Oh, I see the allure of Paris. I just think it’s a vastly overrated travel destination that everyone should visit once or twice. (Like Times Square) But I’m also not a foodie. Paying $500 for a 7-course/7 bites tasting menu and a bottle of wine that I can’t tell the difference from a two buck Chuck is wasted travel time and money for me. Paris is pretty. So are 50 other European destinations at half the cost, a quarter of the people and none of the attitude.
Mexico City, in comparison, is not a pretty city despite a decent panoramic view from a higher vantage point. The city center is interesting but it’s a run-of-the-mill old church/square/shopping district/park destination. We stayed in Roma and ate at Teppen at the Hyatt Refency in Condesa for dinner. We hit up the Architecture and Anthropology museums, both which were very disappointing. (But Free that day) The Dia de Muertos exhibit downtown was meh. It was the same setup in my picture above on different carpet backgrounds and a few purple tiered cake dioramas. La Merced was more stressful than anything. We had to dodge cars and a bulldozer through packed areas that sold the same fruits, vegetables and $0.99 store crap that no one is interested in buying.(Points for not having to endure the aggressive sales pitches every 10 feet) The food was average, outside of the guacamole which was outstanding. Of the Top 10 things to do, we did 7 of them. I’m sure the pyramids would have been interesting to see, but it rained on Saturday and we opted to skip them. Overall, it was a less interesting version of Lima with better food options.
I’m glad I went, but I’m just not seeing the excitement of multiple trips there some people have. I wanted more street food, carts and mariachis. What I saw was chain restaurants, excruciating turnkey organ playing and the equivalent of going to the International Bazaar in Dallas with more potholes. I think my expectations were unrealistic. Or, maybe I just don’t dig on Latin America like I do Europe and Oceania. Had a great time hanging with friends, but I don’t feel compelled to go back.