Inner City Life

Before coming to Mexico City, home to over 19 million people, we were on our guard. We'd heard that it can be quite dangerous and that it'd be a good idea to keep an eye on our belongings. Arriving in the infamous city I was inclined to agree. We came in on the bus, dodging hopeless drivers through some pretty rough looking streets and wondered whether or not this had been a good idea. Soon after arriving we got a taxi from an authorised taxi rank. You see, when in Mexico City you must use taxis from these authorised ranks or get someone official looking to get one for you. I guess the concern is the amount of kidnappings that happen here... great!

After a very long and confusing taxi journey we arrived at our hostel, named 'Home' and we were pretty happy. The area looked very nice indeed and the name of the road was one of our favourite imports, 'Tabasco'. I have a feeling that our driver wasn't used to his customers living in such surroundings, as he had to ask three other taxi drivers for directions.

Almost as soon as we'd arrived we left in search of some grub and had been armed with a map and options of the best places to go in the surrounding area. As we were on the outskirts of the city, we wandered into Condessa, a lovely area with lots of bars and quaint restaurants, where we found an American diner and stuffed our faces with burgers and milkshakes. During our stay in Mexico City we went to Condessa most nights and found it to be a very safe and very fun place to go of an evening.

As we were in the capital of Mexico, we thought it best to go out in search of some culture and found it in abundance slap-bang in the middle of town, the Zocalo or main square. The Zocalo is the heart of the historic center of Mexico City and is home to the Cathedral, the National Palace and some other federal buildings. It also sports the biggest Mexican flag known to man and whilst we were there, we saw huge floral signs saying 'Viva Mexico', for the 199th Aniversary of their independance from Spain.

Whilst we were there we were aproached by a man armed with a historical arsenal of factoids. For a few pesos he informed us about the true history of the Zocalo and how the Spanish came in with brute force to crush the the Aztec capital called Tenochtitlan. They came in bringing foreign disease, drained the aquaduct, which was the main source of the city's water supply and then, when most inhabitants had either died or left the city, they demolished the temples and re-built the buildings you can see now with the same stones. This is the same in all of the Spanish ruled countries all over Mexico and South America. Needless to say there is a lot of resentment from the natives even to this day.

Mexico City was also home to one of the world's most gifted artists and a true Mexican hero, Frida Kahlo. She lived with her husband and fellow artist Diego Rivera in what's known as La Casa Azul (The Blue House). It's in an area called Coyoacan, which is now the arty area of the city, probably due to Frida and Diego having lived there. It's a great building with many of both artists' work and also a few pieces from artists that had influenced them. Unfortunately, there aren't many of the most famous Kahlo pieces as they will no doubt be hanging somewhere in Paris, New York or the great city of London! Never the less, it is well worth a visit and is extremely informative about the life of an unfortunate, but extremely gifted lady who never gave up on life.


After spending a few hours in the blue house we rushed on the Metro to the main park, called Chapultepec, but were too late. They close it at 5pm to the public! It was still light and we tried to sweet talk the guard at the gate, but he was having none of it. As the sinking sun was glistening off his rather large gun we thought it best to not push him too far, besides it was nearly 7pm! Unfortunately it was the last evening of our trip we couldn't come back to have a wander and we were gutted. It looked amazing from the gates as we were walking past towards the centre of the city and even at one point we spotted a couple drinking cider by one of the lakes. Just like home. 

I have to say that Mexico City is very similar to any other big city. Yes, it has it's criminal contingent and it can be quite unsafe, but it also hosts some really great areas as well. I wouldn't advise you to be swinging your wallet around or go flashing it about in your designer Gucci loafers, but don't get bogged down with all the warnings and worriers. We loved it there and most of the time felt very safe. It's well worth a visit.