11
Oct

In the Hoods – Mexico City

Posted on October 11th, 2010 :: Posted in Boutique Hotel, City, Food & Drink, Mexico
1
This post is part 2 of 5 in the series Mexico City

We’ve been posting a lot about Mexico City lately (see our tacos post and our posts about the recent bicentennial celebrations) but we’ve been focused on the Centro area of the city. In reality, Mexico City has the feel, culture, bustle and possibility of New York City and its distinct neighborhoods. Those neighborhoods are a big part of why we love Mexico City so here’s our New Yorkers take on the best of the boroughs.


This macrame bus was parked on a street as a semi-permanent art installation in the Roma neighborhood of Mexico City.


Roma

The Roma neighborhood is most like New York’s East Village or Brooklyn before it got all fancy. Roma’s got grit, but it’s attractive grit with a youthful energy and an open mind. The shady sidewalks have cracks and the occasional spilled garbage can and they’re generally filled with hipsters in DIY fashion, big guys walking tiny dogs, people carrying yoga mats, you get the picture.

Gay pride flags are increasingly common in Roma and we once walked past a skate shop here that was staffed by slouchy teenage guys playing with a real live lion cub in the middle of the shop. True story.

Roma is also home to our beloved Non Solo Panino café and restaurant located on tranquil Plaza Luis Cabrera. We still love it for laid back people watching, a real slice of the neighborhood and generally affordable bistro style eats even though they raised their wine-by-the-glass price from 25 pesos to 40 pesos (about US$3.00) since the last time we were there.

Brand new Hotel Brick in the Roma neighborhood of Mexico City is buttoned-up and super-cool at the same time.


Best bed: The brand new Hotel Brick does the best job we’ve seen lately of melding hip (the hotel’s bar, lounge and restaurants have become instant hits with Roma locals who help create a vibrant scene most nights) and full-service. Like the neighborhood it’s in, this hotel manages to be buttoned-up and bohemian at the same time.


The lobby bar of the brand new Hotel Brick in the Roma neighborhood.


Condesa

Welcome to Soho, Mexico style! You can’t swing a cat without hitting a model or an actor in the cooler-than-you Condesa neighborhood where the stores are expensive, dinner starts at 10 and you’d better be on the guest list.

The fairly competitive/on display vibe is tempered by big leafy parks and plenty of cafes and bars to wind down in.  Mexico City’s admirable Eco Bici program–which has placed hundreds of bicycles for short or long-term use in automated kiosks across the city–has really taken off in the relatively-traffic free streets of Condesa.

Just a few of the hundreds of bicycles that are part of Mexico City's Eco Bici bike-for-rent program.


Best bed: Condesa df hotel has anchored this neighborhood for years and continues to provide spaces for the cool to congregate, particularly the rooftop bar. Do not miss the tiny but chicly-stocked hotel store.


A vintage car/art installation in front of Condesa df hotel in the Condesa neighborhood of Mexico City.

Rooms at Condesa df hotel, in the Condesa neighborhood of Mexico City, are simply chic with views out to the leafy streets.

Welcome to the enormous patio that's part of Condesa df hotel's verison of a Presidential Suite. It's located just below the hotle's A-list roof lounge (is that Bono at the bar?).

Even the hang tags at Condesa df hotel have attitude.


Polanco

On the surface the Polanco neighborhood reminds us more of Beverly Hills than New York but after a day or two its charmingly diverse and gritty side shows itself and makes us feel right at home–if a bit underdressed.

The main four lane boulevard through Polanco is a shopper’s Shangri La with gleaming stores from Hermes to Chanel to Marc Jacobs to Bulgari to Tiffany, just to name a few. In fact, women come here from around the world to get their hands on the season’s must-have waiting-list-only items which tend to be easier to score here than at stores in Manhattan or Los Angeles where you’re competing with so many more shoppers.

