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Mexico City, Mexico vacation, travel and tourist information by reviewer Janette Higgins.
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Mexico
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Review of Mexico City
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Mexico City, Mexico
Mexico,
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| The cathedral dominates one end of Mexico City's main square, known as the Zocalo. My hotel (The Catedral) was 2 short blocks directly behind, and north of, the cathedral. |
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Review by Janette Higgins
author of The Best Places to B&B in Ontario: A Selective Guide
Six editions of the book were published to critical and popular acclaim. Janette now publishes her B&B
reviews and holiday reports online.
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My intended three days solo in Mexico City simply wasn’t enough. The city was a lively, interesting place, the moderate December weather was perfect for my taste AND I had a great hotel at a great price -- the centrally-located Hotel Catedral (www.hotelcatedral.com). Plus there wasn’t the pollution that I’d been led to believe was ever-present. Luckily I had some flexibility so added another four days to my stay.
You might want to note that Mexicans refer to Mexico City as ‘day effay’ which is how you pronounce D.F., which stands for Distrito Federal. Distrito Federal and the larger metropolitan area hold a population of close to 21 million making it one of the world’s largest cities. Following are a few highlights.
The first day, to get myself oriented, I took the Turibus. These are double-decker buses, open air above, which ply the landmarks on a regular basis throughout the day. (www.turibus.com.mx) You receive earphone commentary in any of six languages. The original Turibus route includes the central landmarks but the tourism folk now offer a second connecting bus that goes to Coyoacan in the south end of the city; Frida Kahlo and Diego Rivera territory. You are meant to get on and off the Turibus whenever you want but that’s probably not a good idea if you’re trying to pack the two loops into one day. Either way I suggest you take water, sunglasses and a hat, and expect either route to take longer than the stated three or so hours. And I highly recommend you take the Turibus first thing in the morning and plan to be finished by rush hour’s start.
I made the mistake of trying to do the two loops and I found to my chagrin that I ran out of time mostly because of extremely heavy and slow traffic heading south during rush hour (6-9 P.M.) but, admittedly, also because I made a stop at San Angel, an attractive, lively neighbourhood not far from Coyoacan. After a leisurely exploration of the area, I had indulged in a delicious light meal at the upscale Paxia Restaurant (www.paxia.com.mx).
Turns out the bus stops wherever it is at 9 PM and any passengers have to get off. In my case I’d been the only passenger for literally hours while stuck in slow-moving traffic. At 9 PM the bus still hadn’t reached Coyacan. So there I was stuck in the south end. The Turibus staff spoke only Spanish, of which I speak only a little, but they patiently explained the subway system which I hadn’t yet used, and dropped me at a station just before 9 P.M. to make my way home. I’d heard some negative stories about the subway so it was with some apprehension that I managed the ticket buying and headed for my platform. That was until I turned a corner and saw the ‘women and children only’ section. What a relief. It’s only available at certain hours on certain lines so I had lucked out. I got back to the hotel around 10 P.M. after two transfers, without incident, and felt safe the whole way even though the other two lines did not have the ‘women and children only’ section.
If I were to do it again I would have done the Turibus central route one day, without getting off, and then gone back to places of interest on subsequent days. I would not bother with the Turibus to Coyoacan. Rather I’d use the excellent public transport system to get to San Angel and Coyoacan since both are well worth visiting if you have the time.
As a solo woman traveller I try to be prudent and alert to misadventure; or at least most of the time, After my one experience I did not go out in the evenings, rather took my main meal in late afternoon as do the Chilangos (the slang term for Mexico City’s citizens) and had either a late snack in my room or something served by nattily-attired waiters in the hotel restaurant. To be clear, it wasn’t that I felt at all unsafe at night, it was just that during the days I was kept fully occupied so I was ready for the relaxing evenings anyway.
Three days into my stay I discovered the Hotel Catedral’s free lending library of books on Mexico City which included the terrific guidebook, “Mexico City: An Opinionated Guide for the Curious Traveller” by U.S.-born resident Jim Johnston. (http://mexicocitydf.blogspot.com/) I highly recommend it for tips on everything from street food to obscure places of interest. I followed a couple of Johnston’s walking tours; one near me, close to the main square, or Zocalo, which had me taking flights of stairs to see, in one case, the fascinating shoe museum above the 140 year old El Borcegui shoe store at Bolivar 27. I checked out a number of other spots, as well, on Jim’s route including the Pasteleria Ideal (16 de Septiembre 18), a bakery which opened in 1927, and which today serves thousands of people a day. Go upstairs and you’ll see some of the most fantastical wedding cakes ever. (www.pasteleriaideal.com.mx ) I also tried to follow Jim’s tour through Condesa, the city’s Art Deco neighbourhood, but got hopelessly lost in its leafy curving streets. Being a bit of a foodie though I did suss out a good restaurant, the Photo Bistro on a small street called Citlaltepetl. My thoroughly-modern salad had an interesting mix of ingredients.
