Mexico City and the Pyramids of Teotihuacan

Started the morning with a nice shower and brushed my teeth with bottled water (because we don't play around when it comes to Mexico's water). We went on a long walk around Condesa and Roma Norte. These two neighborhoods are why everyone falls in love with Mexico City. Big leafy trees over the sidewalks, cafés everywhere and old mansions with fancy iron gates.

Found a house with an ornate stone doorway and a curly iron gate and stood in front of it way too long imagining living there. A lot of the old houses around here have that look, sort of Spanish mixed with French.

In the afternoon I found a pastry shop with fancy little desserts that looked like art. Got a glossy yellow bread sweet filled with something fruity plus a chocolate thing covered in little balls.

At night I went to Ladina Bar in Roma Norte, a dark cocktail bar lit all in red with a pink neon sign glowing over the shelves and a candle on every table. Super chill, dark enough that I totally lost track of time.

Then, of course, tacos. A street stand every couple blocks has a big metal grill where the guys were chopping meat crazy fast, and a counter covered in salsas and limes and onions. I got a little blue plate of tacos with green salsa and ate them standing up on the sidewalk. Best dinner of the week, and I'm pretty sure each taco was less than a dollar. Obviously I had 5.

When you pick a taco stand go where the line is long and local, they turn the meat faster so it's fresher. And yes, you can do a fancy cocktail and a cheap street taco on the same block on the same night here, which I did.

We went to the Museo Nacional de Antropología in Chapultepec and it's huge! You walk into the courtyard and there's a giant stone column with water pouring down off an enormous roof, like an umbrella made of concrete.

Inside there are Maya carvings and little clay figures, a replica temple in the garden, plus the Aztec Sun Stone (the big round calendar stone), which is way bigger in person than I imagined. Give it at least three hours, I didn't see everything and I tried. There was indoor/outdoor areas to explore and saturating all the info in a hour is impossible. It's closed on Mondays, so plan around that and wear comfy shoes.

After leaving we went to the park next door and caught the Voladores, guys who climb up a super tall pole and then spin down upside down on ropes. Then we walked past the street food stalls full of candy and chips to the Museo Tamayo next door, a concrete building with modern art, nice change after all the ancient stuff. We got jugo de jamaica (2 massive ones), a cup of elote and sat in the park with the locals to munch.

On the way back we walked past the Monumento a los Niños Héroes with its tall white columns and then down Paseo de la Reforma. Huge avenue, skyscrapers on both sides and the Ángel de la Independencia in the middle of a roundabout, a golden angel on top of a tall column. We did some more walking around the shopping district to explore the neighborhood (but avoided spending money on things we didn't need)

Dinner was at a candlelit restaurant named Cafe Milou with rose, pasta with greens and some crispy fried fish. After dinner we wandered and got giant beers on Calle Puebla, then ended up at the Four Seasons Hotel to get drinks by a fire pit on a patio until late.

We started at the Castillo de Chapultepec which was/is a real castle on top of a hill in the middle of the park. You walk up a long slope through the trees and then suddenly there's a palace with stained glass and gold carriages. From the rooftop garden the skyscrapers on Reforma poke up out of the trees, and you can see it on the whole walk up/

Inside there's a marble staircase that looks like it belongs in a movie, plus a long hallway of stained glass women in Greek style dresses. It's very possible to spend the whole morning here exploring the grounds and nature parts of the castle. It's closed Mondays too, so go early because the line grows fast by lunch and make sure you don't go when its to hot out since its outdoor and indoors.

After we headed to Jardín Botánico de Chapultepec down in the park, which had rows of succulents and a greenhouse full of orchids. After that we went to the Ritz Carlton rooftop for drinks and food. There was 360 floor to ceiling windows and the whole city spread out underneath me (worth the price of one drink, trust me).

In the afternoon I headed to the Centro Histórico. The Palacio de Bellas Artes is gorgeous outside and even better inside, glass dome over the lobby and giant murals on the walls. Right around the corner is the Casa de los Azulejos, a whole building covered in blue and white tiles.