Polanco is also where Mexico City’s sizable Jewish population is centered and there are synagogues and Kosher food stores and restaurants like Kleins were we ordered a corned beef sandwich which was positively anorexic by New York standards but was still passable.

What passes for a corned beef sandwich at Klein's in the Polanco neighborhood of Mexico City.

This is also the neighborhood where Carlos Slim’s new US$750 million mushroom-esque Soumaya Museum (named after his late wife), will be when it opens (theoretically) next month. And Mexican-born chef Richard Sandoval just opened his latest restaurant, Tuna, in Polanco. Read our full profile of Tuna restaurant for iTraveliShop.


Best bed: We’ve come to think of Hotel Las Alcobas as a boutique hotel version of the nearby Four Seasons. Perfect service, perfect amenities, perfect design, perfect location.


Another perfect element at Hotel Las Alcobas in the Polanco neighborhood of Mexico City.

Another perfect element at Hotel Las Alcobas in the Polanco neighborhood of Mexico City.

We've come to think of Hotel Las Alcobas in the Polanco neighborhood of Mexico City as a boutique version of a Four Seasons--it's that perfect.


Santa Fe

Santa Fe may not be the first most logical choice for a purely leisure traveler visiting Mexico City since it’s not convenient to the main attractions and museums. However, it’s a bit like Fifth Avenue with its mix of spending money (fancy stores, including one of only two Saks Fifth Avenue stores outside the US–the other one is in Dubai) and making money (corporate headquarters), making it ideal for business travelers.


Best bed: The new Distrito Capital hotel delivers some of the most exciting design we’ve seen plus awesome views over the Mexico City valley (all hotel rooms are located on the top three floors of an apartment tower).


The pool/lounge off an inviting open-air bar at Distrito Capital Hotel in the Santa Fe neighborhood of Mexico City.

Stark, playful rooms also boast unbeatable views over Mexico City at Distrito Capital Hotel in the Santa Fe neighborhood.

A bathtub with a view over the Mexico City valley from Distrito Capital Hotel in the Santa Fe neighborhood.



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5
Oct

What’s in Your (Travel) Wallet?

Posted on October 5th, 2010 :: Posted in Money & Finance, news, Tips
28

It’s true. Credit cards and ATM cards have made travel finances easier. No more carrying wads of cash around to exchange at questionable rates from even more questionable persons. No more travelers checks with their associated fees.

Nope. Now, throughout the world, we can pay for purchases and get local currency from ATM machines with the swipe of a card. Not only is this easier and safer, the exchange rates are generally better than we used to get on the local gray market or in foreign banks where we used to exchange dollars for drachmas back in the bad old days of travel banking.

But there are still some pitfalls–many of them hidden–that can slowly suck your travel budget dry.


Attention travelers from the United States: If you want to keep your hard earned travel dollars in your wallet where they belong while you’re overseas then you should be carrying credit cards and ATM cards that do NOT charge a foreign transaction fee. Sadly, avoiding those fees is a big challenge and it’s getting harder every day.

You may not even be aware of it but virtually all banks and credit card companies charges a 1% to 3% foreign transaction fee on every single credit card purchase you make abroad.

Not only that, but when you take out cash from a foreign ATM you are almost always paying the local bank’s ATM fee AND  the 1% to 3%  foreign transaction fee that your home bank is charging you to access local currency. A number of banks even charge you an extra flat fee of up to $5 per ATM withdrawal.

(There’s a scary list of current foreign transaction fees charged by major US banks at the end of this post.)

Let’s say you are a Chase customer and you want to withdraw the equivalent of US$300 in Euros while you’re in Italy. If you visit an out-of-network ATM (note the scary health insurance-like language)you will pay about US$10.50 in foreign transaction fees PLUS  any Italian bank fees on the transaction. That means that it’s not that hard to hand over up to 5% of your total ATM transaction to the banks before it ever sees the inside of your pockets.


