Besos

A long weekend in Mexico City.

This week, seven of my best friends from high school and I embarked on our first international girls trip.

Mexico City has been on the top of my travel list for a while now. I have a lot of friends who have traveled there within the past few years, some mutuals who even moved there during COVID, and I’ve been increasingly following the restaurant and fashion scene. When discussing where we wanted to go, it seemed like a no-brainer across the board.

I’m someone who suffers from travel anxiety and despite being immensely excited to spend time with my girls, I had a little bit of uncomfortable anticipation. I was convincing myself I would get sick from the food, water, or altitude, I was afraid I was going to lose something valuable, and I was just all-around afraid in general. I’m the first to admit that I’m not extremely travel savvy, and I don’t have as much international experience as others.

Long story short, everything about Mexico City completely exceeded my expectations. It’s now my second-favorite city behind Paris—everything about it was just so beautiful, warm (emotionally, not physically, due to us booking our getaway during rainy season), and exciting. It reminded me a little bit of Savannah where I went to college, with the overgrown tree lined streets and charmingly uneven sidewalks. The service was amazing everywhere we went, everyone was so kind, the shopping was out of this world, and Ubers are like, $2.

I feel like an extreme Downtown New York City Gen-Z cliché by talking about how amazing it is because literally everyone is talking about how amazing it is, but it truly is amazing, so what am I supposed to do? We felt safer walking home at night than we did in New York, the streets were clean, there were hundreds of adorable dogs (the majority in outfits), and there were tacos and beaded goods wherever you turned, and paying in pesos felt like free money (this is catching up to me now).

I’m going to break down our trip below itinerary-style. I will say, I received a bunch of guides from a bunch of friends before going which was immensely appreciated, however some of my favorite moments of the trip were the unplanned things we encountered along the way like shops, bars, and bites. I felt the same way after I went to Paris, it’s almost overwhelming how much you feel like you have to do when so many people have gone, and in my head, its not worth the stress unless it’s something major which I’ll note with a star. Let’s get to it:

Wednesday

1. We arrived in the mid-afternoon and checked into our Airbnb. We were staying in Roma Norte (⭐️). Would like to note that the Wi-Fi on Aeromexico is literally the best plane Wi-Fi I’ve ever encountered. I could’ve joined a company-wide Zoom call and downloaded 100 apps at the same time while texting photos

2. Tacos and margs at Tacos Del Valle (⭐️)

3. Walked around and shopped in Roma Norte, I don’t believe I bought anything this day but it’s truly a blur as you’ll find out

4. Coffee from Panaderia Rosetta before the long weekend crowds came. Nothing special about this regardless of its TikTok fame, but my friend Grace said the guava pastry was out of this world

5. Nap/phone time

6. Reservation at Handshake, aka the “#1 bar in the world”. TBH don’t understand the hype, but it was a great experience and would recommend just for the vibe. Make a reservation beforehand. I wore this slip dress from Cou Cou

Thursday

1. I booked myself a massage at our Airbnb (it was like a hotel you booked through Airbnb so they had a spa) for 8 am because A) you all know how I am about massages, and B) I was feeling kind of sick and my body ached from the plane. This was one of the best massages I’ve ever had, and I don’t know the name of where we stayed but if you message me privately I’ll send the link

2. Coffee from Constela Café

3. I came home from coffee and my friends surprised me with a Mexican birthday surprise and told me we would be celebrating since my actual birthday is this week and some of them won’t be in the city. I almost cried (⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️)

4. 45-minute social sauna and cold plunge at Koti Wellness (⭐️) this was a BLAST and was my rose of the trip when we went around at dinner last night doing rose/bud/thorn. We all had so much fun trying the plunge after a long travel day on Wednesday. The facility was gorgeous and we got to end it with a private outdoor shower—one of life’s simple pleasures

5. Walked into Contramar for lunch. Felt really lucky since everyone says this is one of the best restaurants in the city and we had no issue getting in immediately when they opened at noon as a group of 8. The tuna toastada was next level but I ordered the wrong main. Amazing dessert also and Spanish wine! (⭐️)

