Fiestas in Mexico!

One of the party areas in the restaurant. Even as night settles in downtown Mexico City, the party rages on with a mass of beautiful colors and mariachi music

Delicious!

Mexico City is a beautiful city that I believe has been sourly misrepresented in the media. Yes, it can be dangerous, but so is any city of it's size. Speaking with my girlfriend Andrea, (who writes this bilingual blog, give it a read!) we agree that we feel as safe there as we would in New York. There's just so many people that it becomes very difficult to control, whether you have corrupt or straight law enforcement.

My friends and I eating pizza in the Big Apple. See? We're fine.

It had been so long since I had been back to Mexico City I could hardly remember the sights and sounds. So when I heard there was a birthday party for my aunt and my entire family would be there, I decided I couldn't pass up the opportunity to have another visit!

typical touch down picture

Carnitas, molé, and aguas frescas to name a few things here

If there is one thing I cannot talk about more, it's the food. The food was incredible, and everything I ate seemed like it was fresher than anything I ate in the states. It can give tourists an upset stomach at first if you aren't used to the different enzymes found naturally when travelling to another place in the world, but it's definitely worth it. My grandmother tells me it could also be the altitude difference that might have upset my stomach those first few days. Mexico city is basically a city in the mountains, so naturally it is much higher in altitude than where I'm from.

Singing and dancing with the Mariachis 

The Party was exhilarating. Not in the sense of a party that tires you out, but a party that is so different from anything that I'm used to here in the states, it completely recharged my batteries from a tiring semester. The older members of my family were sitting and talking and the younger members got up and danced even if they didn't know how.

Mexican line dancing, reminiscent of our Cha Cha Slide?

One curiosity at the fiesta was the fortune teller. But this was no ordinary fortune teller. This fortune teller ate nothing but seeds, lived in a cage every moment of the day when he wasn't telling fortunes, was covered in feathers, and had wings.

He also employed a human to help him out since he has no thumbs

What will happen is the man will whistle to the bird, who will pull out a fortune from the tray, and hand it (or beak it I guess) to the man. It's the most adorable fortune-telling system I've ever seen. This happens while everyone is eating a delicious meal of many different kinds of meats, freshly baked breads, seasoned and cooked vegetables, and aguas frescas. The coffee was good too, as long as you don't mind how strong Mexican coffee can be.

Never got thirsty 

After sitting down for a while, I ventured out to see some more of the restaurant. I got to take a look at how things were made back in the kitchen, you'd be amazed what people will let you do when you have a professional grade camera around your neck.

In case you're wondering, the camera I was using was a Canon Rebel T2i essentially the same as the one here:
                                                   
                                             
Mine just has slightly lower specs and doesn't carry some of the same features, like the screen that swivels out.

Let's talk about these guys

Cowboys! Vaqueros! There was a special arena in this restaurant for the cowboys to show their special skills including rope twirling and expertise on a horse.

"Mira mama!"

Just so you're aware, no animals were harmed in the process. Prodded and poked quite a bit sure, but not harmed :D

Candied fruits for Dessert!

Before you scoff at the idea of candied fruits being dessert, let me tell you, they're just as incredible as the food. The natural sugar found in the fruit is taken advantage of, and in the candying process the become brittle, flaky, and childishly sweet. It was the perfect way to end the meal.

Next time I'll take you through some of the culture of the city as I saw it. Little things down to the cars they drive, HOW they drive (because trust me, the driving there is dramatically different than it is here), and what you're likely to see if you were to visit this incredible city. Be looking forward to it. Nos vemos!