For a couple of years, I had been dreaming of visiting Mexico. I had watched hours and hours of videos of people travelling around the country. It soon became a destination high on my bucket list. When I saw a small window of opportunity for a trip to Mexico, I wedged myself into the country quicker than you could say ‘no entry’. Due to the issues around getting to Colombia from Brazil, I asked the airline to send me to Mexico instead, and I would make my own way to Colombia.
I was therefore in Mexico City for only three nights. As I was in transit, I booked myself into JTowers hotel which is in Napoles. I remembered hearing about this neighbourhood from a couple of the YouTubers I watched in the past Roshida and Adalia. Apart from that, I will admit I had done very little research, so I’m grateful they had not led me astray. The neighbourhood was leafy and quiet, but with good amenities scattered around.
The hotel apartment was wonderful. It was modern, minimalist and very spacious. It gave me, single girl living it up in the city vibes, without the chaos. My room had a balcony, not the most magnificent view. It was lovely to be able to sit out and hear the sounds of Mexico City below me. To watch the leaves blow on the trees along the street. My descriptive words are not great so here are a couple of images.
The hotel also had a gym, sauna and steam room. They even had a spa, so after the stress and turmoil from Brazil, I treated myself to a massage.
The staff were friendly and when I asked where to get some food, they directed me to some nearby restaurants. I love to travel but no matter how much travelling I have done, I am not immune to fears of safety. I was apprehensive about walking alone in the streets of Mexico City. So I left with absolutely nothing on me except a few pesos in a discreet place. The neighbourhood was quite lovely, not too crowded made for a magnificent walk.
I came across a taco stand, my very first taco stand in Mexico, it was busy and so I made a mental note to return. Further down the street it was getting a little busier, and I saw shoe shine guy, and then a man with a fruit stand. I ordered a cup of fruit and he asked something I did not understand in Spanish, to which I responded ‘si’. He added lime, salt and dried chilli to the chopped cold fruit (mango, watermelon, cantaloupe melon, apple and cucumber). I was a bit uncertain as I took my first bite, but surprisingly it worked!!! It was so good and refreshing. There was a mall close – by which had a supermarket. Naturally, I went round the supermarket looking at the different things in-store. I picked up a few delightful snacks to take home and was floored by the prices in comparison to what I would pay in the UK. A full bag of different snacks, including a couple different flavours of microwave popcorn came up to $5.
On my way back I stood in the taco queue. This was an interesting experience and my enthusiasm exceeded my ability to communicate. Thankfully, one of the guys decided to help me order some food. We used a combination of the little English he could understand, my negligible Spanish comprehension as well as informal attempts at sign language. I asked for two tacos, one with cheese and another without. There were three bowls there, from which other people, put additions onto their tacos, I followed suit without knowing what was in it. I later on found out that it was a green salsa, red salsa and some cactus. Lots of people stood around the stand as they ate their tacos but I wanted to savour the experience in the privacy of my hotel room. According to my sister it is just as well, because I called her to witness this and her main comment was – ‘I’m sure there is a more dignified way to eat a taco’.
Comment below to share the first thing you’d want to eat in Mexico..