We crammed in a few long weekend getaways, I spent a lot of time reading, I’m seriously focused on my business and how I can set it up for success in the new year. Here’s what November looked like over here in Mexico City.
Favorite Recent Mexico City Eats
Remember a few months ago when I raved about the best tacos I’ve ever had? Well a few days ago, Luke and I headed back to the same market where those tacos are (Fuente de Cibeles, Wednesdays and weekends) and we discovered something that is equally, if not more, delicious.
A bowl of birria.
The best birria in all the land.
Birria is traditionally made with stewed goat, but here in Mexico City, it’s almost always made with beef. At the very back of this market is a little place called Antojitos Esther and on Sundays, she has a huge pot of birria stewing away. The broth is rich with beef, tomato, and chili flavors. The meat is incredibly tender – it quite literally melts in your mouth.
It’s served simply with some cilantro, onions, limes, and tortillas. It’s one of the best meals I’ve had in the city in a while.
Other new eats that I can’t stop raving about are pastries from Panaderia Rosetta and chicken sandwiches from Pollos Poncho. I also discovered a carnitas place along Insurgentes in Roma, across from the Sonora Metrobus stop. The tacos are enormous and the meat is mouth-wateringly good. Opt for the Chamorro tacos if you don’t want any of the chewy pork pieces.
the best pastry I’ve had outside of Paris (ok and maybe Copenhagen, the pastries there are also delectable)
Favorite Recent Mexico City Activities
Last week, my friend Ubish from Mexico Underground, took me to the Mexico City mint museum. It’s a warehouse in the center of the city where all of the coin money for Mexico, among a few other countries, was made for over 100 years. It was one of the coolest spaces I’ve ever seen and it’s totally free to visit.
The official name of the building is the National Numismatic Museum. Inside you’ll see all different types of coins from decades (and centuries) past. It’s all in Spanish, but you don’t really need to be able to read the language in order to appreciate how cool the building and all of the coin-making equipment is.
The inside of the museum – it doesn’t look like much from the photo, but it’s one of the more unique museums I’ve been to in Mexico City
Favorite Recent Books I’ve Read
I didn’t manage to do a ton of reading in November, but I still got through two smaller books.
This is one of the best inspirational travel books I’ve read in a long time. It’s more of a how-to book than a story, but Potts intertwines his adventures with his advice in a way that makes me want to book a one-way ticket ASAP.
Get a Copy of Vagabonding by Rolf Potts here on Amazon
A River in Darkness by Masaji Ishikawa
This book is powerful, sad, and massively informative. It’s about the life of a man who was born in Japan to a Korean father and then was moved with his family from Japan to North Korea. I don’t want to give too much away, but it’s a quick read that will no doubt bring you to tears. It’s also a true story, which makes it even more heart-wrenching.
Get a copy of A River in Darkness by Masaji Ishikawa here in Amazon
Travels This Month
This month I had two amazing weekends away. One to Tepoztlan, a small town to the south of Mexico City and another to Guadalajara, Mexico’s second largest city.
Tepoztlan was a nice few days away from the chaos of the city. We hiked, drank some beers, enjoyed homemade Mexican food, and breathed in the fresh mountain air. I wrote all about my trip to Tepoztlan here.
The mountain views from the town of Tepoztlan
Guadalajara was absolutely amazing. I’ve written a few posts about it, but I keep thinking about the city. It’s all of the things I love about Mexico City: great food, craft beer bars, walkable; while also being smaller and having access to tons of natural beauty. That definitely won’t be my last trip to Guadalajara.
The stunning Guadalajara Cathedral – it probably also helps that the weather was amazing when we were there, but I think I would have loved the city even in the rain.
Best Blog Posts This Month
I’ve been trying to write a lot more helpful travel related posts. I get questions all the time about how to save money traveling, how I got started on my travels, how I make money in other countries that I’ve lived in, and I don’t really have answers written down for people. So I’ve started to put together a collection of helpful travel articles that I hope will be a good resource for those of you that want to travel more or move abroad.
Best Bank for International Travel for US Residents: This is a post that I am really excited to share. I can’t believe how many people still take cash out at home and then transfer it into the currency of the country they are traveling to. This is a surefire way to spend a fortune on fees. The other problem many people have is that their banks or credit cards charge them a fee to use the card in another country or currency. These banks don’t do that.
Gift Ideas for Digital Nomads: This is just a fun and (hopefully) helpful post for those travelers and online entrepreneurs in your life.
New Years in Mexico City: A question I get constantly at this time of year is what to do in Mexico City on New Year’s Eve. I’ve finally put together a comprehensive guide to the best parties, the best restaurants, the top clubs, and where to ring in the new year in my beloved Mexico City.
Upcoming Travel Plans
This month I’m finishing off the year with a bang. I’m signing off from the online world on December 14th and I likely won’t be back until the second week of January!
First I’m off for a beach adventure in Puerto Vallarta. I’ve never been to this popular Mexican beach destination and I’m excited to see what all the hype is about.
Then I’m back here in Mexico City for Christmas with my parents. We’ve rented an apartment in a central city neighborhood so that we can have brunch every day, enjoy the nightlife, and walk everywhere.
Then I’m finishing off the year with a road trip through Baja California. Most of our time will be spent in Ensenada supping wine from Valle de Guadalupe with a few stops in Tijuana and Rosarito.
As always, you can keep up to date with my daily travels and adventures on Instagram where I post photos every day and share Instagram stories on the regular. Follow me on Instagram here.
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