Mexico City holds a special place in Katja’s heart; it’s a wonderful, crazy city, perhaps not for the faint-hearted, but so culturally rich, with beautiful neighborhoods and parks, great art, friendly people, and delicious food (and cocktails). She thinks it’s one of the world’s great cities, and wishes more people would visit because there’s just so much to see and discover. And, like New York it’s a city that doesn’t really sleep, so there’s always an adventure to be had.
Katja's favorite place to stay is Las Alcobas, a lovely boutique hotel in Polanco, a neighborhood filled with lots of restaurants, shopping, and interesting museums (that said the whole city seems to be filled with wonderful museums). Besides the hotel's convenient location and friendly service, she loves the comfy bed, luxurious shower, and lavender bath products, not to mention the free mini bar treats (she does love her treats).
Katja spent her first (rainy) day in the city wandering around the neighborhood, first stopping by one of the many Mexico City museums she loves, the Museo Soumaya. The beautifully impressive building is made of more than 16,000 hexagonal aluminum plates, and was designed by Mexican architect Fernando Romero.
It houses a great and diverse collection, which is spread over six floors that are connected by an exposed spiral ramp (and an elevator in case you're feeling lazy).
And, conveniently, the Museo Jumex, which has great contemporary exhibitions, is located right across the street. Katja also likes to stop by the nearby Antara shopping center when she’s in town. Perhaps heading to a mall seems silly, as most of the stores there can also be found back home in New York, but it’s a beautiful outdoor space, and great for people watching, especially at the very popular food court. While doing the latter she indulged in a sundae from Nutrisa.
Since Nutrisa is a health food store it bills its treats as healthy; Katja's not convinced, but then again she doesn’t really care as she thinks the store's ice cream is rather yummy, not to mention the fact that calories don’t count when on vacation.
The following day Katja made her way to the Centro Histórico for an afternoon of more museums, shopping (she recommends stopping by the Museo Mexicano del Diseno's shop), and food. She first hit the Palacio del Iturbide, where she saw the exhibition El Retorno de la Serpiente – Mathias Goertiz. Goertiz was a German painter and sculptor who moved to Mexico, and is perhaps best known for his collaboration on the Torres de Satélite. There were many beautiful works in the exhibition, however Katja was particularly fond of Mensaje Autorretrato (c. 1964), simply because it made her smile.
She then made her way to the Antiguo Colegio de San Ildefonso, a 16th century Jesuit college turned exhibition space/cultural center. Besides perusing great exhibitions (currently the XI Bienal Monterrey and an exhibition of Islamic art), visitors can enjoy the tranquil courtyards, one which houses a sculpture by British artist Anthony Gormley, and murals by Mexico’s great muralists, Diego Rivera, José Clemente Orozco and David Siqueiros.
Taking in all that art and culture made Katja rather hungry, so she decided to stop by Café de Tacuba for a lunch of chilaquiles, washed down with a large glass of horchata (two Mexican treats she loves, although there really are so many Mexican treats she loves, because the cuisine is simply divine). She enjoys dining at Café de Tacuba as it’s a charming art-filled restaurant, and there are always musicians
serenading the hungry customers. Katja knows she could probably get better Mexican food elsewhere, but eating there has become a tradition. And as much of a forward thinking kind of a girl that she is, she still loves her traditions.
Fueled by lunch, Katja found the energy to hit one more museum, the Museo Nacional de Arte (a beautiful building with a magnificent staircase). There she saw Yo, el Rey, an exhibition of the Hispanic monarchy in art. The show includes a great assortment of paintings, objects, and documents, as well as two beautiful 19th century dresses. Katja thought that the blue one trimmed in black pom-poms from the house of Worth would look especially lovely on her, but then again, she has a way with fashion, so what wouldn't look good on her. And of course no trip to the Centro Histórico would be complete without a stop at the Pastelería Ideal, to admire and indulge in some of the bakery's wide array of pastries and cakes. Katja is, after all, the kind of girl who expects to have her cake and eat it too.
After a day of culture it was time for dinner – since it had been Mexican for lunch she decided on Italian for dinner, and chose La Nonna for some al fresco dining (unfortunately she also got some rather bad, and loud, singing with her meal). Of course her beloved red wine goes wonderfully with Italian food, and while Mexico might be better known for tequila and beer, the country produces delicious red wines. That evening she opted for a wine called Minotauro, which she admits she chose for its name and label; she’s a sucker for such things. Luckily her choice also happened to be delicious, because as much as she’d like to recommend the Little Penguin wine, which of course has the cutest label out there, she just can’t (although perhaps for sangria or Glühwein).
On the final day of her trip Katja made her way to San Angel, a charming neighborhood in the southwest part of the city. It’s home to beautiful little parks and some not so little houses, and one can pass hours just walking around checking out the neighborhood’s many nooks and crannies (and the homes’ fantastic architectural details).
On Saturdays it’s also a fabulous place to shop, with stalls selling handicrafts, jewelry, paintings, and other assorted things scattered around the Plaza de San Jacinto, as well as the popular indoor market, Bazaar Sábado. Katja had quite a successful afternoon, and picked up numerous gifts for friends, as well as a few things for herself (it’s important to treat oneself, after all). Of course all the shopping and wandering made her hungry, so she stopped by the Fonda San Angel for a delicious chile relleno de queso Oaxaca.
And it wouldn’t be a trip to San Angel without heading to the Restaurante San Angel Inn, once a Carmelite monastery, for a delicious margarita (or two) in the restaurant's lovely courtyard. Because it all feels so very civilized she always breaks her no drinking in the afternoon rule, as it would be such a shame not to indulge.
And, as I believe she’s said once or twice before, rules are only made to be broken...just make certain not to get caught if they're somebody else's rules...
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