6. Walked through the big main park where the anthropology museum and zoo are. We actually couldn’t take 5 steps without stopping at a vendor, and left with a custom keychain, airbrush tattoos, and face paint on my friend India

7. Cake and laughs at the Airbnb before dinner where I almost cried AGAIN

8. Dinner at Botanico, best drinks of the trip for sure and amazing vibe (⭐️)

9. Love Island USA on the couch

**This was one of the best days of my entire life and I just want to thank my friends again for making me feel so special! I feel so seen as a birthday diva. Buckle up for this week’s content next post**

Botanico

I wore this dress from Realisation Par

Friday

1. Breakfast at Camomilla. We just walked in here randomly after getting turned away from a few places due to no reservation but it was fantastic. I recommend the açaí bowl and the bacon (⭐️)

2. Shopped for real. Stopped by AVEC Joyeria, a beautiful jewelry store where I got this sick sterling silver statement ring and Carla Fernández where I bought this top and these barrel pants (I can’t find them on her website). The associate there, Omar, clocked me as an American girl who has a shopping addiction and recommended the pants to me, and I’m obsessed! (⭐️) We also popped into a few random thrift stores, jewelry stores, and ceramic stores in Roma Norte

   

   

   1. P.S. does anyone know why Mexico City has so many ear cuffs? Every jewelry store had one for sale. Big miss on my part for not getting one—that’s my only shopping regret

3. Boat tour in Xochimilco Trajinera that came recommended to me by my friend/co-worker Victoria. This was a BLAST and everyone should do it. Unlimited drinks and lots of entertainment. The boarding area had a lot of little market stands too which I got souvenirs from. Our guide was fantastic, ask for Des if you book it.(⭐️) Food was included which were taquitos on a little island that was cute but you do have to pee in a bucket

4. Drink reservation at Salón Palomilla. Everyone says to come here so we did, but they messed up and never actually wrote down our reservation and then told us they couldn’t accommodate. So that was annoying. We got pictures to pretend like we did actually go upstairs, and then had a drink downstairs

5. Dancing at Departamento. This place is a touristy hotspot but really fun. Some of my friends found love but I won’t put them on blast and leave it at that. I would recommend going but not going to put a star because it wasn’t anything crazy

I wore my Susana Monaco tube top, a Gimaguas skirt, Sandy Liang wristlet, and my Staud bag

Saturday

1. Breakfast at Ojo de Auga. I think this is like the Pret a Manger of Mexico

2. Walked around Roma Norte and shopped, no stores to note

3. Ubered to El Bazar Sabado (big Saturday market), around 40 minutes from Roma Norte. Incredible. I lost my brand new Saint Laurent sunglasses there, though. Still giving it a star because I got some handmade jewelry and a peanut butter latte (⭐️) This area was the most beautiful to me and I’m really happy we got to see it

4. Frida Kahlo museum (⭐️)

5. Dinner at Mexa Cocina, I got pork ribs, rice, and salad because I was a little taco-ed out, and it was delicious. We got invited up to their speakeasy for a drink where they served us their version of a Pornstar Martini called an Amexican Divorce (⭐️)

6. Salsa dancing at Club San Luis that got cut short by the Mexican Government shutting it down for the night. Ask me about that in person. For that reason I cannot give a star, but it was a lot of fun before that. My friend Clare salsa’ed with our waiter.

I wore this Emily Dawn Long tank top, my Favorite Daughter Capris, and the Staud bag above.

As I write all of this, I am drinking a lukewarm green tea in a window seat where the man in front of me has his own seat so far reclined, you would think he’s at the dentist. The glamor of CDMX is truly gone.

My favorite part of the trip was spending time with some of my bestianas who don’t live in New York, laughing like no time had passed since high school, and actually making an international trip work for all of us flawlessly. There weren’t any moments where I wanted to go home, and upon waking up on the last day, I was filled with sadness. I will remember my time here forever, and I can’t wait to go back.

Like I said above, this week is my birthday week. I’m very excited and have a few tricks up my sleeve to show you guys next Monday. This is the first year I feel no anxiety about my birthday, which is really exciting. 25 must mean I’m really growing up! Thank god.