Next door-ish the Templo de San Francisco still had Day of the Dead papel picado hanging over the pews. It was nice to see the lingering decorations still up from the holiday. I kept walking to the Catedral Metropolitana and ended at the Zócalo, the huge main square with a massive flag in the middle. We sat on the steps and people watched before grabbing some food from the streets then headed home.

That night I went back out, bar hopping around Roma Norte, and ended up at a club with mirrored walls and lasers everywhere. There was a pink neon sign that said "Dance like the Jacksons, sing like Bowie and party like a rockstar," which is pretty much the dress code. I danced until almost 3am.

After the night before I slept until the late afternoon. Mexico City nightlife is a lot and my feet were still sore from the castle and the Centro, so this was a slow day on purpose. I didn't plan anything and figured I would have a recovery day with my water bottle next to my bed.

Once I finally got up I went back to The Ritz-Carlton on Reforma, this time to the rooftop bar right before sunset. I had a spritz and some chips and watched the sun go down over the city. Mexico City is so big it keeps going all the way to the mountains in every direction, and the haze turned everything gold. Go up a bit before sunset if you want a seat by the edge. The city looks so calm from up there, especially after being out until 3am the night before

After dark I walked over to Paseo de la Reforma, where the Torre BBVA was lit up with moving lights all down the side. The skyscrapers on Reforma are so cool at night, all glass with the colors changing, and it's an easy walk if you stay on the main avenue.

If you're going out at night here, get a ride home through an app and don't hail a cab on the street. It's easy and cheap!

There was a guy staying in another unit of my Airbnb building and we got close pretty fast. He came with me to the taco spot literally up the block, and it was so good I went back again before I left. Red plate piled with tacos, onion and cilantro and lime on top, little bowl of red salsa on the side.

After that we grabbed drinks from a stand and walked through Chapultepec Park (Bosque de Chapultepec if you're looking it up) to the Museo de Arte Moderno. It's a round building with a glowing amber ceiling that looks like stone lit from behind.

As we strolled we passed by Las dos Fridas, Frida Kahlo's painting of two versions of herself holding hands. It's WAY bigger than I thought, and definitely cool to see in person. You can see every little brush stroke in the dresses, so if you're an artist definitely stop by here.

There were old black and white photos and prints in the round room too, and I just slowly walked through it all. It's a small museum so you don't get tired the way you do in the giant ones. It's right near the anthropology museum and usually way less crowded, so if you're short on time do them on the same day.

As we walked out the sun was going down over the park and the sky turned orange and pink behind the trees. It was so quiet in that corner for a second, the opposite of the city all around it.

Dinner was takeout from a little rotisserie chicken counter right by the taco spot, a guy behind the glass and stacks of containers. Exactly what I needed after a long walking day.

Last day in Mexico, and last day of the whole six months, so I saved the biggest for last. I headed about an hour out of the city to Teotihuacan, the old city with the giant pyramids.

Right by the entrance there was a display of Day of the Dead altars, covered in papel picado and marigolds and candles and sugar skulls, with a big black and white mural behind them.

I walked through most if not all of the grounds of the ruins. I saw Ciudadela and the Templo de Quetzalcóatl, with stone serpent heads sticking out of the walls. Then I walked up the Calzada de los Muertos (the Avenue of the Dead), this long wide road with the Pyramid of the Sun on one side and the Pyramid of the Moon at the end. It's so big the people walking past look tiny. You couldn't climb the big pyramids then, they'd been closed to climbing since 2020, so I went up and down the platforms along the avenue instead.

I passed cactus fields and vendors selling blankets and other trinkets (most were at a taxed price for the location but worth it for the memories). I walked by the Palacio de Quetzalpapalotl with red painted columns, and obviously I did my best jumping photos with the pyramid behind me. Get there early because it gets super hot and there's barely any shade. Bring water and sunscreen and wear sneakers.

I finished at the site museum which was indoors and air conditioned. The Museo de Sitio de la Cultura Teotihuacana, where a huge glass wall frames the Pyramid of the Sun right in front of you with a model of the whole ancient city on the floor.

After that it was a long drive back to Condesa where I went back to the same taco spot I loved down my block. Got a stack of 6 tacos and brought it back to the Airbnb to enjoy on the roof.