The first time I came to Mexico City, I knew I wanted to move here. I’ve lived here for two years and I’m still crossing things off the list of places to visit. There’s obviously more compelling reasons to come here, but I’m going to skip the ones you’ll find on TripAdvisor. I haven’t been traveling recently, but that doesn’t mean I’ve been staying home either. I don’t really have a typical weekend when I’m in Mexico City. But aside from sitting in traffic, this is what my semi-regular orbit around a place of almost 9 million people looks like. Between catching up on sleep and coding, this is what I’ve been up to.

Zinco

Zinco is a jazz club literally underground, and I started to feel extremely classy as soon as I stepped inside.  I’m not a jazz fan, but I’ve heard about this place since I first came to the city and have always been curious. It’s less than 20 years old but does a great job of appealing to the romantic noir that I assume jazz fans are susceptible to. I don’t know what speakeasies were like but this place definitely hits the mark for the collective popular idea of what a speakeasy should be like. Red velvet curtains, low lighting, and classic cocktails. We arrived right before the music started and spent the next couple hours watching a guy be more passionate about playing a stand-up bass than I thought was humanly possible.

Biblioteca Vasconcelos

Mexico City is full of noteworthy architecture, and Biblioteca Vasconcelos definitely makes the cut. I guess I should start by saying that I love libraries, but Biblioteca Vasconcelos is so cool that the first time I went I wanted to go back to school so that I would have a reason to visit regularly. Designed by Alberto Kalach and inaugurated in 2006, the whole place feels both very modern and yet very peaceful. Like I could find a corner and spend hours reading or studying without being bothered. The impressive suspended shelves are the first thing anyone will notice walking in, but the place is huge, with groups of people wandering and hanging out inside and outside the building.

Museo Soumaya

Museo Soumaya is an impressive landmark surrounded by tall office buildings in Polanco. It’s personally not my favorite (there is a lot to choose from here) but it’s a free museum and the most popular one in Mexico. It was founded by Carlos Slim, the richest man in Mexico and seventh in the world. It is dedicated to his late wife, an Auguste Rodin fan which is reflected in the collection. The first thing you see walking in is The Gates of Hell. There are six floors in total and includes both Mexican and European art.

La Reunion

And lastly, no weekend would be complete without beer, mezcal, and loosing really badly to my friends at dominoes.

Continue reading part two.