Over the days I got to two modern art museums (free on Sundays), the renowned Archeological Museum (free only to Mexican nationals on Sundays) and the highlight of my trip, ruins which I almost missed, a mere two blocks from my hotel. These ruins, known as Templo Mayor, were unearthed in 1978 after workers doing some sewer work brought them to light. (http://archaeology.asu.edu/tm/index2.htm) After years of restoration they opened to the public. I’d passed the inauspicious entrance several times. Did I really need to see another ruin?
Turns out that they were, in fact, the most moving ruins I’ve visited (that includes ruins in Mexico, Guatemala, Nicaragua, Turkey, Tunisia, Greece, Indonesia and Peru (yes, Macchu Picchu). I could sense the lives of the people who’d lived there so long before perhaps because much was intact, even the original paint on some of the stone work. At the end of the tour there’s a museum holding thousands of artefacts from the site; the oldest being a 3000-year-old Olmec mask originally from the Oaxaca area but found on this site which was actually home to several cultures over the centuries. The museum is a contemporary building, itself of architectural note. And I was there on a free admission day. Awesome in the true sense of that word.
And yes I did finally get to Coyoacan. Went by subway and spent the day wandering around, visiting Frida’s house, and eating well at Los Danzantes Restaurant on Plaza Jardin Centenario. (www.losdanzantes.com) I spent another day going to the south east end of Mexico City to visit the grand estate of Dolores Olmedo complete with peacocks. (www.museodoloresolmedo.org.mx ) Olmedo was Diego Rivera’s patron and he kept a studio there. I went mainly because the estate holds a large collection of Frida Kahlo’s paintings. Disappointingly, not a one was on view – they were all on tour. I did see some of Diego Rivera’s work, including a collection of small paintings dubbed his ‘sunset series’ very different stylistically from his better-known murals. Most surprising was Rivera’s huge colourful 1950s painting of two teenage girls in swimsuits lolling end-to-end in a hammock overlooking Acapulco Bay. Another style departure. I would have loved a print but have never seen one. An American artist I know in San Miguel de Allende tells me he too loves that painting but has never seen a repro print.
Later that day I also went to the famous floating gardens of Xochimilco and hired a boatman to take me through the canals. I have to say I was a bit disappointed. Perhaps you’d enjoy it more than I if you go with a group and hire musicians who float around on other barges looking for business. I was there on a weekday and there were few others hiring boats. I found it to be not nearly as charming as I’d expected. In fact, I found it a bit tired. For me it’s been turned into too much of a tourist attraction smacking of a theme park, albeit an unusual one. And by the way the islands don’t float. They comprise a multitude of small built-up islands in an elaborate system of canals but it seems the tourist only sees a small portion of the whole. I’m glad I went though just so I know what it’s all about. Take from that what you will. By the way I never used a taxi during my stay. I did a lot of walking and for the rest used public transport including the trip to the floating gardens. My smattering of Spanish was essential especially when I had to figure out where to go after I got off the public bus in Xochimilco. It was a fair walk. I could have taken a rickshaw-like transportation though and not had any problems getting misdirected and lost as I did.
On my last day, to close on a small personal note, I went looking for manicure scissors. You know, to replace the ones that ended up in some customs stockpile. It was then that I stumbled upon Farmacia Paris on Republica de El Salvador 95-97. What a throwback. There are several steps to making a purchase in a place like this. I first found a woman behind the wide wooden counter who showed me her large collection of manicure scissors housed in cubbies in the wall behind her. She gave me a chit which I took to a cashier to pay what amounted to about $8 CDN. My money went into a tube and up to the second floor. The change came back and I got another chit and was guided to a line where I stood to pick up my scissors. They are now my favourites. But the experience itself is simply one favourite among many here. It’s a fascinating city that nourishes the adventurous soul.
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Review of Mexico City, Mexico City, Mexico
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| Tell your hosts Janette Higgins sent you! |
| Website: |
http://www.mexconnect.com/regions/77-m%C3%A9xico-d-f |
| Season: |
All Year |
| Location: |
Central highlands of Mexico. |
| Directions: |
It's advisable to fly or take public transport to Mexico City. Driving is not for the faint-of-heart. And depending on the last number on your license you can only use your car every other day. |
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