We’re back in Mexico City for our fourth long stay here, fifth visit total. On the plus column, the city is everything we remembered that we love and we’re having a fantastic time. On the minus side, our six weeks here seem to be flying by and we’re well over halfway through our stay. Here are some of our highlights from the first three weeks.
Arrival and Airbnb
We came by bus from Tequisquiapan, arriving at the main bus station on the north side, Central de Autobuses del Norte. Though our Airbnb is on the south side of the city, we got an official bus station taxi from one of the counters for 330 pesos (around $20) plus tips for the guy who helped bring our bags to the taxi and the driver. I messaged our host from the taxi and she was waiting for us at the Airbnb when we arrived. In fact, she and her family live right next door. She speaks good English and showed us around our space, which is one of our more interesting Airbnb layouts. In part this is because the entrance was previously the first convenience store in Coyoacan, owned by her grandfather’s mother (I think). That space is now a dining area and entry, then there is a kitchen and small bathroom on the ground floor. Up half a flight of steps there is a small bedroom that is Chad’s office and the full bathroom. Then up another half-flight is the bedroom which is situated over the family’s garage. It’s a good size and has a great terrace that Chad and I have really enjoyed. Despite the odd layout, we’ve been very comfortable here.
Our host was also kind enough to provide dinner for our first night as a welcome. She messaged me a few days in advance offering several types of delivery food so I chose sushi, which seemed easy. It was a very kind welcome and though we still needed to make quick grocery run to La Comer (where I picked up an Asian salad to supplement the sushi), it was one of our easiest arrivals ever. In fact, I was so relaxed I neglected to take arrival photos so my apartment photos are actually from today. Luckily we had the second of our two complementary cleanings yesterday, so it looks pretty good.
But the best part is the neighborhood. We’re a long block and a half from Los Viveros de Coyoacan, the arboretum and park that we’ve loved so much from our past visits. We’re less than a 10-minute walk to the Viveros metro station, which is handy for getting around the city. We’re about 12 minutes to a very nice supermarket, La Comer, and just over that to a Walmart. And Plaza Coyoacan, another favorite, is a lovely 20-minute walk down our street, which used to be the train line. We’ve wanted to stay in this area for a while and it has definitely lived up to our lofty expectations.
Musical Experiences
Our biggest priority on arriving in Mexico City was getting tickets to some of the many great concerts happening in the city. We bought tickets online to shows for each of our first two weekends: first to a string quartet on the UNAM campus and then the Mexican National Orchestra performance at Palacio Bellas Artes. Both were excellent and very different experiences.
The quartet was part of a series highlighting women in music and they played a piece from classical composer Fanny Mendelsohn (sister of Felix, very interesting life history available on Wikipedia) and a modern composition from a Mexican woman that incorporated indigenous instruments in addition to the strings. The performance was in an intimate sala on the UNAM campus and was incredibly inexpensive, less than $6 each. We preceded it by taking the metro down to the Universidad station and walking through campus, then revisiting their MUAC contemporary art museum.
The orchestra was a Sunday noon performance the following weekend. We took the metro up to Parque Alameda next to Bellas Artes and had a light brunch of cappuccino, juice, mollettes, and a veggie sandwich at Casa Barista, a cafe we’d enjoyed on a prior stay. The orchestra played three pieces, Agathe Backer-Grøndahl’s Scherzo, Beethoven’s Piano Concerto No. 5 featuring a phenomenal soloist Jorge Federico Osorio, and Stravinsky’s Rite of Spring. The Rite was particularly wonderful with over 100 pieces in the orchestra and amazing symphonic chaos. Legend has it, its first performance in 1913 caused a riot in Paris. It was definitely very different and we enjoyed it very much. Plus Bellas Artes is such a beautiful theater no matter what is performed on the stage. We bought tickets in the cheap seats for less than $9 each but I think we’ll try to upgrade for our next Bellas Artes show. Unfortunately, the other classical concerts during our time here were already sold out, so that probably won’t happen until our next Mexico City stay.
