Mexico City with the Boys!

Our group arrived in the evening. Our Airbnb was located in between Parque Chapultepec and the Roma neighborhood. We were a group of five guys and were able to score a huge and gorgeous Airbnb for a great deal. If you haven’t heard of the Roma neighborhood, it has a very cool vibe and is worth checking out. Feeling famished, we made our way out for food and stopped at Porco Rosso. It is a BBQ joint with excellent brisket. I got the ramen with brisket. Zero regrets.

We started our day with a walk around the neighborhood and found some pastries and coffee at Ficelle. We walked by the Original Flagship Adidas store and walked through Parque Mexico and Parque Espana. Luckily, there was a concert going on in Parque Espana. After feeling like we had gotten some exercise and seen a good portion of the Roma neighborhood, we went back to the Airbnb to relax before dinner. We would need our wits about us for what was next. How do you feel about fine dining? Okay with dropping a fat stack of cash on a meal? Pujol was my first ever fine dining experience and I would 100% do it again. It is hella pricey, especially compared to getting street tacos, but something that one must experience if given the opportunity. Enrique Olivera, featured on Chef’s Table of Netflix, has elevated classic Mexican dishes and street food to another level and made an incredible overall experience. Trust me. Make that reservation early… like months before your trip. Do it. Your taste buds will thank you.

Is there a better way to dive into Mexico’s rich culture and history than to visit Mexico’s largest museum? The Museo Nacional de Antropología is filled with fascinating archeological and anthropological rooms that celebrate Mexico’s rich Aztec and Mayan history. You could easily spend all day here! My favorite piece was the Aztec sun stone. It is often confused as the Aztec calendar yet was possibly used as a place for sacrifices. Wild! Despite not being a big museum guy, I greatly enjoyed this one.

The main open-air corridor offers a wonderful place to sit and enjoy the cool architecture of the museum. Immediately outside the museum are countless vendors. I grabbed an elote (corn on a stick) and my friends grabbed some burgers before heading to our next destination. After the museum, we took about a forty minute Uber ride to Trajineras Xochimilco. This is a channel of various rivers that has countless amounts of colorful wooden boats. It can be a little bit stressful at the start as there are endless amounts of people trying to get you to come to their location. We had a guy on a moped dangerously follow our Uber and tap on our window for about ten minutes. Be ready for this. Once you arrive at the port, you hire a boat to take you out on the river. Once you’re out and about, other boats will swing by with delicious food and drinks. You might even see a boat filled with Mariachi! This is a great way to experience Mexico City and an awesome opportunity for great photos. After the boat ride, we hit up Taqueria Orinoco, a must visit taco spot. Get the tacos al pastor.

We had a slow start due to a very fun boat ride. Since we had an eye opening experience with tacos the previous evening, we grabbed lunch at a different taco joint, El Farolito in the Polanco neighborhood. These were just as good! We had an excellent evening planned out with salsa dancing and pulque followed by lucha libre. For salsa dancing and pulque, we visited Pulquería La Hija De Los Apaches. Cheap pulque, a fermented cactus beverage - don’t knock it until you try it, cheap beer, and live salsa bands made for a fantastic night. Following this, we made a quick walk over to the Arena Coliseo. It was time to live out our Nacho Libre dreams and see jacked and fat dudes fly through the air in an amazing show of acrobatics and passion. Grab your tickets online or buy them there at the stadium. Be aware. There will be aggressive ticket scalpers. My advice is to not deal with them and only buy directly from the arena. If something feels shady, it probably is. Feel free to yell profanities in Spanish at the wrestlers while drinking cerveza and eating palomitas. It’s all a part of the show! I would recommend buying a mask as it’s a great souvenir. We hit up La Tercera Caida for some post lucha libre beers and tequila shots and even more dancing.

Feeling like a gluttons for punishment, we started the morning early with a hike in the Parque Nacional Cumbres del Ajusco. The elevation of Mexico City plus all the fun we had the previous night made this a brutal hike. We summitted the Pico del Aguila and had some nice views of the city. It was nap time after this. For the rest of our final day, we explored el centro. It has a nice hustle and bustle to it. Being already sore from the hike, we booked massages at Casa Masaje Tailandes. Following that, we made stops at Pasteleria Ideal for delicious pastries and cookies and dined at Hosteria La Bota, a Spanish restaurant. To close out the day and our trip, we went to a mezcal bar La Botica. It had an expansive variety of mezcal and a cool, low lit vibe.