TRAVEL: MEXICO CITY 2014

(Me atop Chapultepec Castle)

Its been a week since I've been back from Mexico City, and I am already missing it so very much. What a huge and absolutely beautiful city. I'm not going to lie, I had gotten a few puzzled looks when I told people I was heading to Mexico City (instead of Cabo, Ensenada, Cancun, Mazatlan, etc). But I was kind of over doing the typical beach-side vacation, and it's been a while since I've conquered a big city and experienced some culture.  In addition, Mexico city has gotten a pretty bad rep in the past for it being pretty dangerous. In all fairness, people say bad things about Tijuana too! I've been to TJ multiple times and have been just fine. Its the media people! But use your common sense as you would in the USA and don't go into any sketchy areas. During our stay we felt completely safe (there are police officers everywhere! You literally can't take 20 steps without seeing an officer on the street), and everyone was friendly and helpful. If I could describe DF (Distrito Federal) it would be the city of parks, monuments, bookstores, and bikes.  A city after my own heart of course!

We were there for only 3 days and tried to cram in so much. I think you need at least 5 days to really do Mexico city. Its just so vast and there is so much to do. I literally felt like we were running (oh yea, because they drive crazy and I had to dodge some cars to save my life) from neighborhood to neighborhood. I wish I could re-cap on a day to day basis, but we did so much that I honestly don't remember everything that we did. I was exhausted the day we returned back to the USA. But here are some pictures from the trip and some of the beautiful sights we saw.

 Palacio De Bella Artes

Metropolitana Catedral

Colonia Condesa

Angel de la reforma

Overall it was an excellent trip, and it fueled me to do two things: 1. Travel more 2. Learn more spanish. I'm a decent spanish speaker, but I definitely do not speak enough to take on DF alone. Thank God my travel partner speaks fluent spanish. This city is not the same as the tourist beach areas where everyone speaks english. I'm always been a lover of all things Spanish, and now I want to look into learning more spanish and taking some classes in the summer. I have to speak some spanish for my job, but it's been about 7 years since I've taken a formal class. It would be really cool to be as close to fluent as possible, especially since I live in southern california and all. Of course I want to travel more, who doesn't? I can finally pick up on traveling some more now that I have more time and money. One thing is for sure; I will definitely visit Mexico City again, and next time I will be speaking all spanish!