This is because the international credit card networks (Visa and Mastercard) charge a 1% fee to the issuing bank that you hold your account with. A few of these banks merely pass on this 1% fee to you. Many take the opportunity to tack on their own fee, increasing the percentage that you pay to 2% or even 3%. A very, very few banks not only don’t charge their own foreign transaction fee but agree to eat the credit card companies’ 1% fee as well so their customers can enjoy fee-free ATM withdrawals and credit card purchases overseas.

That’s why we opened an E*Trade Financial checking account and that’s why we carry Capital One credit cards. Capital One is the only major credit card provider that we know of that does not charge a foreign transaction fee for all customers (and we’ve done exhaustive research).


However, we just learned (the hard way) that all E*Trade ATM and debit cards now incur a 1% foreign transaction fee on purchases and ATM withdrawals outside the US  because the bank has decided to stop eating the 1% fee they’re charged and pass it on to customers instead.

We just contacted Capital One, where we already have credit cards that are blissfully free of foreign transaction fees, and the company confirmed that their banking accounts are ALSO free of foreign transaction fees.

We, like you, work hard to save money for travel and we’re also careful to conserve our money once we’re on the road. That’s how we’ve kept our Trans-Americas Journey going for almost four years now. We estimate that we’ve saved nearly US$1,000 a year by religiously avoiding ATM and credit card foreign transaction fees during our Trans-Americas Journey.

We are now in the process of closing our E*Trade checking account and opening a Capital One checking account and we suggest that other travelers from the U.S. do the same.

Another thing to look for when you’re choosing a bank account that’s most suitable for overseas travel is a policy of refunding a  certain amount of the ATM fees you incur from domestic or foreign banks each month. For example, Capital One will credit your account up to US$10 per month in ATM fees charged by other banks  as long as the foreign bank codes the fee correctly, which most major international banks do.


Share what you know and help travelers beat the banks! The information in this post pertains to travelers with US-based banks and credit cards. Submit a comment and tell us what you know about foreign transaction fees charged to travelers from Europe or Asia or anywhere else in the world. Knowledge is power (and money) people.



Check out FlyerGuide.com’s comprehensive list of ATM and credit card bank fees.

Credit card foreign transaction fee (updated 2/26/2010)
Issuer
Issuer fee

MasterCard/Visa fee

Total fee

American Express 2.7% n/a 2.7%
Bank of America 2% 1% 3%
Barclaycard/Juniper 2% 1% 3%
Capital One none none 0%
Chase 2% 1% 3%
Citi 2% 1% 3%
Discover 2% n/a 2%
HSBC 2% 1% 3%
US Bancorp 2% 1% 3%
USAA (available only to members of the military and their immediate families) none 1% 1%
Wells Fargo 2% 1% 3%
Foreign ATM transaction fees
Issuer Foreign ATM cost
Bank of America 1 percent currency conversion fee at Global ATM Alliance ATMs/$5 plus 1 percent currency conversion fee at Non-Global ATM Alliance ATMs
Capital One No additional fees: $0 plus a 0% currency conversion fee. Refund of up to $10 per statement on ATM usage fees charged by other banks.
Chase $3 plus 3 percent currency conversion fee; for premium accounts, $0 plus 3 percent currency conversion fee
Citi Citibank ATMs: $0 plus a 3 percent currency conversion fee/nonCitibank ATMs: $1.50 plus a 3 percent currency conversion fee
HSBC $1.50 for each ATM withdrawal; no fee for Premier Debit MasterCard
USAA $0 plus 1 percent currency conversion fee
Wells Fargo $5 withdrawal fee

Source: CreditCards.com



(Visa and Mastercard) charge a 1% fee to the issuing bank that you hold your account with. A few of these banks merely pass on this 1% fee to you. Many take the opportunity to tack on their own fee, increasing the percentage that you pay to 2% or even 3%. A very, very few banks not only don’t charge their own foreign transaction fee but agree to eat the credit card companies’ 1% fee as well so their customers can enjoy fee-free ATM withdrawals and credit card purchases overseas.

