Cantina La Mascota

Washington, DC is a happy hour kind of town.  Meet people at a bar, drink your $4 rail and $3 beer, and then spend the next 2 hours going off about your government or non-profit job. It's not a socializing culture that interests me. I'm not a drinker and I'd rather socialize on the dancefloor.  Sometimes I can have an amazing time at a bar but those moments are far and few between and it really depends on the amigX I am with.  But there is something about cantinas in Mexico City that get me in that good mood.  Multi-generational...folx playing games, others yelling without care about sports, family, politics, sex and it all seems borderline playful and serious. 

My favorite cantina is La Mascota--located in the Centro Historico. I only went one time--with Chuya and M. It was awesome.  They give you free appetizers (aka las botanas)  as long as you buy 3 drinks.  And for your listening pleasure a small cover band hits you with classic rock and Beatles covers. Below is the list of las botanas I had that day.  Que rico!!

1. Caldo "Tlalpeño"
2. Tostadas de Picadillo
3. Paella a la "valenciana"
4. Espinazo de Cerdo con verdolagas
5. Suadero en Salsa Morita
6. Mojarra Frita con Ensalada
7. Rollitos de Jamon

Cantina La Mascota
Mesones, 20 at Bolivar
Centro Historico
Mexico City, Mexico
7 days a week

The Beatles: El Autentico Sonido Liverpool...De Mejico

As a child, I was obsessed with the Beatles.  That's why when I passed Pepperland on Avenida Insurgentes Sur I was super excited to know that I could see a Beatles cover band in DF. I've heard plenty of Beatles covers but never a Beatles cover band. 

From the advertisement, I think the name of the band is For no One. And at the time they perform Thursdays, Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays.  For some reason, I never made it to the club.  And on my short list of regrets, not hitting up that yellow submarine decorated club.

Please someone go and report back to me! I'd love to live vicariously through you.

Pepperland

Av. Insurgentes Sur No.295A Col. Hipodromo Condesa

TWBINE But I Wanna Go There: Turkey

Istanbul has been on my mind a lot lately.  Recently, tales from friends that have just visited there and have had a epic good time, reignite that dream of traveling.  Plus I love ¨folk meets outer space exploration¨ Turkish singer and songwriter, Selda Bağcan.

Casa Chocolate

We've had an unusually warm winter in D.C.  Still it is not warm enough for me and I'm looking forward to the change of season. A few years ago, I vacationed in Cuernavaca with a few Machas.   Unfortunately, my visit to the "City of Eternal Spring" was unusually rainy and chilly in this tropical city barely an hour away from D.F.

Las Machas y yo stayed in this amazing bed and breakfast that cleared my mind and relaxed my body.  

Why I love it? 

• Lesbian-owned:  The Expatriate owners, one from Canada and the other from England, are partners-in-love and partners-in-business.
• Chocolate themed rooms: Mint, White, Milk, and Caramel
• Delicious Breakfast:  Several courses with chocolate strawberries.
• Pool
• Outside Movie Watching Den with hammock

Casa Chocolate
Bed and Breakfast
www.casachocolate.com
(52) 777-312-8957

Fruit Salad and Coffee

Yogurt with lime zest

Mixing it Up!

Simple and Delicious

Last Bite of Breakfast includes Chocolate

The view from our Breakfast Nook.  Right is our room.  Left is our movie den.

My fluffy bed in the White Chocolate room

Everywhere are amazing tiles that capture that hacienda look.

2 Years Ago....

In 2 years, so much has changed for me.  2 years ago, I took residence in Mexico City, along the borders of La Roma and La Zona Rosa.  The days were warm.  The nights were chilly--a reminder that it was still winter despite the daily offerings of heat.  Never had enough layers to keep me toasty at night.  Between Midnight and 2 a.m., I would go on mini-adventures in search of fresh alfalfa juice, tacos, and cheetos. And I would regularly drink a half a bottle of tequila without getting a buzz.

When melancholy would set in, sometimes loneliness would win out.  This could have been harder to bare if I hadn´t made friends with awesome folx like my neighbor and....Las Machas. This fierce group of ladies took me in like a kitten caught in the rain and eased my loneliness.  Una de l#s Machitas, ChiChis Glam, invited me to DJ her cumpleaños. And the night brought me closer to home.

Mannequins are not all white...

Before I went to China, I could say that I had been to maybe 7 to 10 malls in my whole life. But I can more than double that experience by my trip there. China's urban cities are a mall within a mall within a mall.  I've never been to so many malls in my life.  And if I didn't know it before, I am not a mall person but I did enjoy seeing asian mannequins while I was at this mall in Shanghai.

The Jetsons Meet Shanghai

Shanghai is a very old city (think 1,000 plus years old) but you wouldn't know it from its downtown architecture. I took this picture at The Bund...a riverside walkway on the Huangpu River.  Across is the Pudong district of Shanghai...it's straight out of The Jetsons!