Museums and Movies
We wanted to prioritize getting back up to Polanco, the Soumaya Museum, and Parque Chapultepec, so we did that on our first Sunday. We took the metro up to our old stop near our first long-stay Airbnb, San Joaquín, then walked along the lineal park to a cafe for breakfast and reading and then over to the Soumaya when it opened at 10:30. There was already a bit of a line for entry when we arrived. Though there’s no ticket price, there’s a little security to pass through. We spent time there but again were only able to absorb a couple of floors before deciding we’d need at least one other visit, and then went out to lunch at a Casa de Toño, our favorite Mexican chain. After pozole and enfrijoladas, we caught a bus down to Parque Chapultepec and wandered around there for a while. We wrapped up our fun Sunday by returning to our neighborhood for a glass of wine at the Cineteca Nacional, tacos at Los Coyotes, and churros from Churreria General de la Republica on the plaza. A perfect CDMX day.
Our second visit to the Soumaya was also very good on a late Tuesday afternoon. It wasn’t quite as crowded as the Sunday morning and we were able to cover the two upper floors before and early date night dinner in Polanco at an Argentine restaurant called Spuntino where we enjoyed cheese empanadas and a grilled vegetable pizza.
Unfortunately, the Cineteca hasn’t had anything in English we care to see, but we’ve seen two mainstream movies at different mall movie theaters (both Cinepolis). First we saw Project Hail Mary (known here as Proyecto Fin del Mundo, aka Project End of the World) then Nuremberg. Both were great and it was especially fun seeing them with expressive Mexican audiences. We’re lucky that many movies are shown here in English with Spanish subtitles rather than overdubbing.
More Museums, Meals, and More
In addition to the Soumaya, we’ve visited two smaller museums. Last Friday’s date night started with a visit to the Alfredo Guati Rojo National Watercolor Museum right around the corner from our place. Like most museums, it is located in a lovely historic property, with two buildings an a pretty grounds. The first building traces the history of watercolor in Mexico back to the indigenous cultures then showcasing an interesting collection of domestic and international watercolors. In the basement, there is a collection of works by Alfredo Guati Rojo, the 20th century painter and collector the museum is named for. The other building had a temporary exhibit of watercolor portraits of significant Coyoacan residents. They were all dated this year and many had an interesting approach to showcasing what their subjects were known for. After the watercolor museum, we had a cocktail on our porch followed by a fantastic dinner at Los Danzantes on the square. We needed the reservation I made and had a nice table with a view out the window onto the Coyoacan fountain. Our vegetarian meal of roasted beets, cauliflower tacos, and mushroom tlayuda was interesting and delicious. We capped it with gelato from Casa Visconti. Another classic CDMX date experience.
Our other museum adventure was just on Tuesday following our visit to the dentist for cleanings and checkups. After our 12:30 appointments we went up for a late lunch at an old favorite, Viko’s Vegan Tacos near Parque Chapultepec. They were excellent again, especially the pastor, chorizo, and barbacoa. And they had a delicious agua de jamaica with ginger and mini-paletas for dessert. We’d planned to visit the museum in Chapultepec Castle but even on a Tuesday afternoon it was super-crowded. We’ll save that for a weekday morning when we can get there right at opening time. Instead we headed back down to Condesa and Roma Norte, where the dentist was. We visited our favorite parks in the area, Parque Espana and Parque Mexico, then the Guillermo Tovar de Teresa Museum, an outpost of the Soumaya in a historic home. Though it was small, it kept us occupied throughout the half hour downpour that started while we were there. Afterwards, we went for cocktails at the bar next door, Mezcaleria Conejo en la Luna Colonia Roma, and then out to dinner. It was another fun time.
We’ve also had many walks in Viveros, revisited our old centro neighborhood Juarez, and made that second visit to the Museo Soumaya, this time on a weekday afternoon. We’ve had lovely meals and cocktails and paletas and gelato and churros. We’ve had a few picnics and done some needed clothes shopping for both of us. We’re loving Mexico City just as much as ever and are already talking about how soon we might return.
