Mexico City, Day 6 - style, substance

For our last day, we headed over to Roma to hit a few items that didn't take a lot of time, but had a big impact.

First, we visited the mansion of Guillermo Tovar de Teresa, which not only contains art but is somewhat of an art museum unto itself. Check out this hallway! 

The mansion is from 1911 and is filled with decorative pieces, stunning furniture, and textiles. The man died in 2013 and the home remains largely as he left it.

I definitely recommend checking this spot out if you're in the area, as it's free and very interesting. 

The beautiful outdoor courtyard had buckets of flowers cascading down vines, and these stately tiles that lined the walls.

Tile work at the historic home of Guillermo Tovar de Teresa

Roma has some fun shopping that was recommended by the New York Times article we found, including Mr. Fox, where I bought a stunning green leather wallet. We also visited La Rifa, which was recommended by our La Merced tour guide as the tastiest and most bang-for-your-buck chocolate in Mexico City.

Fun shop in Roma

Strangely, we ran into one of Dave's old coworkers on the street in La Roma, which isn't that shocking because it is fairly touristy, but really, he hasn't seen him in person for years - how weird is that!

We caught a flight back home, which dropped us off in Portland, Maine, quite late. It was our first trip out of the country since Guatemala in 2020, and it was a wonderful foray into international travel again. Dave had made a real effort to work on his Spanish, and it helped both of us have a better time. We hadn't been able to get any pesos before we went, but we had no problem picking some up at a local ATM.

A note about crime and safety - Americans seem to worry excessively about crime in Mexico City, but the city felt incredibly safe to us. A couple we encountered in Roma mentioned that the city center (where we stayed) is a likely place for pickpocketing, but it seemed to me that the streets were simply full of commuters. Keep an eye out as you would anywhere, but know that it's no worse than any other city. Any worries beyond that may be based on biases rather than fact.

Hasta la próxima, Mexico City!