That’s why we opened an E*Trade Financial checking account and that’s why we carry Capital One credit cards. Capital One is the only major credit card provider without a minimum balance requirement that we know of that does not charge a foreign transaction fee (and we’ve done exhaustive research).

However, we just learned (the hard way) that all E*Trade Financial ATM and debit cards now incur a 1% foreign transaction fee on purchases and ATM withdrawals outside the US  because the bank has decided to stop eating the 1% fee they’re charged and pass it on to customers (us) instead.

We just contacted Capital One, where we already have credit cards that are blissfully free of international transaction fees, and the company confirmed that their banking accounts are ALSO free of international transaction fees. We, like you, work hard to save money for travel and we’re also careful to conserve our money once we’re on the road. That’s how we’ve kept our Trans-Americas Journey going for almost four years now. We estimate that we’ve saved nearly US$1,000 a year by religiously avoiding ATM and credit card foreign transaction fees during our Trans-Americas Journey.

That’s why we are now in the process of closing our E*Trade checking account and opening a Capital One checking account and we would suggest that other travelers from the U.S. do the same.

Another thing to look for when you’re choosing a bank and credit card that’s most suitable for overseas travel is a policy of refunding a certain amount of the ATM fees you incur from domestic or foreign banks each month. For example, Capital One will credit your account up to US$10 per month in ATM fees charged by other banks—as long as the foreign bank codes the fee correctly which most major international banks do.


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4
Oct

The Mind-Blowing Museums of Mexico City – Mexico City, Mexico

Posted on October 4th, 2010 :: Posted in Art, City, Mexico, Museum, Tips
18
This post is part 1 of 5 in the series Mexico City

The Mexican government has recently started bragging that Mexico City has more museums than any other city in the world. We haven’t done a scientific head count, however, we are inclined to agree.  Here’s our roundup of the museums we’ve visited in Mexico City, a few we still hope to enjoy, a helpful tip and one burning question.


The only place in Mexico where you'll see a sculpture of Chac Mool, the Mayan god of rain, of this quality is in the Museo Nacional de Antropología.

Museo Nacional de Antropología – The mother of all Mexico City museums (and one of the largest, most comprehensive and most respected anthropology museums in the world) sprawls over 100,000 square feet and includes eye-popping artifacts from every epoch of Mexican cultural development. Fuel up for the culture onslaught at the Super Tortas stand near the museum entrance. Just follow the crowds for a great sandwich. Note: this is one of the few museums that does not allow foreigners in for free on Sundays—just Mexican nationals.

One of the many treasures in the Museo Nacional de Antropología is this Aztec Sun Stone (Piedra del Sol). This 25-ton intricately carved basalt slab describing Aztec life is 12 feet in diameter and was carved in the late 1400s, then lost until it was discovered buried beneath the Zócalo in 1790.

The Olmecs created some of the most distinctive art including this emblematic colossal head, seen in the Museo Nacional de Antropología in Mexico City and practically nowhere else.


Museo Rufino Tamayo – Not far from the Anthropology Museum lies this tidy museum houses the artist’s collection and rotating modern art exhibits. When we were there only one small, thin exhibit was open but when all the exhibition spaces are in use this is a great place for cutting edge contemporary art.


Museo de Arte Modern – There’s not an artifact in sight at this museum, also within walking distance of the Anthropology Museum, making it a nice way to look into the future after you’ve gotten your fill of gawking at the past.


This partial reconstruction of the massive Temple of Quetzalcoatl from Teotihuacán is a highlight of the Museo Nacional de Antropología. For scale, note the young girl walking past the display in the lower right hand corner.


Museo Mural Diego Rivera – Diego Rivera’s famous 15m x 4m mural “Dream of a Sunday Afternoon in Alameda Park” is displayed here along with a small collection of surprisingly traditional and contemplative religious art.

Diego Rivera's famous 15m x 4m mural "Dream of a Sunday Afternoon in Alameda Park" is displayed at the Museo Mural Diego Rivera in Mexico City.


