When we decided to go to Mexico City this summer, we asked around for neighborhood recommendations. The majority suggested we seek something out in the particularly fashionable neighborhoods of Roma, Polanco, or Condesa. We considered hotels—there’s something so comforting about the convenience of a bell desk where you can ask questions and arrange taxis—but ultimately decided we’d rather have the space of an apartment. There were actually lots of appealing options on AirBnB, but we chose a large, light-filled apartment in La Condesa—a residential, somewhat hip neighborhood just 4 or 5 km south of the Zócalo—for our five nights, and we were thrilled when we arrived.
Our day touring Mercado La Merced—one of the largest traditional markets in all of Latin America—requires a post of its own, apart from the travelogue.
Aron had discovered a culinary food tour group called “Eat Mexico” that would take our family on a private tour of the market (private because we had no idea how our kids would do and wanted some flexibility) and had made a reservation to meet someone at the Bellas Artes before a 4-hour walking tour.
We assumed we’d have to cut it shorter than that—one-year-old naps and preschooler-fatigue and whatnot—but it turned out to be a 6-hour tour! And still we just scratched the surface of all there was to see (and taste). I’m so glad we went with a guide because it’s intimidatingly large.
Many of you are likely familiar with blogger Courtney Adamo already—from her work on the expat-based parenting blog, Babyccino, or from her Instagram account that features “the most stylish” family in Britain, or from one of her many appearances around the web. I’ve found her travels with kids to be very inspirational—most notably it was she who led us to our apartment rental in Positano last summer.
So it was with great interest that I read the article Courtney wrote recently for The Telegraph‘s Lifestyle section: “We’re all going on a family gap year.” There, she describes her plan for her family of six (kids aged two to nine) to put jobs and traditional schooling on hold (in favor of check-ins and homeschooling) for a year of travel, and how it connects to a particular memory from her childhood:
