Lauren –
Ah Mexico! I’ve been dreaming about coming back to visit this country since I was a little kid. I have amazing memories of long summers playing in the hot Mexican sun visiting my Godfather Wolf and his beautiful wife Susi. So returning was a long time coming! David and I couldn’t wait to see (and taste) the sights of Mexico City and of course catch up with Susi!
Our first stop in Mexico was to Valle de Bravo, a small town around 1.5 hours outside of Mexico City. I had visited Susi and Wolf’s house as a kid and I couldn’t wait to spend four days at this paradise reminiscing. The house was just as I had remembered it, there was a certain feeling that came rushing back to me and I instantly felt at home.
We spent afternoons wandering around the beautiful town of Valle. It was our first taste of authentic Mexico and we were blown away by the culture emanating out of every corner.
The next four days were some of the most relaxing we’d had in months. Susi spoiled us with her hospitality and we felt so lucky to be staying somewhere so beautiful. David and I were treated to the most amazing traditional Mexican meals (huevos rancheros, oaxaca cheese, tortillas, mole just to name a few!). David even got a game of golf in (I won’t mention the hole where he hit the ball onto Susi’s lawn).
It was a coincidence that Marcus, Susi’s son, was also staying in Valle for the weekend on a trip with his school friends. He had met me when I was a kid (he would have been in his twenties) so he very much remembered me and I only slightly remembered him! He very kindly offered to take us out onto the nearby Lake Avándaro.
We then joined Marcus and his friends for a BBQ – Mexican style. There was so much food, I didn’t think I would be able to eat again for days! One of Marcus’s friends was an amazing chef and cooked up a storm!
Sadly we had to bid Valle farewell. We could have stayed there another week and knew we would miss hanging out with Susi drinking wine, eating cheese and playing cards. But we were excited to spend a few days in Mexico City before flying off to Cancun.
We stayed in the Colonia Roma district which was absolutely beautiful. Mexico City gets a bad rap sometimes as people believe it to be dangerous. But David and I honestly felt incredibly safe here – parts of Europe definitely felt more sketchy!
The architecture was so interesting with the Colonial Spanish influences. We could have easily spent an entire week just in our neighbourhood!
We stumbled upon a market right near our homestay (and I LOVE markets) with the most beautiful colours everywhere. We spent ages wandering down the little aisles tasting the local produce and chatting to the vendors.
Our last day in Mexico City was a big one! We wanted to visit some of the renowned art and cultural museums and we weren’t disappointed! We stumbled across a contemporary art exhibition in the city centre. It was clear that huge bursts of colour were a part of everyday life here and this was represented through the artwork.
I think one of our favourite things in Mexico City (apart from eating all the street tacos we could) was visiting the National Museum of Anthropology. Both David and I knew basic Aztec and Mayan history but we were in for a journey! We were there around 3 hours and barely made it through half of the exhibitions.
We spent hours learning about the different indigenous groups to Mexico (we had no idea that the Mayan civilization spanned more than two thousand years!) We knew that the Yucatan Peninsula (where we were headed next for a two week roadtrip) was rich in Mayan culture so getting in some serious history lessons early was well worth while.
Our last stop in Mexico City was one of our highlights! A night at the Lucha Libre with Susi! We rushed over to the Arena Mexico, bought some popcorn and beers before heading in to see the show. It was Susi’s first time seeing the Mexican wrestling too so we were all in for quite a surprise! It was so much fun! The good and bad teams played to the audiences cheers and boos and performed unbelievable acrobatic tricks in and out of the ring!
We absolutely loved our time in Mexico City and will definitely return to explore someday soon. The city was so vibrant and full of colourful culture and of course the food was outstanding. But it was time to pack up and look forward to our next adventure in the Yucatan Peninsula!
Far Away From Home 