Mexico City 2023 – Day 6

Posted on December 20, 2023 by jmatie22

Last day in Mexico for the year!

We started this day off by waking up at 4:30am (yes another early day) to go to do a hot air balloon excursion. It was located an hour away from the Airbnb (near the Teotihuacan pyramids, which the balloon did fly over).

As part of our tour, it included transportation to and from.

Some things I learned from the hot air balloon pilot:

-wind direction changes 50 minutes after sunrise

-there is a fast landing position you may need to do depending on wind speeds (which we ended up doing… although our landing was fairly ok for the most part)

-you will likely land in some private property (for safe landings). Usually owners are ok and want 200 pesos. If not, the pilot would go back up and try another private property

-there is a military zone near where the balloons fly, and only they are allowed over it

-after completing one’s first hot air balloon landing, it is tradition to celebrate with wine. We got a red sparkling wine (it’s one local to Italy). The tradition apparently stems from the earlier days when they had successfully hot air balloon landings.

After the hot air balloon ride, our driver picked us up from the landing site and brought us to the main office, where we bought some photos and videos.

After (included in the tour), we got breakfast at a place called La Cueva:

http://food.johnmatienzo.com/2023/12/20/la-cueva/

From there we went to a shop where they sold some crafts (I think these shops are called Artesanians). Learned a couple of things. First, white Agave is used to create many things like plants, threads, and of course alcohol. We were also taught about the obsidian stones. You want the “gold” ones (they’re black, but if you stare through them at the sun you can see the sun). Also we had a sample of alcohol from agave.

After the shop, we checked out the Teotihuacan pyramids (our driver took us there). It was 90 pesos for the entrance fee. You could walk around the area in 45 minutes (as you can go inside, it’s only an outdoor thing). Apparently Teotihuacan was once the largest city in Mexico.

After our excursion above, went back to the Airbnb (took 2 hours drive because of traffic) and slept until dinner.

For dinner, we were celebrating a friends birthday, and ended up going to Auna, a restaurant in Polanco. Details here:

http://food.johnmatienzo.com/2023/12/21/auna/

Afterwards, checked out a bar/drinking restaurant called GinGin. Details here:

http://food.johnmatienzo.com/2023/12/21/gingin/

We ended the night by going to a club bearby called Vanderbilt. Cover was free (since it was a Wednesday). Got some Macallan 12s. Music was on / off (ie. Some edm, and sometimes it would transition). Probably wouldn’t go back.

And that is a wrap for this Mexico City trip! (Will say that we ended up stopping by the Amex Lounge the next day. It is sort of like the Chase sapphire Reserve lounge in that food is sit down (but even drinks are also, which is slightly different). Got the tuna tar tar and rib eye tacos. Both were great.

Mexico City 2023 – Day 3

Posted on December 18, 2023 by jmatie22

We started the day by going to brunch at Mari Gold:

http://food.johnmatienzo.com/2023/12/18/cafe-comunidad/

After, we spent an hour in the Uber going to Xochimilco, where we did a boozy boat ride (called Trajineras boat ride. We also didn’t reserve in advance. We just booked it on the spot. It was 1200 pesos for two hours). Honestly, this was a really great experience. The boat stopped some side areas where we got more drinks and junk food (we did bring our own food and drinks, but it wasn’t enough).

As an fyi, after the boat ride, there is a market to shop. We also played with the sticker feature in our group chat on the way back (now we’re all experts).

After the boat ride, we headed back to the Airbnb to play Uno (the dinner situation was some pizza place that was a 10 minute walk from the Airbnb).

Mexico City 2023 – Day 1 and 2

Posted on December 16, 2023 by jmatie22

Flew out of SFO Friday at 2pm, and landed in CDM at 7:30pm. Immigration into Mexico was pretty easy. You just scan your passport, and you are in (no person or stamp).

Our AirBnB was in Roma Sur (south), which is conveniently located Av. Insurgentes (a street which seems fairly safe to walk during the day time, and has lots of shops and eateries).

Our first place we checked out is in the nightlife area of Roma, called Zona Rosa (apparently where the rich and gaybourhood is). We went to the 3rd best bar in the world, Handshake Speakeasy. Details can be found here:

http://food.johnmatienzo.com/2023/12/16/handshake-speakeasy/

After, we walked around a bit. Got some tacos (at the Taconte place pictured below). They were just alright (so not blogging about it). Also checked out a “sort of club”. It was $4 per person to enter. Sound system and drinks were not good (and would not recommend).

I’d be down to explore the area again, but definitely need to really see reviews of places first before committing.

