Lauren Conrad - Recommendation #1 Condesa DF

Condesa DF

After a delightful late lunch we headed back to our Air BnB to refresh and grab some warmer clothes. Ange and Mandy's travel mentor "Lauren Conrad" had some suggestions for good spots for a cocktail. She had recommended Condesa DF roof top bar. This was in the next suburb over so after we were organised, navigator Simon lead the way. 

This wind up car!!

I am definitely not hating on LC 'wanderlust recommendations'. Hamish was ready to jump ship and fork out $400 a night to stay there instead of our Air BnB.

Sunset would have been perfect if this one building was a little more to the right. 

Simon took to pouring his own beer as the waiter, fancy as he was, poured with a ton more head than Simon preferred. 

Us ladies got delicious tamarind margaritas which were  

Then I opted for a gin and tonic, as I wanted a fish bowl glass. And that is what I got .

Even the music was nonchalant and trendy. Although at one point Hamish admitted (slightly embarrassed) that he knew one of the tracks. 

Service wasn't prompted even though the waiter, dressed head to toe in brown, always seems to be walking at an unreasonably quick pace. We were happy with our two drinks and after the sun went down decided to head else where for dinner. 

My favourite balcony on view  so many pot plants!!! 

The mystery vertical flying jet. 

There were so many planes on view as a constant stream flying into Mexico City airport. Mexico City is the 5th largest city in the world ranked by population! 

Romeo and Juliet Castle

Chapultepec Castle

When we awoke the morning after Mandy, Hamish, Ange and Simon had arrived, having been in Condesa 24hrs long than anyone else I was put in tour guide position. Let's be honest I didn't mind making the decisions for the group so I quickly set into motion a plan for the day. 

First we headed to tea shop a block away where I had had delicious breakfast the day before (best to take my friends somewhere I knew was good). We all indulged in delicious coffees (except Ange who somehow ordered a coffee with about a gallon of milk). 

We fuelled up on coffees and omelettes then headed off in the direction of the castle,  Chapultepec Castle, made famous from its starring role in the Romeo and Juliet movie. My good friend Olivia (who had google mapped where I was staying) said wasn't far. She was right. 

With some assistance from star navigator Simon we walked towards the park. Fortunately as most of our group was jaded from travel it was pretty much a straight line with only two hazardous road crossings. 

Wandering the quiet streets of Condesa was an experience in itself. The street art, the colourful walls, the good banter meant the 20minute walked passed quickly and in the blink of an eye we were on the outskirts of the Bosque de Chapultepec" (Chapultepec Forest). Chapultepec actually means 'grasshoppers hill'.

one of the largest city parks in the Western Hemisphere, measuring in total just over 686 hectares (1,695 acres). Centered on a rock formation called Chapultepec Hill - which is where the Chapultepec castle is placed. 

He was posing for so long, then just as I shot jumped ship!

Thats better! 

The amount of trees in this park were next level. It was like and Anthony Browne book. Wandering towards the castle we saw so many squirrels - which was kiwis no matter how many you see are always novel and entertaining. 

There was a short line when we arrived at the castle (it was about 100x larger when we left!!) the queue time went quickly as I caught Mandy up on the last few months of my life and they told me about their time in NYC (where they had been for 7 days prior to arriving in MEX). 

We reached the castle and it was just beautiful. The castle was constructed in 1785 and completed in 1863, so you can imagine the detail in a building which took 78 years to build. 

Mandy and I, in front of the castle

The castle is a grand building, now it homes the National Museum of History, so contained a lot of historical displays which were interesting. Most impressive though by far were the views down on to Mexico City. We were blown away by the share surface area of the park we were centred in. And an incredibly large Mexican Flag which we later found to be positioned out front of the Auditorio Nacional. 

"The National Auditorium is considered among the world's best venues by specialized media. It was designed by Mexican architects Pedro Ramírez Vázquez and Gonzalo Ramírez del Sordo, and remodeled by Abraham Zabludovsky and Teodoro González de León. There are concerts, art, theatre, dance and more."

We took a ton of photos, wandered the castle gardens then decided to head down to the market in the park for a wander. I don't think anyone actually bought anything during this first experience of Mexican markets. Mandy was close to buying a water squirting snake so she could squirt the kids at school if they were misbehaving. I personally was most tempted by the giant emoji pillows given I was sleeping on the floor with two hard as rock couch cushions for a pillow. 

It was quite overwhelming with all the constant shouting from vendors, whistling toys, and freshly made candy floss floating pass in the wind. I'm ashamed to say we didn't even make it to the end of the kilometre long markets. After about 700m we opted to continue our wander through the peaceful tree filled park. 

The newbies first Tacos and Coronas

TACOS 🌮

We started our wander back to our hood in Condesa as we had seen many delicious look places there to eat. Unfortunately we hadn't been careful to hydrate so by the time we sat down at we were desperate for a drink.

The wait staff (who had no one else in the restaurant as it was 4pm) were so attentively trying to translate the menu into English for us that it was overwhelming. We had to ask more than once for just a drink and some guacamole and 10 minutes after which we would be able to think about food.

As the only person with a SIM card and maps, my battery had been zapped so I asked our waiter if he could charge my phone. He next level it my bringing my a battery pack to the table. Now that is service.

After a Corona we could then think about eating, and our wait staff were on hand to take our orders. Sashimi tuna was his recommendation, and that is one of my favourite things. Fortunately a few others in the group were keen on that. It was heaven.

It was a novice mistake putting Mandy at the end of the table closest to the street as she was not prepared for the street sellers and almost too easier had her arm twisted into buying a small sheep.

