A 48-Hour Rendezvous with Mexico City

It's Saturday morning. Today starts at Panaderia Rosetta in the Juarez neighborhood. I sit on their sidewalk seating and eat pastries and drink espresso for a slow wake-up.

Mexico is one of the world's best food destinations, and after many trips to CDMX, it's time I learn how to cook some authentic Mexican Food. Aura Cocina Mexicana has a salsa masterclass and a Mexican street tacos class, but I opt for the 4 course lunch course, where I learn how to make sopes, two salsas, mextlapiques, white mole, torillas and corn bread.

My class doubles as an early lunch and ends just in time for me to catch an Uber to Coyoacán to make my entry time at Museo Frida Kahlo and Casa Azul. For the next two hours I wander through Frida's childhood home, which is also the home she shared with Diego Rivera later in her life.

I opt for a quick bite as I walk - tacos al pastor and elote from a street vendor hits the spot. Lucha Libre starts at 8:30, so I hurry over to Arena Mexico in Colonia Doctores in the Cuauhtémoc borough. The show hasn't even started yet and the energy in the arena is electric. Before I find my seat, I most definitely buy a luchador mask in the lobby to wear during the fights. The crowd is rowdy, the beer is cold, and by the time I leave my voice is raspy from shouting.

Before I head back to my hotel, I make one last stop at Churreria El Moro. The line wraps around the block, but the churros are legendary and definitely worth the wait. It doesn't matter what time I get there or how long the line is - the city's best churros are served 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

It's Sunday morning. I sit at the bar at Café Nin, a perfectly chic breakfast and coffee spot in the heart of Juarez. I join CDMX's locals and rent one of the city's free bikes to ride down Paseo de la Reforma, which is closed to car traffic on Sunday through 2pm. I ride my bike all the way to Bosque de Chapultepec and wander around the huge Sunday market.

By this point, it's early afternoon and if it's September (my favorite time to visit), it's raining. I take cover at Museo Nacional de Anthropologia and brush up on Central American history and culture. If you have never been there, it's a must-see.

A few hours later, after the rain has subsided, it's time for a cocktail. I find a seat at the bar at Licoreria Limantour, named one of the best bars in the world. I order something with mezcal or perhaps even the bartender's choice of cocktail. If I'm feeling adventurous, maybe instead I head over to Luciferina in Juarez and order the Aragog, which is made with a drop of tarantula venom and partially numbs my mouth at first sip.

If I feel like splurging and can get a table, dinner is at Pujol. If not, more street food will be more than fine. I'll catch the evening performance of folkloric Mexican Ballet at The Palacio de Bellas Artes, or maybe I'll find smaller club or bar with local music. Either way, a live show is the perfect way to end my 48 hours in CDMX. That's all for now, but that's OK - I'll be back soon.