GUIDE / PHOTOS

When: September

Where we stayed, where we ate and what we did...

It has now been three weeks since we got back from our three week adventure in Mexico, and as I sit here looking through the photographs I still can't believe we went. I've always wanted to explore Mexico, maybe it was because I love Mexican food but to me that is a perfect excuse to go. Firstly we flew to Mexico City and was there for four days, then flew to Merida for four days, coach to Cancun for two days, coach to Playa Del Carmen for two days and ended our trip with ten days in lovely Tulum. 

Mexico City, for me it was a city that could easily be called home... it reminded me of New York mixed with Barcelona (every time I go somewhere new I can't help but compare and find similarities.) The streets were big and green and the eateries were endless, honestly annoyed we didn't stay there for a bit longer! Mexicans hardly speak English here we found but we're extremely lucky we have google translate at our fingertips. 

Like usual I'll be doing guides but not for all the places in Mexico, just Mexico City, Merida and Tulum. 

Stay - Casa Nuevo Leon

When browsing for hotels for Mexico City, I found us to be a bit spoilt for choice there were multiple hotels that looked amazing but there was something about Casa Nuevo Leon that drew me closer. I'm still pretty sure it was the colour palette and matching tiles. We stayed here for three nights, and the location was perfect for us. We had an extremely comfortable room with a street view and the sunlight that hit the room was charming.

It wasn't just the rooms they put a lot of effort into, the hallways and reception were filled with quirky little details. Such as plants with personality, colour popping open magazines and the bold brown furniture.

We actually had to move to a different room half way through our stay, twice due to our electric going off but it worked out well for us. Upgraded for the inconvenience. The staff were sweet and didn't speak great English (we should have really made the effort to learn a bit of Spanish but maybe next time) we both managed, thanks Google.

This was our third and final room, it was a lot bigger and had a massive round bath and a massive front window that gave us a panoramic view of the street below. They really did pick their colour theme well, everything seemed to go together.

Now here's the best bit about hotels, am I right? The complimentary breakfast. CNL sure know how to put on a spread, we got to chose between sweet bread (a pastry) or toast and we got a fruit bowl/yogurt platter which was refreshing and served in an exciting way. 

We didn't actually spend much time on the roof, as it was over cast and we were out exploring but look at it! Such a cute modern hotel in between the trendy areas of La Condesa and Roma Sur. You can book through the website here. 

Eat - Patagonia

We arrived at our hotel around 10.30pm and were super hungry and super tired and we all know that isn't a great mix. So Rakesh did a quick google search for restaurants near by and he found this gem, literally a 10 minute walk away. Our waiter spoke no English at all so we had to google what each thing on the menu was. We went for stuffed potato skins, a creamy spinach side and a chorizo sausage. They also had an in house bakery towards the back of the restaurant and it looked amazing, it was closed in the evening though.

Eat - Lalo!

You know before you go away on holiday you look at endless city guides to find inspiration on where to eat and drink, well I saw this place on the Design Love Fest blog. The interior was extremely modern but because of the dark lighting I didn't get a great shot of it. We went for a plate of fried fish and then a four cheese sourdough pizza (very mexican) it was all so tasty.

Eat/Drink - Balmori

We walked about 20 minutes to this rooftop spot just to have drinks but like always we looked at the menu and was tempted by their mac and cheese. The place was nice but we personally didn't feel really relaxed here, it seemed like a good place for afterwork drinks or a place to eat for a special occasion but I don't know maybe it was just us being weirdos. However the mac and cheese was delicious and the kind that you wish was never ending. 

Eat - El Morro


Again this place I spotted on Design Love Fest's guide and I immediately knew we were going to go here for churros, I must admit the whole design of this place is was mostly drew me in and then reading up on reviews well that was just an added bonus. The staff were super smiley and friendly and the churros were extremely good, we went all out and went for caramel dip and a chocolate milkshake. Look at those white and blue tiles! 

Eat - La Ruota

On our last morning in Mexico City we had a light hotel breakfast and wandered around a bit more in a direction we hadn't taken before and obviously you always seem to find a lot of the good places on the day you leave! So we found this cute area very close to our hotel and this was one of the places we stumbled in. A bike shop with a side cafe also filled with bikes. We wasn't even hungry but we wanted to try a Mexican breakfast, I went for baked eggs and Rakesh went for chilaquiles. 

Drink - Las Tlayudas

After walking around for hours and hours we got parched and we were getting a bit frustrated because we weren't near to any of our researched places and couldn't seem to find a bar. We saw this table from across the street and finally a bar, and what a cute friendly bar it was! We didn't eat here but the food looked tasty. 

Do - Frida Kahlo Museum

Going to Mexico City you HAVE to go to the Frida Kahlo museum, she was an amazing woman and i've learnt so much more about her since visiting. 

They're very strict here and you have to buy a camera pass in order to take pictures, I think it was only 60 pesos so wasn't too pricey and obviously worth it! The grounds reminded us of the blue gardens in Marrakech.

It was good to see her work, where she created her work and where she lived.

Do - Chapultepec Park

This is a massive park in the middle of the city, there's a parade of market stalls running through the middle but honestly don't go there for that because you'll probably be a bit disappointed but go for the greenery and maybe get a pedalo and an ice cream and people watch for an hour or so. 

Do - Explore

I'm stating the obvious here, visiting new places is all about exploring but just wander around on foot, or subway. The subway was super easy to get around on, they do get pretty packed but it's not that different to a London tube at rush hour. We got one to Jamaica (the neighbourhood) and went to an indoor flower market. It was interesting to see how much effort they put into their stalls. The city reminded me of New York and Barcelona mixed together, the colourful nature filled streets, the restaurants and bars on almost every street corner.