Day 51: The Finish Line
Saturday, February 21, 2015
Saturday was my last full day in Mexico City and I wanted to spend the day enjoying life in a big city. So, naturally, I slept until about noon. At one of the hostel restaurants downtown I had a delicious two-course brunch. First I ate a breakfast soup and then had a brownie sundae. I washed it all down with a glass of orange juice and loved every bite.
the best ice cream in the world
Afterwards we searched for a local nail salon. We were directed to a block that had warehouses full of salon chairs, foot baths, nail polish, and other nail equipment. Only one nail salon was open but even that one was full of salon equipment! We didn’t end up getting our nails done that day, but we did explore the area. For about 5 blocks in every direction people were outside selling various goods, but mostly clothes and shoes. There were literally blocks and blocks of clothes being sold outside and the streets were crowded with people. We finally found our way back to the historic center, or centro historico, which is where we spent most of our free time during the week and could easily navigate the streets. Since we were in a major city we did major city things: shop and eat. Forever 21, MAC, Starbucks, and Krispy Kreme donuts entertained us for the entire day until we were ready for dinner.
city streets
Condesa y Roma is a neighborhood in the city known for its delicious food and boutique shops. It is easily accessible by the metro, however it was so unbelievably crowded that nearly everyone was sweating from the heat. We walked a while and saw dozens of great looking restaurants serving all types of food before deciding to eat at a small Italian restaurant. My pasta and wine were muy rico and accompanied by great conversation, which was the perfect way to end evening.
Day 52: The Return
Sunday, February 22, 2015
On this final day I spent my time walking around the historic center, which allowed me to explore Mexico City’s diverse architecture before heading back on the bus. DF’s architectural styles span over 2000 years and include influences from a number of continents. I loved seeing a building with tiles from Pueba (a state in Mexico known for its tiles) contrasted with buildings built in the New Spanish Baroque style.
Mexico City is very large-both in terms of physical size and population-and just like many other large cities, it has a pollution problem. Due to the air quality my allergies really gave me a run for my money this past week, and some people even had visible films of dirt on their skin at the end of the day. The pollution did result in sunsets and sunrises that were breathtakingly beautiful, albeit foreboding.
That evening we headed to the bus station for our trip back to Oaxaca. World War Z and Escape Plan were the two movies they played on the bus (in Spanish, of course) so it was a bit difficult to sleep. But fear not, the second I got back to my homestay I slept very well before the next day’s adventures.
73 Aventuras 