This place is were we started our 'guacamole order to gauge serving size'. This simply means, you order guacamole first off the bat, and then from the guacamole portion you gauge what you get for X amount of pesos. It thus far seems to be an accurate system.

The guacamole portion here was moderately sized but well priced. Over all our meal was cheap and serviced with a smile. So not a bad first taco experience for the newbies.

Also our waiter introduced me to "Clamato" which is how Mexicans drink their corona. It's kinda like a Mexican Bloody Mary. Where you get a half cup of this refreshing 'tomato and clam' concoction and then top it up with your corona. I was the only one game enough to order. I must say I quite enjoyed it.

The only reason I didn't quite finish the drink was due to the shear mass of liquid required to be consumed. I 100% will order again.

Our abode in Condesa

I just crashed in my friends Air BnB. On Christmas Eve I booked a night there by myself (way more pricey than I would normally spend on one nights accomo) but my friends arrived on the 26th. 

Our quaint little abode.

Our Air BnB host had messaged me on Whatsap saying "Dear Grace, Welcome to Mexico City. In the apartment there are regulations seals from the local administration please note you won't have any issues during your stay. The seals don't look great but unfortunately we have to wait to remove them. Cheers, Diago"

I didn't think much of these until the rest of the crew arrived. Then I decided to send to a couple of Spanish speaking friends to see what they said. A Mexican friend responded with simply "Closed by The government". My friend Bec, who lives in Perth but speaks fluent Spanish was a little more descriptive with her reply. "It's basically saying you will get sanctioned if you violate the clauses... but it doesn't say which ones".

At this point some of our travel party were concerned, as there was a lingering damp feel in the air of the apartment. They wanted to make sure it wasn't condemned.

Not so quaint official warnings on our front door.
"Scansions apply if you violate the causes"

We asked for our Diago to clarify. "It was a mistake so it taking ages to solve but actually the sanctions apply when you are building a place, not after it is being built. In this case, sanctions also apply if we remove the labels without permission". I for one choose to believed them.

As the accomodation only had two double beds I was destine for the couch. Unfortunately the couch wasn't designed in a way conducive to sleeping (see image below). Mandy found me a quilted blanket, so I folded that up as a sleep mat and slept exceptionally well. It wasn't actually that much of a blow out as the bed Mandy and Hamish had was so hard it was like sleeping on the floor anyway.

The couch

We were staying deep in the heart of 'Condesa' a delightful bohemian arty suberb. Condesa and neighboring Colonia Roma were together designated as a "Barrio Mágico Turístico" ("Magic Neighborhood for Tourists") by the city in 2011. 

Mexico City sits at 2250m. This is the 8th highest capital city in the world, with Bolivia's La Paz (3640m) the highest. 2250m is high enough to affect humans like us who are used to living at sea level. 

"Altitude sickness is a reaction to the lower amounts of oxygen available at high altitudes (due to the lower air pressure)." - this generally only occurs at heights over 3000m, at which point you have to acclimatise. 

So symptoms expected for us were just general tiredness, feeling some shortness of breath, and the desire for naps. Mandy is a #1 napper even at sea level but she did well to manage without afternoon naps. 

On day one after adventuring all day we were all zonked and went to bed at 9pm and although sleeping on the floor I still slept until 8am, an astonishing 11 hours!! 

My little LEGO Christmas tree fitted right in

This table. I want. So great.
And Diego and Lola left us lovely flowers. 

Woahh Mexico, I've never really been so I guess I should go!

I have made it to Mexico City!! The flight was fine, slept a lot (sleeping anywhere is one of my most gifted skills). I enjoyed the longest Christmas ever, sharing LEGO santas  with as many people as I could. I think the most grateful recipient was the young boy sitting next to me on the flight from Auckland to San Fran. He was suffering hell on earth when we landed due to pressure in his poor wee skull. Something my family will know I can relate to, as that was me at a child. I gave him a LEGO santa and he said "no that's your santa", I said I work at LEGO so have way too much LEGO. Then he took it. Phew.

 

LEGO Santas

When boarding our plane to Mexico City, a guy in front of my boarding paused to kiss and pray to the plane. This buzzed me out a little bit, but it's surely not a bad thing being on a plane which has been prayed for. When we landed  the guy behind me started singing 'Feliz Navida' my brother Fynn's most favourite Christmas song. At that moment I ALMOST thought I had had enough of Christmas for one year. I believe this is a good sign of the tone of my holiday to come.

The corridor where we are staying.

My luggage didn't quite make it to Mexico with me. I wasn't really surprised as due to a delay in San Fran I only just passed through American customs as my plane was already boarding, I had to run to make my flight. My pack doesn't however have legs to sprint as well as I can. 

The important things made it to Mexico

United airlines said it should arrive today at midday, so we will see. 

Update: bag arrived at 3:35pm. Just after I had left my apartment and ordered my first Mexican tacos. Luckily I was on the same block so just boosted home, put my bag away, change into fresh clothes and return just as my tacos were ready. 

My first delicious Tacos

So much Guac I couldn't eat it all alone!!
(felt like the worst sin leaving delicious Guac behind)

Also later than expected (just like my pack) my friends arrived to the apartment at 11pm that night. So I had just 24hrs alone in Mexico City. Mandy (who I was in Cumberland college with at Otago Uni), her husband Hamish, and their friends Ang and Simon. So nice to have some lovely people to explore Mexico City with for two days before we head our seperate ways for New years. 

Mandy and I