CDMX

I always love sharing little bits of our travels with you all- especially when we are able to bring back beautiful handmade treasures from our excursions.  This year we spent the beginning of January in Mexico City as well as a few other Magic Towns including Puebla and Taxco.  If you've been in the shop this year or shopped online- hopefully you were able to view/purchase/enjoy some of these amazing, handmade and one of a kind pieces.  

As we are about to close out 2024 at Custard I wanted to share with you a few highlights from CDMX.  

We stayed in Coyoacán.  This neighborhood was recommended to us by a friend who grew up in CDMX but now lives in Oaxaca City and offers really fun and insightful tours there (if you're headed to Oaxaca be sure to read our previous journal FOUND HERE)  The neighborhood of Coyoacán was a perfect place for us to make our home base during our time in Mexico City.  Part of what appealed to us about this neighborhood was its truly local feel as well as the market.  The massive market in this neighborhood is a must do for CDMX no matter where you're staying in town.  Fresh fruit, amazing tacos, milkshakes, handmade goods, and more!  We went to this market almost every day for something.  I must have tried 5/6 different species of passion fruit (my favorite) and we had some of the best tacos in town here too!  MARKET INFO HERE  

This tiny place focuses on tasting menus and seats about 20 people. It's a jazz listening room with sushi. To be honest, we didn't know about this place before, it was just a place we liked the look of when we walked by and we had an excellent meal and enjoyed our time here. 

Bo and I took a bike and food tour with BIKES AND MUNCHIES and it is a MUST do when you're in town.  

This was our favorite stop on the bike tour, and likely some of the best tacos in town.  If you love tacos- this city is the place to be.  

I love taking food/walking/bike tours day one or two just to get a better lay of the land.  I've found this habit to be rewarding for other aspects as well- sometimes you meet cool people you might want to hang out with again, and often times the locals giving the tour share insights on amazing places to eat or visit. 

CDMX has everything from cheap and cheerful to world class fine dining.  I know it can be overwhelming trying to narrow down where to eat but let me save you some time on finding a nice dinner- trust me, you'll thank me later.  SUD 777 has to be one of the best restaurants anywhere- it's innovative, smart, and beautifully executed.  It's on the list of 50 best restaurants of Latin America for a reason.  I did a juice pairing with my meal and it did not disappoint.  I will dream of this meal for a long time.

(Inside SUD777)

Another highlight was our day trip to Temascaltepec to see the monarch butterflies.   This was truly magical and worth the drive and the hike up the mountain.  I can't recommend this enough.  If seeing these butterflies is something that makes your heart flutter- you can see them closer to home as well- just outside of Asheville, these butterflies can be spotted seasonally- for more info go HERE

Last 4 photos are all from Museo Frida Kahlo.  Aside from being her home when she was alive, this special place holds lots of Frida's own artwork, her personal collections pottery, Mexican art and more, as well as her ashes, photographs, and letters.  It is incredibly special to go through her home and garden.  The blue in her house really spoke to me.  The bold blue mixed with other primary colors provides a beautiful background for her art, light, the gardens and really elevates the overall mood.  If this is a destination for you, make sure you get your tickets online early.  Only a certain amount of tickets are sold daily and this is something that must be planned in advance.

Luchador Street Art

Father lacing up his daughter's mask at the arena 

Need a mask?  There's lots of vendors outside selling masks as well as inside

I highly recommend this cooking class - Bo and I always love taking a cooking class when we travel- it's a great way to meet people you share a common interest with, as well as talk to locals about their favorite places to eat, visit and so on.  We had such a great time at Casa Jacardanda - we didn't want to leave.  

Bo seen here stuffing tamales.  The cooking classes we have taken over the last few years have connected us to new and fun people from all over the globe- and this one was no exception.  We met such a fun group of people- including the owners of FISH-BAR-DELI in Old Kapaa Town, Kaua'i Hawaii.  

 

One of the guests signed the guest book with little drawing she made of all of us!  Bo and I are on the second row, first and second people.  You can see my signature bandana in the drawing!

Enjoying the fruits of our labor at Casa Jacardanda

For churros this place can't be beat. Bo enjoyed his with coffee, but I went full on with a strawberry milkshake. There's many places to grab churros, but this one is extra special because you can watch them being made from a window at the sidewalk.

Walk up churros.  Also, one of my favorite signs.

If you're planning a trip to CDMX this is not to be missed.  The day we went was overcast and beautiful.  We opted to take the "eco tour" which is a much longer trip- where we visited the Island of the Dead Dolls.  I won't dwell too much on the details here, as a quick google will get you more info about this place than I could provide... what I will say is, this place is magical, and it is well worth making it out of the city.  

One of my favorite stores Ensemble Artesano

The mole at Pujol.  

Scenes around CDMX

Until next time,

Tara