After a rather nightmarish March that had me overworked and exhausted, it was finally time for a spring break — which due to Nicole’s school schedule is unfortunately at the same time as everyone else’s spring break. While numerous ideas were fielded, few flights had any seats. We tried to think outside the box, but even such seemingly unpopular spring break getaways like China didn’t seem feasible. We ended up settling on Nicaragua (which is to assume we are even able to get there). There are no direct flights to Nicaragua from Los Angeles, and while we could connect through Houston, it would require staying overnight there and the latest partial government shutdown has reportedly yielded security lines that exceed four hours. No thank you.
Going through LAX, on the other hand, took about two minutes — most of which was me pushing other peoples trays through the scanner. Due to ongoing construction in terminal 4, we got to ride about five escalators and walk through a very lengthy tunnel to arrive at gate 48. To avoid any other potential delays due to TSA staffing or being kidnapped by ICE, or frankly just to escape the daily downward spiral from democracy that is present-day USA, we thought it best to start our journey on an international flight to Mexico City. There, we plan to spend a couple days before continuing onward to Nicaragua…if we get on the plane of course.
Our American Airlines flight left early and somehow arrived at Mexico City’s Juárez International late. This type of thing sets Nicole off. She thinks the pilots were doing something shady. Despite a very intimidating looking customs line, we were out in less than 20 minutes. Then we took an Uber to La Condesa neighborhood of Mexico City. This took about 35 minutes to go eight miles and made us reevaluate our plans for tomorrow. Originally I had planned on heading out to the ruins of Teotihuacan, but it appears this will take 90 minutes one-way and there are other more appealing things that one can do in Mexico City than sit in traffic.
So after some deliberation at the Casa Mali boutique hotel, we think we will stay put in this general area and just walk around and explore the surrounding neighborhoods which are also replete with art nouveau architecture (that commentary is for my father’s benefit). La Condesa is a very chic neighborhood composed of boutique shops, cafes, and tree-lined avenues and is perhaps not what one pictures when they think of Mexico City. First we popped into a nearby pharmacy to see if they would fill a prescription for Xifaxan, a specialized antibiotic for SIBO that costs roughly $3000 to fill in America. USA! USA! This is why we fight! To spread freedom and the notion that pills and healthcare should be prohibitively expensive so that people just never treat their medical issues! Unfortunately, they didn’t have Xifaxan here, but I figured it was worth a shot.
The downside of being in such a hip and trendy neighborhood is that they have prices to match. I was trying to find an ATM for a little bit of cash just to grab some tacos or a torta from a stand, but even the ATMs wanted to charge a $11 fee to withdraw any amount. I decided to hold out. We ended up having dinner (to Nicole’s delight) at a pizza restaurant. While Mexico is not typically known for its pizzas, I have to admit — they made one of the best margherita pizzas I have had anywhere. With about fifteen minutes to spare, I also dragged Nicole to a place called ToutChocolat (French for All Chocolate). It lived up to its name.
With about fifteen minutes to spare before they closed, I was able to put in a quick order for a chocolate tart with earl grey ice cream. It was very rich and decadent, but it was a bit of an impulse buy. Tomorrow we will head over toward Chapultepec – a large park area with many of the city’s museums. Despite crossing a couple time zones to get here, I think we will both go to bed early. Mexico City is at 7350 feet above sea level and I think it’s made us both a bit groggy. Buenas noches y hasta mañana.
passports & pepto bismol 