown children. The problem is: they all live busy lives and just aren’t as fancy-free as they once were. So we were delighted when Sister Julie’s youngest girls wished aloud to travel “somewhere with Uncle Ed and Aunt Deb this summer”. Without missing a beat, we responded: “Let’s go to Mexico City.”
Turns out, it was OUR good fortune to travel with Molly and Katie. They spoke Spanish; were expert navigators; and discovered terrific restaurants and museums. They were fun, curious, insightful and, above all, exceedingly kind to each other and to Ed and me.
Thank you, Katie. Thank you, Molly. We will always treasure our time in CDMX with you two. xxx
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Trip highlights
Hotel
Casa Goliana As with our previous trips to Mexico City, we stayed at this 8-room hotel in the heart of the Roma Norte neighborhood. You can't beat the great location, helpful staff, lovely breakfast, sunny courtyard and beautiful rooms.
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| Molly and Katie in the sun-filled hotel courtyard. |
Tour
On our first full day, we booked a 5-hour walking food tour through the Historic Center via Sabores. We made stops at six restaurants, shops, markets and street vendors. It was a great way to get an overview of the city center and also an introduction to some of the best foods Mexico City has to offer. I was especially proud of both girls' willingness to taste crunchy grasshoppers.
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Museums
Museo Frida Kahlo (Casa Azul) Katie and Molly toured Frida Kahlo's Blue House while Ed and I walked around the Coyoacán neighborhood. (We had visited previously.) I think the girls loved seeing the personal objects, paintings by both Frida and her husband, Diego Rivera, photos, and furnishings that were part of the ambience where Frida was inspired to create.
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Museo Nacional de Antropologia Ed and I had been there before, but we couldn't wait to go back. The museum contains the world's largest collection of ancient Mexican art. It is the largest and most visited museum in Mexico.
Museo Soumaya. A new museum for us -- and it may be our favorite. Beautiful building. Amazing collection of art and sculpture.
Restaurants
One of the reasons we love to visit Mexico City is its abundance of excellent places to eat. One this trip we discovered some new ones.
When we arrived at our hotel in the early afternoon, the reception staff sent us out the door and around the corner to a trendy taqueria for just a snack to hold us over until dinner. This counter-service place, well-known by locals and tourists, offers up delicious pork and beef tacos, which we paired with tall metal glasses of cold hibiscus lemonade. Of course, we had to try one of their deserts, plantain ice cream, served to us with four spoons.
For dinner on our first night, we again when out the door of our hotel and around the corner and up some stairs to a very fun cantina. Molly and Katie ordered for the table: guacamole, tacos, salad and the best ceviche that I’ve ever had, plus multiple desserts. At the end of the trip, we all agreed this was our favorite meal.
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After the girls toured Frida Khalo’s house, we met them in the colonial neighborhood for a late alfresco lunch. The food, service, and atmosphere were delightful and we even worked up our nerve to try an appetizer prepared with huitlacoche (i.e., corn smut).
Needing only a light supper, we stopped in this open-air place — just downstairs from Páramo (see above) and were quickly overwhelmed by the immense selection of tacos. We requested our waiter order for us and were delighted with the plateful of tacos he brought to our table, along with large glasses of beer.
I’m sure Katie and Molly got tired of me singing the praises of this landmark place for churros and hot chocolate. But they liked it too; if fact, we went back in the afternoon for a snack of mini churros and a milk shake for Ed.
After a morning of museuming, we stopped in at Lardo, an Italian-Mediterranean-inspired café in the Condesa neighborhood, for a pizza and some fried squash blossoms, accompanied a bottle of rosé.
For our final evening, we made reservations at this modern Michelin-recognized restaurant. We were well-entertained by the attentive service, the extra courses and the beautifully plated entrées. All a bit too fussy for my tastes, but nevertheless, a great way to end our trip.
