The neighborhood
The Condesa neighborhood was cool. The hotel is adjacent to the lovely little Parc Espana. This neighborhood was very walkable, and was so much prettier than I expected. Kinda reminded me of Palermo Soho in Buenos Aires, which Enda describes as "like the Lower East Side but much cleaner": lots of boutiques, restaurants/cafes and galleries.

Townhouses on Avenida Veracruz.


Residence across the street from the hotel. Not too shabby.

Cultural activity
Went to Museo de Arte Populare, a museum that focuses on Mexican folk art and crafts (clothing, jewelry, pottery, sculptures). Good choice. The exhibits were strong; the work was intricate and beautiful; and I found it all to be very interesting.

Kites in the atrium of the Museum of Popular Art.

The food
Not surprising, but Mexico City meals were more expensive and not nearly as good as at the beach.
Monday dinner - Capicua, a "Spanish-style" bar. Upscale place, but they serve their sangria in big, pint-esque glasses (hola!). Croquettas were pretty tasty, but rest of the tapas didn't change my life.
Tuesday lunch - El Califa, a traditional taqueria. Frankly, am not sure exactly what I ordered/ate but the sauces and condiments were fresh.
Tuesday dinner - La Vinero, a wine bar. Had a mushroom pastry puff to start and a chicken breast smothered in a mustard sauce for main course. This came with Curly-Q french fries on the side (I suspect this was an added extra just for me because I was an English-speaking, white person).

Observations
- I'd heard Mexico City is a city of fairly formal dress. I really underestimated this statement. Men especially were immaculately dressed, usually in insane tailored suits. When dressed casually, they were wearing designer jeans and exquisite loafers. Even people walking around looked like they'd just stepped off a runway or photoshoot set.
- Like LA, Mexico City is quite car-obsessed. There was mad valet action outside the taqueria I went to!
- The metro (subway) was quick, safe, and easy to navigate. A one-way ticket costs about $0.20.

The summary
Was pleasantly surprised with Mexico City. I found none of the stereotypes about the city to be true... The city seemed safe. I walked to dinner by myself at night and actually felt safer in Mexico City than at the beach (probably because it's a city and lots of people were out walking/driving around). I didn't see/experience any air pollution there. Actually my allergies flared up more at the beach. Bottom-line: I was happy to have had the opportunity to see some of the city and was a little bummed I didn't have at least one more day to explore.