Museo Templo Mayor – Located just off  the Zócalo, Mexico City’s main plaza, this indoor/outdoor museum takes visitors along a series of walkways over, through and around areas of excavation which reveal a treasure trove of  Aztec artifacts found beneath what is now modern Mexico City. In fact, this was the great city of Tenochtitlan, the seat of the Aztec empire, and the very reason why Cortes and the conquistadors built their church (the Catedral Metropolitana which still stands) and their main city (now Mexico City) on this very spot. It’s an unusual feeling to be admiring ancient artifacts and art with the modern Mexico City skyline all around you.


Mexico City's Castillo de Chapultepec Museo Nacional de Historia looks like a European castle for a reason.

Castillo de  Chapultepec Museo Nacional de Historia - The Castillo de Chapultepec (castle of the grasshopper) is eerily European looking, and for good reason. Archduke Ferdinand Maximilian Joseph of Austria lived here with his wife after being put in charge of Mexico by the French (who were angry that Mexico had refused to pay its debts) with the support of Mexicans eager for better government. Now the hilltop castle is a wonderful history museum with fantastic views over Chapultepec Park and right up Avenida Reforma into the city center. The archduke’s swanky living quarters are a treat to see too.

This "Retablo de la Independencia" mural by Juan O'Gorman adorns one of the walls inside the Castillo de Chapultepec Museo Nacional de Historia in Mexico City.


Galeria de Historia  Museo del Caracol – Just below the Castillo de Chapultepec National History Museum this clever building, which curves in on itself like snail shell (hence the name), is full of chronologically arranged dioramas depicting major moments in Mexican history. Great for kids and anyone (like us) who could use a crash course in Mexico’s complicated past.


Museo del Palacio de Bellas Artes – This beautiful theater in the centro, worthy of a visit just for its architecture, is also a wonderful place to see some of the most iconic works from some of Mexico’s most iconic muralists (including Diego Rivera, Jose Clemente Orozco and David Alfaro Siqueiros) which adorn the theater walls.


This wall gives you some idea why the other name for the Museo de Frida Kahlo, in the artist's home in Mexico City, is Casa Azul.

Museo de Frida Kahlo (Casa  Azul) – For every one thing that Frida Kahlo revealed about herself in her art she seems to have hidden 10 more. Walking around the house she lived in, including her bedroom, almost feels like an invasion. The collection includes  pieces of Communist propaganda that Kahlo and Rivera did in addition to the work we know and love. Tickets include entry to the Museo Anahuacalli (see below).


Museum of Mexico City – When we were there this small central museum had an awesome retrospective of memorabilia from the world of lucha libre including information about early female lucheras. There was also a great collection of models and photos chronicling some of architect Luis Barragan’s work in the city.


A whimsical modern take on classic catrinas at the Museo Arte Popular in Mexico City.

Museo Arte Popular – Playful takes on classic Mexican art forms and iconography make this museum, near the Alameda, the perfect antidote if you’re suffering from artifact-overdose. The museum gift shop is also full of affordable and adorable gifts as well as collectible investments in silver jewelry or handmade shawls and other traditional fabrics.

We like to call this piece "Frijole Jesus." It's just one example of the playful take on Mexican artistic techniques and imagery on display at the Museo Arte Popular in Mexico City.


Museo Franz Mayer – In addition to the stunning and wide-ranging personal collection of Franz Mayer, when we visited this museum was also exhibiting the 2010 World Press Photo Award winners including awesome work from from photojournalists around the world.


An art car version of Mexico's national car, the Volkswagen Beetle, at the Museo Arte Popular in Mexico City.


Museo Casa-Estudio Frida Kahlo & Diego Rivera – These connected houses/studios in a lovely affluent neighborhood of Mexico City were both home and workplace to the power couple of Mexican contemporary art. It’s full of atmosphere plus you get to see things like Frida’s bathtub–one of the few Frida moments that feels truly intimate. Diego’s studio is bohemian enough to inspire even the most un-artistic among us. Maybe it’s the power of his size 14 shoes left on the floor in the studio…

The exterior of Museo Casa-Estudio Frida Kahlo & Diego Rivera in Mexico City.


