5 Days in Mexico City, Mexico

Sitting at the airport in Mexico City I reflect on the trip we had for the past 5 days in the Mexico City. I wasn’t confident at first about the trip, not knowing much about the city but I quickly realized it is a wonderful place with so much to do. We visited museums, markets, and street vendors. We went on a food tour and tried pulque, a Mexican drink, that has almost been forgotten after beer was brought to the masses in Mexico. There is so much to do and you couldn’t see the whole city in a week. We went to a famous speakeasy called Hanky Panky and drank mezcal and ate tuna tartar with croquetas. The next day we hung out with some locals Abi & Geraldine and went to see the volcano Nevado de Toluca. I almost passed out on the way up due to altitude sickness, but it was so worth it. We went to the Los Arcos restaurant that night and had octopus and fresh fish. The meal ended with a corn cake and a mariachi band. The next day we went to see the pyramids where the ancient Mayans worshipped the sun gods. We visited many local places throughout the city. I couldn’t help but appreciate the entrepreneurial spirit of the people. Not many people are begging, but always trying to sell something. Even if I didn’t want what they were selling I would want to give them something to support their efforts. It felt safe everywhere we went and we enjoyed staying in the Condesa neigjborhood. The people were great and friendly and not once did we ever get a bad vibe from any of the locals.

Along the way we saw tons of billboards in and around Mexico City. The city and surrounding areas seem to be booming with development. I learned a lot from the billboard designs that billboards with too much can’t be read and keeping it simple is the best content. It also opened my mind to possibilities of wall scape advertising in larger cities. The main companies we saw that owned billboards were Vendor, Rentable, Memije, Clear Channel, and Showcase. American companies and local companies are advertising on their billboards. These were companies such as Visa, Cheesecake Factory, Jose Cuervo, Johnnie Walker, and New Balance.

Overall, Mexico City was a great place to visit and I would recommend anyone to go and experience the culture, the people, the food, and the sights.

-Grey Vick