Before ending the first night we did try to find alcohol to take back to the AirBnb. FYI, seems like buying alcohol you can’t do past 2am in Mexico City. You can buy it at convenience stores like Circle K or 7 eleven. Also it is available by Uber eats. (You can buy it past 2am at circle k if you pay by cash).

The next day (our 2nd day), started by walking from our AirBnb to brunch on Av. Insurgentes street. As mentioned above, lots of shops and eateries, and also found an ATM to withdraw cash (at the BBVA bank).

For brunch, we went Marques. Details can be found here

http://food.johnmatienzo.com/2023/12/16/maque/

After brunch we went to a nearby Park, Parques Mexico. Lots of things going on in it. It’s a place where people sell dogs, a dog park, people throwing frisbees, people salsa dancing, and some water fountains.

After, we walked towards the Condesa area, where I got some Starbucks, and also people clothes shopped. We also stopped by this Korean restaurant, Jowong, for drinks:

http://food.johnmatienzo.com/2023/12/16/jowong/

After we walked to our dinner place called Contramar. Details here:

http://food.johnmatienzo.com/2023/12/17/contramar/

After, we got drinks at a place called Limantour:

http://food.johnmatienzo.com/2023/12/18/limantour/

To end the night, we went to this club (they technically classify it as a bar) called Departamento. It has three floors, with the top being a rooftop club, and the middle floor looking like a warehouse. They played playa tech house music in the top floor, and more progressive in the middle floor. Would totally come back to this “club” (fyi, security does check thoroughly, and some people’s socks were checked).

Los Cabos – Day 4 and 5

Posted on February 6, 2023 by jmatie22

This day seemed pretty jam packed, but productively fun. Slept at 4am the previous night, and got up at 8:30am to go for a boat ride in San Lucas. We took pre-arranged transportation, and got to the San Lucas Marina around 10am (honestly I wring would have been cheaper though).

Boat ride was 3 hours. We saw a whale and her child whale (called a caff). They emerged from the water several times, and the caff did several summer salts, which was pretty sick. We also stopped on some beach to snorkel. Unfortunately didn’t see too many sea creatures (brought my face snorkel mask). Lunch was provided also (which we thought the chicken was from Costco, which is totally fine).

The boat ride ended around 1pm. After exiting the marina, notice there are a lot of chill spots to drink around the marina area. Would want to day drink around the area next time (and apparently Senor Frog is an excellent place to check out that is around there).

One place we did go check out around the marina was The Office. Would definitely go back there and the area (the area also had a mall).

http://food.johnmatienzo.com/2023/02/06/the-office/

Around 4pm we headed back to the resort. We chilled by the beach, and then watched the sunset from the other infinity pool that they had (which we had not done yet).

After chilling in the room for a bit (ordered some room service so I could try the tuna shashimi appetizer, which was great), we had reservations at the resort restaurant Pergola, but this time for dinner (it is a full pledge Italian restaurant at night). Basically sampled a bunch of pasta dishes (got the fettuccini carbonara with salmon, and for apps got the bruschetta, some and some eggplant dish. Tried other people’s dishes like the steak. For desert, tried the tiramisu, cannoli, and some other tart thing. The two aforementioned were pretty good. Next time I would want to try and get the lasagna).

After dinner, we headed to the bar and played Play 9 (did a whole game with 9 rounds). Only came in second. This ended the night.

For the 5th and last day, finally got up to try dinner at Villa Belenas. It was Buffett style, and honestly, could not complain about the food. The eggs, chicken and drinks were all great.

After, chilled by the pool for a bit with everyone, then took an Uber to the airport. At the airport, security was not bad, but unfortunately the lounge (called VIP) had a super long line, so ended up chilling at a bar near the gate.

And that concludes the trip. Honestly, such as relaxing trip.

Los Cabos – Day 3

Posted on February 4, 2023 by jmatie22

Started this day by ordering room service (since I would have already been late for breakfast, so it was great to order while getting ready in parallel). I got scrambled eggs with ham, pancakes and waffles. All great!

Then joined everyone at the beach. Pretty much chilled there for several hours, including playing chess and re-learning poker (thought I was going to play from one of the resort activities, but ended up not doing it because it wasn’t real money.

Then went to the coffee shop and grabbed a donut and espresso. After, chilled at Pergola again, and then by the infinity pool to watch the sunset.

One thing I did discover is a childcare martini (basically it’s like chocolate kiln with alcohol. They make it with real melted chocolate, baileys, and vodka).

After, pretty much got ready for dinner at Sakke (which is a Japanese hibachi resort restaurant). We didn’t get a table for hibachi, but we got a fixed meal. Overall, it was alright, but definitely not the best Japanese food I e had (they didn’t even have any Japanese whisky!).

After, we headed to Crania in San Jose to see David Holme. Along the way we saw some of the resorts nearby there. They look pretty nice, and I think if I come back, should look into booking a place there.

Crania has a dinner part (the one gotcha is that if you reserve, you’ll get charged $16 USD per person if you cancel).

Here is the details about the food: http://food.johnmatienzo.com/2023/02/06/crania/

Crania itself was very burner like. Lots of art, sand, and playa tech vibes. Would go back again.

Los Cabos – Day 2

Posted on February 4, 2023 by jmatie22

Started this day by chilling at the beach. The key part is to get beach chairs, a table and umbrella.

There is food service, so ordered a bunch of mimosas, a pina colada, and some nachos.

After the beach, we tried out one of the nearby pools, and then ate at a restaurant in the resort called Pergola. It’s an outside dining restaurant that had tacos and pizza. The steak taco was good. Margarita pizza was alright.

Afterwards, we headed over to the spa to sit in a hot tub for about an hour. Temperature was not as warm as I’m used to (it was around 37 degrees Celsius).

After the hot tub session, made our way to downtown San Lucas. We stopped by Metate first for food:

http://food.johnmatienzo.com/2023/02/04/metate/

Then we were planning to head to Mandala for a night out, but ended up going to El Squid Roe (rig hit beside it), since the music sounded better. Definitely had a really fun night there. The music was top 40 mainstream, but her layout was super unique with 3 floors, and a really interesting open concept.

Overall, downtown San Lucas is like a mini downtown Vegas. All the clubs are super open in the front, so at least you can see the lighting and hear what music they are playing. (One site that guided our decisions aside from hearing what music was playing is this one: https://www.10best.com/destinations/mexico/cabo-san-lucas/nightlife/dance-clubs/)

Ended the night again with room service, this time trying the shrimp penne pasta, and chicken tacos. Would get the penne pasta again.

Los Cabos – Day 1

Posted on February 4, 2023 by jmatie22

Flew into SJD, where we got out of the plane on the tarmac. We then hopped on a bus to get to the main terminal. Thing is, the distance from the plane to terminal was only 20 meters, so feel like we should have just walked.

Immigration was fairly easy (they just stamped our passports, and then after baggage claim we submitted a form that was filled out on the plane (although that form was in Spanish since they’re an out of English forms, so had to use Google translate in the air). They also had an interesting random sampling screening system where you press a button, and green meant you didn’t have to do anything further).

After leaving customs, there were a bunch of agents lined up trying to sell excursions and collect information. Apparently you’re not supposed to really entertain them, and just head for the airport exit.

After exiting the airport, totally felt the vacation / beach club vibes. After meeting our transportation person (from Transcabo), we had to wait (which I think is a thing so we can buy drinks nearby), so I got a whisky sprite that was right beside the transportation hub. One thing to always remember (especially outside the restore) is NOT to include ice with your drink (water might not be good for your stomach).

The resort was about 20 minutes from the airport (we stayed at Marquis). For this resort, all you needed to do is say your name and room number to enter (there are no bracelets).

The room itself is pretty nice. Definitely good for two people. Room service is also great (which I’ll talk about through various portions of my posts). One thing to note for next time is that for being here for 4 days, I should have brought at least 40 $1 bills. (Tipping is 1 to 2 American dollars).

For Thursday, we ended up chilling only in the resort. For the afternoon and evening, we chilled at the main center bar (Suspiros), and got a bunch of appetizers like quesadillas and nachos, plus lots of drinks. I also taught the group to play Play 9.

For dinner we watched a fire show (2 out of the 5 people were really good, and they were playing some good psychedelic music in the background). During the fire show there is a buffet. The ribeye and the pork ribs were probably the best, plus the fettuccine pasta.

We ended the night by touring each others room (they all look the same, except someone had a king size bed instead of two double beds).

Some extra things to note that in Mexico a double and full bed are actually different sizes. Also, in a resort you should say it’s your anniversary so you get free things like champagne and chocolates. Lastly, looks like booking though Amex you get special this things like a separate WiFi (regular WiFi is a bit slow. Ended up mainly using my data plan).

One thing I did to end this night was order room service. Got the shrimp penne and a banana split (but didn’t have ice cream, it’s was a brownie thing). Shrimp penne was good, but not the banana “split”).

fyi, here is the website with all their amenities:

https://marquisloscabos.icemain.com/ICEWEB/#/home