Museo Nacional de la Estampa – A collection of historically and artistically important pieces of graphic art (estampa means print in Spanish) are housed in a gorgeous building near the Zócalo. We loved the collection of tiny illustrated children’s books.


The sculpture-filled grounds of the Museo Dolores Olmedo in Mexico City.

Museo Dolores Olmedo – Dolores Olmeda is said to have been one of Diego Rivera’s lovers but her eponymous museum and collection reflects a love of Mexico, not just a love of Rivera. The gorgeous and tranquil home and grounds are bursting with pieces from Rivera (and Frida Kahlo) and other classic Mexican artists as well as a pack of  Xoloitzcuintlis, an ancient hairless dogs, and a fabulous and informative collection of top-shelf examples of crafts from around Mexico. For us, this museum provided a better (and certainly much more relaxing) overview of the work of Rivera and Kahlo than any other museum we visited in the city. The gift shop is exquisite.

Diego Rivera maintains a commanding presence at the Museo Dolores Olmedo in Mexico City.

One of these hairless Mexican dogs, called Xoloitzcuintlis, at the Museo Dolores Olmeda in Mexico City is a statue. Can you tell which one?


Labortorio Arte de Alameda – Near the centro you will find an old church which is now a cutting edge temple to boundary-pushing multi-media art installations that gleefully tackle taboo subjects.  It’s by far the most avant-garde museum we visited in Mexico City and it feels like a gallery/art space that would fit right into the Manhattan or Brooklyn art scenes.


Ones that got away…

Though we’ve visited Mexico City three times (for a total of over three weeks) on our Trans-Americas Journey, most recently to take part in the Bicentennial celebrations including fireworks, President Felipe Calderón’s Grito and other highlights, we have still not manage to visit all of the museums we want to see in the city.  Here are a few that got away but which we hope to get to one day!

Though we visited the Guadalupe Basilica (more on that in an upcoming post), the Museo y Santuario de Nuestra Señora Virgen de Guadalupe was closed by the time we got there.

We never made it out to Museo Anahuacalli, the dramatic pyramd-inspired museum designed by Diego Rivera to house his collection of more than 50,000 pieces of pre-Hispanic art.

We managed to be in Mexico City in between shows at the La Coleccion Jumex. The ubiquitous Mexican juice company has an impressive private art collection and hosts temporary shows that are open to the public in a big space just outside central Mexico City as long as you make a reservation and time your visit to coincide with one of their temprorary shows. Otherwise there’s nothing to see as their private collection really is private. We hear Jumex is planning a new museum in town which will be more easily accessible.

And we didn’t call to make a reservation far enough in advance (they require two weeks notice) to gain entry to Casa Luis Barragán which is famous as much for the architecture as the contents. This UNESCO site is the former home of ground-breaking architect Luis Barragán and it’s a must for art and design buffs.

We didn’t make it to the new museum from the world’s richest man (Mexico’s Carlos Slim) for one very good reason: it’s not open yet. But we did drive by the construction site and get an eyeful of the enormous mushroom-like shell of the structure (being designed by Slim’s son-in-law) in the chi-chi Polanco neighborhood of Mexico City. The $750 million new branch of Slim’s Museo Soumaya, named after his deceased wife, is expected to open in November though that seems ambitious to us.


TIP

At most museums in Mexico Sunday is free day for all citizens and often even for foreigners. Pro: the chance to save some money. Con: huge crowds at the most popular museums.


And now, the burning question we promised you: Art or commerce?

Post a comment and let us know what you think about the fact that the Mexican government just issued a brand new 500 peso note—picturing Diego Rivera on one side and Frida Kahlo on the other.


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Taco Taste Test – Mexico City, Mexico


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